An Action Plan For Marketing Your Web Site (part 2)
By Joanne Glasspoole, Sat Dec 10th

ADD YOUR URL TO YOUR MARKETING MATERIALS

A couple of months ago, I met with a client who launched theirWeb site in 1999. They were discouraged because their site wasgenerating poor traffic. When I asked them if they had addedtheir URL to their stationery and marketing materials, theanswer was no. To me, this should be a no-brainer, but it's not.

Don't forget to add your URL to the following business andpromotional pieces:

- Answering machine/voice mail greeting - Office stationery(i.e., letterhead, envelopes, note cards, business cards,invoices, receipts, reorder forms, etc.) - Company marketingmaterials (i.e., brochures, leaflets, flyers, post cards, etc.)- Fax sheets - Phone book listings - Sales letters - Storefront- Web decals - Uniforms and hats - Christmas cards - E-mailsignature file - Promotional items (e.g., mouse pads, coffeemugs, t-shirts, pens and pencils, etc.)

STRATEGIC LINK CAMPAIGN

In my experience, the second most important online marketingstrategy (after search engine submissions) is establishing linkexchanges. A number of key search engines--Google being one ofthem--rank sites according to the number of high-quality linkspointing to it. For this reason, links are becoming increasinglyimportant.

Establishing reciprocal link partnerships with other Web siteowners is time-consuming but worth it. There are tools toautomate the process of finding and requesting links, but Istrongly advise against using them, because the links pagesoften look generic, unprofessional and identical to all theothers generated by the same software--so much for originality!Plus, I've read that some search engines ignoreautomatically-generated links pages.

So, how do you find Web sites to swap links with? One techniqueis to visit your favorite search engine and type "add URL" plusyour keyword phrase in the search box. Go ahead--try it! Beforeyou know it, you'll have thousands of linking prospects. Bepicky with whom you choose to link, though. Remember--one highquality link weighs more heavily than dozens of poor qualityones.

In my opinion, a good links page will add value to your Website. It also provides content. There are some people who willargue that providing links to other sites is directing yourhard-earned traffic elsewhere. Although this is true, do youreally think people are never going to leave? Of course theywill. And if they leave your site to visit another site that yourecommend, that is certain to leave a positive impression onthem. I truly believe a good links page will bring traffic backto your site.

If your goal is to rank well in the search engines, I recommendthat you put establishing linking partnerships high on yourmarketing to do list.

For more information, visit:

Links4Trade http://www.links4trade.com/

LinkMe http://www.linkme.com/

LinksManager.com http://www.linksmanager.com/

CLASSIFIED ADS

Although you can advertise in some media for free, my experienceis that it's best to target your ads to the audience you hope toattract. If you're selling horse shoes, for example, promotingyour wares to people who do not own horses is not a good use ofyour time or money.

Online Classifieds--In the early days of the Internet,classified sites were very popular. I don't know how popularthey are today, but they still exist. Although you might notsell a lot on classified sites, it doesn't hurt to usethem--especially if they're free.

I've used Yahoo! Classifieds in the past and was impressed withtheir services. When you post an ad there, it will be posted for21 days, at which time Yahoo! will send you an e-mail askingwhether you want to renew or delete your ad. Yahoo! also offersan online payment option called Yahoo! PayDirect, which allowsyou to send or receive money online.

For more information, visit:

Classifieds For Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/

Yahoo! Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/

E-Zines Ads--E-zines are another excellent media for advertisingyour products and/or services. Advertising in E-zines isrelatively inexpensive. The hard part is locating publicationsto advertise in. Some E-zines have huge, targeted readerships,and obviously, those are the ones you want to be in.

For more information, visit:

The Ezine Ad Auction http://www.ezineadauction.com/

In addition to fee-based E-zine ads, there are others that willpublish your ad for free. For more information, download thefree e-book:

The Ebook of Free Ezine Adshttp://www.freezinesite.com/ezdir/freeads.html

Newspaper Ads--Buying ad space in newspapers is more expensivethan e-zine ads, but on the plus side, some newspapers also postclassifieds on their Web site, so you get two for the price ofone. If your business is located in a neighborhood thatpublishes a weekly newspaper, you may find their ad space veryaffordable--it's also a highly targeted audience.

BANNER ADVERTISING

The click-through rate on banner ads is low, so you will need toweigh the pros and cons before going this route. On the plusside, Web sites that rely on advertisers to stay alive arebegging for people to buy ad space. You can probably get it fora bargain--as compared to a couple of year's ago.

