Notes on how to use this site
from
Bill Mallia, President of
Ocean Crest Creatives's attracthits.com
So, I've gotta' guess
that if you've made your way over to this page of the web site, you're
not real sure how to begin marketing your site. You're
probably looking at all of the neat promotional tools on the main page
thinking, "these tools all look useful but where do I start?" With
this assumption in mind, I'm going to try (in as few words as possible)
to help you understand the basics of web site promotion and how each of
the tools offered on this site can help you achieve your Internet
marketing goals.
Step 1: The
Basics
I'm going to use the
words "web site promotion" and "Internet marketing" interchangeably.
They're really not quite the same thing but for our needs this rule will
work.
While Internet
marketing methods are very different from those implemented by
traditional marketing practitioners, the fundamentals of marketing and
promotion do not change. You want to try to maximize every
Internet avenue available to promote your site. Your efforts
should only be limited by budget. Fortunately, all of the
services on this site are offered at a very affordable price, which
addresses the "budget limit thing".
For starters you'll
want to sit with your web designer. You not only want them to create a
web site that is a winner in the areas of feel, function and creativity
but also one that is marketable. The most important page of your site is
your "home" or "main" page. This is the front door to your
entire site. This single page represents who you and your service
or product are. If you want it to be marketable, you must at the
very least, a) assure that it works correctly with the major web
browsers, b) contains META tags and is ready to be submitted in search
engines and directories, c) contains no "dead links", d) is heavily
linked to by other sites, e) has correct spelling and f) utilizes proper
HTML programming.
Once this has been
done, you can feel comfortable about submitting
your web address (URL) to search engines, directories and free for all
link pages. Much has been written on this topic and it seems
everyone has an opinion. This is mainly because the search
engines change their submission rules at least once a month. When you
boil it down, URL submission is as much an art as a science.
Most people tend to focus on eight to ten search engines
for most of their needs. However, if you find someone that
suggests that you really only need to submit to the top ten engines,
you've found someone that doesn't fully understand the ins and outs of
submission and is likely not a web site promotion professional.
The reality is that there are a number of important reasons to submit to
every possible engine, directory and link site available.
Another common fallacy is that you only need to submit your site once.
Repeated and reasonably frequent submissions are the key to turning
submissions into placement.
While on the topic of
submission, you may also wish to consider submitting a classified style
advertisement to the hundreds of classified ad
sites on the Net. This can be a powerful way to build
links back to your web site, a factor many
search engines take into consideration when they place your URL in their
database.
Step 2:
Expanding Your Campaign
If you don't have your
own web address...get one (a .com name only cost $35 a year or less)!
If you do have one...advertise it with a URL
Plate. A URL Plate is is a
custom designed, injection molded plastic model of your web address,
e-mail address or whatever else you'd like to have the driving world
see. We call 'em URL Plate because you adhere
them to the tail end of your automobile or truck. No business
vehicle or fleet car should be on the road without a
URL Plate in place.
If you've surfed the
web for any amount of time, you've seen sites that have a "Guest
Book" inviting visitors to sign up for a free newsletter,
notification of site changes, etc. Do you remember your old sales
classes teaching you that your best source of new business is from past
clients? Well, a guest book is a way to stay in touch with your
past web site visitors. The idea is to collect visitor information
when the visit, manage it in a data base and correspond with these
people on a regular basis hence increasing your odds of converting them
into business. In the Internet marketing circles, this referred to
as "permission marketing".
How To Promote
For Less Money
While the pricing at
Ocean Crest Creative's ATTRACTHITS.com is exceptionally low and
affordable, there is a way to save even more. We offer a
10% discount on our service for referrals that materialize into new
clients. You are welcome to receive this as cash or as credits towards
our efforts on your behalf.
It's my hope that this
"mini-essay" has helped you make heads and tails out of web site
promotion. If you still have questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me or call (508)
747-4449.\
Thanks and know that I
look forward to assisting you with your Internet success.
Cheers!
William M. Mallia, III, CTC, DS
President
Ocean Crest Creative |
