Alerts:
Ho hum…time yet again to patch up the tattered and torn Microsoft
Internet Explorer. Visit Windows
Update and apply the Cumulative Patch,
released October 3, 2003.
How to Market your Web Site
The main reason most companies and organizations set up a Web site is
to aid in their marketing efforts. A good site is a powerful marketing
tool. But, in order to have maximum effect, the site itself needs to
be marketed. While many companies invest in Web sites, fewer effectively
promote them. It's a pity, for this is how amazing results are obtained.
A good site doesn't just sit there looking pretty. It directly affects
concrete goals: increased revenues, expanded memberships, enhanced customer
service -- or any other immediate aims of your company or organization.
But to achieve these goals, you must actively attract visitors to the
site.
So what should be done? Let's assume that the site in question is already
of good quality – solid, credible, and designed for optimal search
engine placement. How do you promote it, and make it benefit your business?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Keep improving your "link popularity" -- incoming
links to your home page from good quality sites. Make a page on your
site that lists links to other sites that would be of interest and
relevance to your target audience. Then send to the owners of each
of these sites a polite e-mail that describes the nature of your site
and how it can benefit their own visitors -- and request a reciprocal
link. Track responses; if you've had no reply within 6 months, try
again.
- If rapid inclusion in SEs is crucial for your site, you can consider paid
inclusion to sites like Yahoo. It's also possible to purchase
highlighted text ads in the Google and Overture indexes.
- Every single piece of printed collateral that leaves your
office should include your site's URL.
- Send out press releases, which include your URL. Craft a
release that's succinct, accurate, and has an attention-getting headline
to "hook" interest. Write it so well that a reporter can
use it almost as-is.
- E-mail newsletters are gaining increasing importance. While
a Web site must passively await the visits, a newsletter actively invites
interaction with the company or organization, and helps maintain existing
relationships. But approach the design and mailing of your newsletter
with care. Make the content truly relevant for your target audience,
send only to qualified contacts, and offer clear and easy opt-out instructions
for those who no longer wish to subscribe. Being perceived as a spammer
is not the way to enhance your business.
- Ideally, your host provides traffic analysis tools. Periodically
examining these reports can give you a lot of insight into aspects
of the site that can be improved. If you notice that many visitors
are using old browsers, make sure your site is viewable for them. If
you have a Flash intro but people are bolting the site before it's
even had a chance to load, reconsider if it's really worth retaining,
or if you should substitute a static HTML page instead. Is there a
pattern of a lot of people leaving the site from the same page? Examine
that page carefully and try to identify potential problems with it.
As in all marketing efforts, persistence and consistency pay off. As
long as your site is solidly designed, it won't take long to see substantial
results. Good luck!
Resources:
Do you have any questions about the design, maintenance or promotion
of Web sites? Contact
me and I'll try to answer them in upcoming articles.
Goodies
- Do try the latest version of the award-winning Mozilla
browser. Fast,
stable, and much more secure than Explorer. Even better, it includes
an option to automatically block those pesky pop-up ads. You’ll
love it! (But be aware that some Hebrew sites have been designed to accommodate
only IE, so you’ll still need to keep patching it up for the occasions
that you’ll need it…)
- To block pop-up ads on Internet Explorer, install the Google
toolbar.
(Has several other
cool features as well.)
I hope you enjoyed this month’s newsletter! If you have any comments or
suggestions for future newsletter topics, please don’t hesitate to send
them.
Janis Joseph
janis@atartec.co.il
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