Download Web Site Promotion - Southern Rural Development Center

Web Site Promotion
Getting Found on the Web
John J Toman
Director, UTIA Information Technology
[email protected]
What is Web Site Promotion
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Myth 1: You’ve built it, so they will come
Myth 2: With so many millions of web pages
out there they will never find my web site
Myth 3: I advertised my web site once so I
never have to touch it again
Myth 4: I need to promote my web site
separately from my other marketing efforts
Getting Found on the Web
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Integrating the web into your
marketing plan
Register with search engines and
directories
Increasing your visibility/popularity
Using email to attract and keep your
customers
Evaluating the results
Review Your Marketing Plan
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Who are my traditional customers?
How do I currently market my products?
Are my web customers different from my
traditional customers?
How will my web customers use my web
site?
What are my web customers’ expectations?
How can I promote my web site using
traditional marketing tecniques?
Include URL in all Advertising
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Company letterhead
Yellow Page listing
Promotional items, pens, magnets, etc.
Press releases
Uniforms, shirts
Company cars and trucks
Building signage
How Do People Find Information?
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People search for information differently
Some will try typing the business name in
the address bar directly
Most will use a search engine
Your Goal: optimize your web pages so
they will be found by those looking for
your product or service
Search Engine vs Directory
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Search engines travel throughout the web
via “spiders” to find and index web pages,
i.e., Google, Inktomi
Directories are hierarchical catalogs of
web pages review by people, i.e., Yahoo
Search engines and directories may use
different criteria to index the results
Getting top position in a search engine is
not an exact science
Relevant Directories
• Yahoo: $299/free
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Add from directory location
• LookSmart: $per click (MSN, About,
Inktomi, Search.com, Infospace)
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http://listings.looksmart.com/accounts/contact
s/get_listed.jhtml
• Open Directory Project: Free (AOL,
Netscape, HotBot)
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http://www.dmoz.org/add.html
Relevant Search Engines
• Altavista: Free
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http://addurl.altavista.com/
• Google: Free (Yahoo, AOL, Netscape)
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http://www.google.com/addurl.html
• FAST: Reseller, $34 (AlltheWeb, HotBot,
Excite, WebCrawler, TerraLycos, DogPile)
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http://www.positiontech.com
Relevant Search Engines
• Inktomi: Reseller, $39 (MSN, HotBot,
About, LookSmart, Ovature)
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Http://www.positiontech.com
• Teoma: $30 (AskJeeves, Excite, InfoSpace,
HotBot)
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http://ask.ineedhits.com/sitesubmit.asp
• AlltheWeb Free
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http://www.alltheweb.com/add_url.php
Web Site Registration
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URL or Web Address
Meta Tags – information about information
• Keywords
• Description
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Title
Page Text
Using “alt” tags
Keywords
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Choose about 10 keywords from your core
business
Look at your competitors
Ask your customers
Review web logs
Keyword Trackers/”Suggesters”
<meta name="keywords" content="keyword1, keyword2,
keyword3">
Description
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Describes your web page
Closely tied to content on the page
Use as many keywords as possible and
still be relevant
Most search engines use the Description
as the text displayed in results
<meta name=“description" content=“description for the web
page">
Web Site Title
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Displayed in blue bar on browser
First line of search results
Concise statement of content on page
Use keywords
<title>Web Site Title Here</title>
Page Text
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Introductory text displayed the web page
that your customer will read
Similar to the first paragraph of a chapter
in a book
Place important keywords toward top of
page
Using a graphic only page will limit the
number of keywords available on the page
Using “alt” Tags
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Use “alt” tag to describe a picture
Which is better?
