Promoting Your Website
Introduction
“If you build it, they will come”
Introduction
• Must make your website known to the
world
• The best website is useless if no one
knows about it or visits it
• Website promotion can range from
simple and inexpensive to complex and
expensive
– Use what makes sense
What we’ll cover
• Generating website traffic using:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Search engines
Online directories
Banner ads
Media exposure
Professional associations
Other websites
Your product
Existing marketing tools
Search Engines
• Several popular search engines
– Google, AltaVista, Yahoo, Ask, Dogpile,
Lycos
• Register with search engines
– Search engine marketing firms
– Fee involved
• Getting registered doesn’t assure high
ranking in results
Search Engines
• How do search engines rank for results?
–
–
–
–
Frequency of keywords
Location of keywords
Linked pages
How often a page is clicked through to from
the results
• What can you do?
– Correctly choose and use keywords
– Meta tags
Search Engines
Meta tags
• Used by search engines to catalog
websites
• Three major classes
– Title
– Description
– Keyword
Meta tag Examples
• Example:
http://www.hollabaughbros.com/
• <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Hollabaugh
Bros.Fruit Farms & Market, Quality Fruits in Season, Retail,
Wholesale, Shipping, Tours, Gifts">
• <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="Hollabaugh, Fruit,
Orchards, Farm Market, apples, peaches, pears, asian pears,
nectarines, plums, apricots, pumpkins, vegetables, mail
order, tours, Adams County, Gettysburg">
Online Directories
• Get listed in local & regional online business
directories
• Often set up to promote local, regional, state,
or industry-specific businesses
– State tourism sites
• You must submit business information to
appear in the directory
• Directories do not use the same search
capabilities as search engines
– Typically organized by category, alphabetically,
location, etc.
Online Directories
Online Directories
Banner Advertisements
• Banners are graphic
• Usually appear near the top of other
websites
– Also appear vertically on right & left
sides
• Clicking on them takes the user to the
advertiser’s website
Banner Advertisements
• You can build banners yourself or hire it
to be done
• Four ways to get banners posted
– Arrange to display other Web sites' banner
ads in exchange for them displaying its ads.
– Pay publisher sites to post its banner.
– Pay an organization, usually a banner
network like to post the banner on a
number of publisher sites.
– Join an banner exchange program
Banner Advertisements
Banner Advertisements
Question…
Media can be used to promote your
business and your website. Can you
answer these questions?
• What media can be utilized?
• How can you generate media
exposure?
Media Exposure
• What media can be utilized?
–
–
–
–
–
Newspapers
Websites
Blogs
Radio
Magazines
• How can you generate media exposure?
– Contact reporters/editors, radio stations
– Create your own through sponsorships, etc.
Media Exposure
Professional Associations
How can you become know as part of a
professional association?
– Get listed in directories and handbooks
– Sponsor part of a meeting
– Have a booth at conferences
Other ways?
– Chamber of Commerce
Professional Associations
Professional Associations
Professional Associations
Other websites
• Getting listed on other sites can bring
exposure to your business & website
• Try getting links to your site listed on
other sites that you respect
• Choose sites that complement your
business
– Ex. You sell preserves → gift, holiday sites
• Join discussion groups
Your Product
• Use your product to promote your
website
• Reminder of where the product was
purchased
• Know where to go to purchase more
product
• Potential for more widespread
exposure
Your Product
Existing Marketing Tools
• How do you currently market your
product?
• Post your website on other marketing
tools
– Brochures, business cards, flyers
Section Wrap-Up
• Promoting your business website and
generating traffic requires effort
• The “If I build it, they will come”
philosophy does not apply
• Use varied and coordinated approaches
to website promotion
• Try to monitor how people are finding
out about your site