Some Ideas for Promotion of Your website
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Free promotion through good design
One of the keys to successful and free promotion is
acheived by creating web pages that are easily read by both humans and computers.
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Google, Yahoo and MSN (Microsoft / Hotmail)
For some years the largest and most influential search engine on the net was Google.
Humans not only used Google as a search engine, other search engines
used the Google databases and technology for their own search results.
In December 2003 Yahoo split from Google and took MSN with them and in mid-2004
Microsoft launched its own search engine.
The impact and influence of Google is still with us and even though
we now have three major search engines, there are design considerations they all
have in common.
Many of the more flashy looking web sites are developed
using techniques that are not, by nature, major search engine friendly.
Major companies can afford to do
this as they are either already well known, or have large budgets that allow
them to derive enough business without being found by major search engines.
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Guaranteed inclusion in search engines
Unless you have significant funds, it is not possible to guarantee high placement (or even inclusion)
in the major search engines.
Part of Google's marketing strategy is to not
offer paid inclusion (although they do offer advertising as per those on
the right hand side of this page). Google derives its income in a number of ways such as the ads
on it's search results pages and within affiliated sites
(more of which we detail below) as well as selling its results to other search engines (as
mentioned above).
If you do not have a large advertising budget then
you need to employ designers who know how to create web pages that will be
successfully found by search engines.
At bpresent we design your website, particularly certain key pages, in such
a way that they will more readily be found, more often. Not just by Google but by the other
major players.
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Pay-Per-Click advertising
There is much published on the web about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
If you are interested in this topic (and have time to spare) use any of the
major search engines to search on "pay per click".
Most analysts agree that well targetted pay-per-click advertising is an
exceptionally good investment. We use and recommend this form of advertising, as it is very
easy to place a ceiling on your daily / monthly expenditure. We are happy to advise you on this
and assist in developing keywords for your campaign. Prudent selection of keywords is essential to the
success of PPC advertising.
As an example, the following link generates a query on Google worldwide for
the term "bpresent". On the right hand side of the results page there should be
an ad for bpresent. If the ad does not appear that means we are on target to exceed our
budget so the ad is appearing less often (although it still does appear even in these cases). This ad costs us nothing if you do not click on it. If you do click on it, it will
cost us 9c (the minimum amount) and it will take you to our site.
In general Google "AdWords" cost about 50c per click.
You specify the maximum amount you are prepared to pay for one click as well as the maximum
per day.
Note that some categories (eg. Web Hosting and Diet Pills) arer highly competitive and
can, therefore, cost more.
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Email signatures
Publish your web site address (and, of course, your new email address) in your
email signatures. We will be happy to assist you here.
Note that if you start with a "bpresent Quick!" plan, we ensure that
you do not lose customers if you migrate
to a "<Choose4Yourself> .com plan". This migration is discussed in greater detail
elsewhere.
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Links
Ask friends or colleagues to create links to your site on their
websites or pages (but note that in most cases these people will want you to create links
to their pages).
Be wary of creating too many of these links. It is also a good idea to ensure that you
are seen to be in a 'good neighbourhood'. For example, having links from your site to 'free' sites, where
pop-up ads appear frequently, may not create the image you wish to portray.
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More traditional methods
Of course any advertising depends on your target market.
Given this, the more traditional methods are as good as
any, including:
print your web site address on your business card;
publish it in industry magazines (both printed and online);
inexpensive, small flyers pinned in strategic places advising that
more detail is available at your website;
mail drops of cards / flyers. |
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A note about Search Engine optimisation
Having a website that is found natuarally by search engines (and therefore people) is
perhaps as important as promotion. Good technical design of websites
ensures that you receive excellent results in search engines at
no additional cost. This is one of the founding
principles of basic search engine optimisation (SEO) and is fundamental
to the success of a web site for
a small business with
limited budget.
Sad to say, it is the most common failing of most websites.
If the search engines do not find your web site, you are largely
dependent on paid promotion to drive traffic to your site. While paid
promotion can of course be effective, it is also wise to take advantage of good
placement in search engine results simply through good design.
At bpresent we have thoroughly researched this area of design (as well
as other aspects of SEO) and
continue to do so, on a regular basis, through a variety of professional forums
as well as the greatest teacher of them all - experience.
We will be happy to provide you with additional information during the course
of designing your site.
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