<img src=“image.jpg” alt=“image.jpg”>
<img src=“image.jpg” alt=“Picture of building”>
<img src=“image.jpg” alt=“White House Inn Bed and
Breakfast”>
Caution: Make sure the description used in
the alt tag is relevant to the content of the
picture
Registration Process
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Each search engine/directory may collect
different information during registration
Search Engines:
• Find the link for submitting your site
• Fill in the URL and other information requested
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Directories:
• Navigate to proper category in directory
• Click “Add URL” link
• Complete information requested
Search Results (Meta Tags)
Search Hot Bot for:
Bed and Breakfast Vermont
WEB RESULTS (Showing Results 1 - 10 of 136,263)
1. Bed and Breakfast Inns ONLINE - BBOnline.com - Travel * Lodging * Bed...
Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE: 4 000 bed and breakfasts and country inns and 26 state bed and
breakfast association web sites. Awarded INNSTAR's highest rating - 5 INNSTARS
www.bbonline.com/ - July 1, 2003 - 10 KB
2. Three Bears at the Fountain Bed and Breakfast
Stowe, Vermont bed-and-breakfast inn was built by the first couple married in Stowe. Features
homemade breakfast, hot tub, and mountain views.
www.threebearsbandb.com/ - June 16, 2003 - 10 KB
3. Innkeeper Recipes and Cookbooks - Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE -...
More than 2 000 bed and breakfast innkeeper cooking recipes and dozens of cookbooks.
www.bbonline.com/recipe - July 23, 2003 - 18 KB
Search Results (Meta Tags)
Search Results (Meta Tags)
<HEAD>
<meta name="resource-type" value="document">
<meta name="keywords" content="bbonline, bed & breakfasts, breakfast, bed and breakfast, bnb, b&b,
bed and breakfast directory, bed and breakfast guide, travel guide, inn, Country Inns, travel, lodging,
romance, jacuzzis, getaways, romantic, accommodations, mountains, recipes, contest, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida,
California, Michigan, Hawaii, Washington, Maine, Massachussetts, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,
Alaska, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas">
<meta name="description" content="Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE: 4,000 bed and breakfasts and
country inns and 26 state bed and breakfast association web sites. Awarded INNSTAR's highest rating 5 INNSTARS">
<TITLE>Bed and Breakfast Inns ONLINE - BBOnline.com - Travel * Lodging * Bed and Breakfasts *
Country Inns</TITLE>
</HEAD>
Search Results (alt Tag)
<img src="logo.gif" width=404 height=125 alt="Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE" border="0">
Search Results (No Meta Tags)
Search AltaVista for:
Superior Music
AltaVista found 1 result About
Superior Music - Tennessee Page
home] [tn links] [jobs] [tn local band links] Tennessee LINKS NASHVILLE MT JULIET
LEBANON The Bluebird Cafe HEYSONGWRITER.COM Music City Blues The Nashville
Scene City of Mt. Juliet Mt. Juliet Chamber ...
www.superiormusic.com/page061.htm
Search Results (No Meta Tags)
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 5.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
<title>Superior Music - Tennessee Page</title>
<bgsound src="music/dixie1.mid" loop="1">
</head>
Search Results (Frames)
Search Google for:
Robertson County Fair
Robertson County Fair Association
www.robertsoncountyfair.com/ - 2k - Cached - Similar pages
Robertson County Fair Association
Welcome to the "cyber" home of the Robertson County Fair. The 2003
fair will be our 136th Annual Fair. The fair is a place for old ...
www.robertsoncountyfair.com/WelcomePage.htm - 4k - Cached - Similar pages
[ More results from www.robertsoncountyfair.com ]
Search Results (Frames)
Search Results (Frames)
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
<title>Robertson County Fair Association</title>
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Microsoft FrontPage 4.0">
<meta name="ProgId" content="FrontPage.Editor.Document">
</head>
<frameset rows="64,*">
<frame name="banner" scrolling="no" noresize target="contents" src="TitleFrame.htm">
<frameset cols="150,*">
<frame name="contents" target="main" src="MenuFrame.htm">
<frame name="main" src="WelcomePage.htm" target="_self">
</frameset>
<noframes>
<body>
<p>This page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.</p>
</body>
</noframes>
</frameset>
</html>
Cheating the System
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Hiding keywords in background
Repeating keywords out of context
Hiding in HTML <input> tags
<input type=“hidden” value=“keyword1, keyword2, keyword3”>
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Multiple title tags
<title>This is the Real Title</title>
<title>keyword1, keyword2, keyword3</title>
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Keywords in HTML comment tags
<!– keyword1, keyword2, keyword3 … ->
Submission Services
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Offers to register up to 500 search
engines
Submit the same information to every
search engine.
Will your site be submitted correctly to the
engines?
Can ultimately cost you more to undo any
damage that may have been created
Paying for this service is usually a waste
of money
Paying for Positioning
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Guaranteed higher ranking
Usually flat fee or pay per click
Yahoo – Sponsorships
Lycos Network – Small text ads
AltaVista – Listing Enhancements
Google – AdWords
Portal/Doorway Pages
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Built around particular keyword or for a
particular search engine
Can use for individual products
Page “jumps” or provides link to real page
Search engines discourage
May drop page or only index the main page
Don’t waste time unless including real
content, i.e., product pages
Excluding Pages from Search
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Search engine robots will try to index all
pages on your web site
Can and should exclude certain pages,
i.e., log files, cgi-bin, image folders
Create a robots.txt file on the server:
User-agent: *
Disallow: / (listing of folders)
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Using a Meta Tag
<meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow">
Link Popularity
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The number of sites that link to yours is
an indication of the importance of your
site
Critical to many search engines, i.e.,
Google
Maximize the number of links from
relevant web sites
Free link popularity checkers will tell you
how many sites are linked to you
Link Popularity Example
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Bed and Breakfast Online
Googles’s top listing
Popularity
• MSN: 12,754
• Google/Yahoo: 6,600
• AltaVista: 23,407
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Can be major contributing factor for top
ratings
Increasing Your Visibility
(and Popularity)
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Banner/Link Exchange programs
Niche Search Engines/Directories
• Professional Organizations
• Business Directories
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Web Malls/Rings/Auctions
News Groups/LISTSERVS
Affiliate programs
Banner/Link Exchange
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Agreement between two or more parties
to place links or banners on each other’s
web pages
• Can be formal or informal agreements
• Includes paid or free exchanges
• Partners should be related to core business
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Goals
• Bring additional customers to your web site
• Increase your link popularity
Banner / Link Exchange Programs
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Advantages
• Increased visibility / popularity
• Targeted exchanges
• Tracking of results
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Disadvantages
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Potential increased download time
Low click through rates
Loss of control
Potential cost of banner ad
Can be form of spam
Read the fine print before signing up
Choosing an Exchange Program
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Large databases of qualified web sites
Automatic tracking of exchanges
Trade links with complimentary sites
Ability to choose who to link with
Statistics reporting of impressions and
click throughs
Pricing – needs to be affordable
Niche Search Engines/Directories
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Many specialty search engines and
directories
Find complimentary sites and submit URL
Professional organizations may list web
sites for members
Yahoo Directories good source
Web Malls/Auctions
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Grouping of “web shops” by category or
search by particular product
Can gain visibility through recognized
name like Amazon, Yahoo, eBay
Most malls and auction charge for
listing or fee on percentage of sale price
Effectiveness varies
Web Ring
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Groups of related web sites
Linear navigation from site to site in a ring
Ringmaster responsible for management
and approval of sites
Loss of control of who is part of ring
No guarantee of visits
News Groups/LISTSERVS
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Forums to discuss specific topics
Choose related groups/LISTERVES
Lurk for a while to get flavor
Don’t blatantly advertise
Offer content of value and related to
topic discussed
Use a signature
Email Signatures
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Subtle form of advertising
Easy to create in email program
Include in all email correspondence
Customize for audience
Include
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name, address, phone & fax numbers
Email address
Web address
Custom message
Affiliate Programs
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Provides additional avenue for sales
Affiliates advertise your product or service on
their web site
Pay a commission or fee to affiliate program
and web site owner
Affiliate provider manages entire program
Loss of control with who advertises for you
Affiliate may have site unrelated to your core
business
Hints for Being Found
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Don’t attempt to cheat.
Use all available meta tags
Include as many keywords as possible in
title, description, and page text
Exchange links with complimentary sites
Use other techniques as appropriate
Bottom line: There is no substitute for well
written web pages
Email Marketing
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Web page must wait for customers to
visit
Proactive mechanism to keep your name
in front of your customers
Notifying customers of specials, new
products, events, etc.
Benefits of Email Marketing
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Many people now have email
Excellent form of mass communication
Quicker than traditional mail
Relatively inexpensive
Can be personalized
Results are measurable
Drawbacks of Email Marketing
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Everyone is doing it
Potential for creating spam
There is a cost – time
Privacy is an issue
Not a substitute for other
forms of marketing
A Word About Spam
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Spam angers people by costing them time
Effectiveness is sketchy
Legislation may ban unsolicited email
Email Design
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Use the subject line to get their attention
Provide important information in the body
of the message
Include links or coupon in the message to
encourage action
Personalize the message for particular
audience
Use your email signature
HTML or Plain Text
HTML
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Can include all HTML
formatting
Pictures and Graphics
Spyware issues
Maintains brand
identity
Won’t show up in text
only email clients
Plain Text
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Smaller in size
Easy to create
Description is in the
words
Works with all email
clients
Keys to Effective Email Marketing
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Provide something valuable in the email
Balance frequency of email
Include email use in privacy policy
Get their permission to send them email
Make it easy to unsubscribe from mailing
list
Use a mailing list manager
Measure your results
Mailing List Managers
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Create a group in your email program
Programmed as part of your web site
management system
Free mailing list managers
Commercial (pay) mailing list managers
Who is Using My Web Site?
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The “hit” myth
Why hits don’t matter
More accurate is unique visitors
Want to know who was using web
site and what they were doing
Analyzing Your Web Logs
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Records usage of your web site
Types of logs
• Access Log
• Referrer Log
• Error Log
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Web host my combine logs
Web Log Example
172.137.65.214 - - [27/Feb/2003:06:31:06 -0500] "GET /newsite/images/home2_r2_c1.gif HTTP/1.1" 304 "http://www.heysongwriter.com/newsite/links.php?menu=affiliate" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; MSN 2.5; Windows 98)"
172.137.65.214 - - [27/Feb/2003:06:31:06 -0500] "GET /newsite/images/home2_r3_c1.gif HTTP/1.1" 304 "http://www.heysongwriter.com/newsite/links.php?menu=affiliate" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; MSN 2.5; Windows 98)"
172.137.65.214 - - [27/Feb/2003:06:31:06 -0500] "GET /newsite/images/home2_r4_c1.gif HTTP/1.1" 304 "http://www.heysongwriter.com/newsite/links.php?menu=affiliate" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; MSN 2.5; Windows 98)"
172.137.65.214 - - [27/Feb/2003:06:31:07 -0500] "GET /newsite/images/home2_r5_c1.gif HTTP/1.1" 304 "http://www.heysongwriter.com/newsite/links.php?menu=affiliate" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; MSN 2.5; Windows 98)"
172.137.65.214 - - [27/Feb/2003:06:31:07 -0500] "GET /newsite/images/home2_r6_c1.gif HTTP/1.1" 304 "http://www.heysongwriter.com/newsite/links.php?menu=affiliate" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; MSN 2.5; Windows 98)"
172.137.65.214 - - [27/Feb/2003:06:31:07 -0500] "GET /newsite/images/home2_r7_c1.gif HTTP/1.1" 304 "http://www.heysongwriter.com/newsite/links.php?menu=affiliate" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.5; MSN 2.5; Windows 98)"
Information from the Logs
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Number of visitors
What they viewed
How long they stayed
Where they came from
Keywords used to get to your site
What search engines they are using
Web Log Analyzers
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Generate reports from logs
Trend analysis
Freeware vs Commercial
Log Analyzer Output
Search Terms Example
Getting Found - Summary
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Submit your web site and track your
web position
Exchange links/banners and test your
popularity
Use email to effectively market your
web site and measure results
Analyzing web logs for important user
information and adjust web site
accordingly
Questions?
Web Site Promotion
Getting Found on the Web
John J Toman
Director, UTIA Information Technology
[email protected]