If, on the other hand, you're more interested in branding yoursite versus attracting qualified prospects, you may want toconsider a banner exchange. The plus side is it's free. Thenegative is that you have no control over the types of bannersdisplayed on your site. In addition, you will probably noticeadded download time to your Web page.

For more information, visit:

bCentral

Banner Network,http://www.bcentral.com/services/bn/default.asp

WEB RINGS

Depending on your market, a Web ring might be an excellenttraffic generator. The one negative, in my opinion, is the"ugly" ring code you will need to include on your Web page. Ifyou can live with this, I think Web rings are a good way toattract traffic from related sites.

For more information, visit:

WebRing http://dir.webring.yahoo.com/rw

NEWS MEDIA

Press Releases--If you have something to say that is newsworthy,you may want to consider promoting your news with a pressrelease. Dr. Kevin Nunley, http://www.drnunley.com/release.htm,provides a service where he will write your press release andsubmit it to 5,000 radio, TV, talk shows, news programs, dailyand weekly newspapers, syndication services, and e-zines forunder $300.

Radio Interviews--If you are a specialist in your field, why notcall your local radio stations and give them your name as anexpert. The radio is a particularly good forum for socialworkers, psychologists, politicians, professors, financialanalysts, nonprofit organizations, etc.

The following options--as compared to the ones above--are moreexpensive, but if your company has the money to spend onmarketing, they are highly effective methods for branding. Evencompanies like Coca Cola, General Motors and IBM--all householdnames--spend millions of dollars a year on advertising.

- Radio ads - Print ads - Television ads

PERMISSION MARKETING

If you haven't already done so, you need to start an opt-ine-mail campaign. This is an excellent way to get the names ande-mail addresses of highly qualified prospects and leads.Furthermore, these people are giving you permission to contactthem, so they want to hear from you. E-mail is a highlyeffective way to communicate--it's fast and it's cheap. Usee-mail to send your clients and prospects your newsletter;friendly reminder notices; information about upcoming sales andpromotions, etc.

Managing a mail list is easy with automated listserve software.I use Majordomo and love it. Once I started using Majordomo tomanage my e-mail lists, I noticed an increase in subscriptions.Majordomo makes it easy for people to subscribe/unsubscribe andmakes my job easy, because it automates the management of mye-mail lists.

There are free services that do the same thing as Majordomo, butone word of caution: I used to use Listbot until a few monthsago when they went from free to fee-based. I think it's only amatter of time before the other free services follow Listbot'slead, so be careful, because it can be a pain to transfer yourlist once it's been established.

For more information, visit:

Majordomo http://www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/

Yahoo! Groups http://groups.yahoo.com/

Topica http://www.topica.com/

If you're new to E-zine publishing, request my article,"Publishing Your First E-Mail Newsletter,"mailto:firstnewsletter@sendfree.com

SHARE INFORMATION

Sharing information with your clients, peers, and prospects isan excellent way to build relationships and credibility.

Articles--One of my articles was recently featured in WebProNews, and I was astounded by theexposure. In two days, I had more than 100 new subscribers to mynewsletter, 20 qualified leads and more than 1,800 visitors tomy Web site. Those numbers prove the power of words!

There are a number of excellent Web sites and E-zines that willhelp you promote your articles to publishers looking for freshcontent.

For more information, visit:

Article Announce http://www.egroups.com/group/article_announce

Ideamarketers http://www.ideamarketers.com/

MakingProfit.com http://www.makingprofit.com/

White Papers--Promote white papers and other special reports onyour Web site to encourage visitors to provide their e-mailaddress (this ties in to your opt-in e-mail campaign).

News Groups--News groups are great because you learn from theexpertise of others. They also provide an opportunity for you toshare your knowledge and expertise. I have noticed an increasein traffic when I participate in online forums.

For a huge directory of Usenet groups, visit:

Google Groups (formerly Deja.com) http://groups.google.com/

If you are a Webmaster, I highly recommend:

SitePoint Community Forums http://www.sitepointforums.com/

Mail Lists--Similar to news groups, mail list messages aredelivered directly to your in-box. Since some groups are prettyactive, I highly recommend subscribing to the digest version (ifpossible).

Here are two mail lists that I have found invaluable:

Adventive http://www.adventive.com/

Linkexchange Digest http://digest.bcentral.com/

Speaking Engagements--Offer to speak for free at conferences,meetings, or seminars. If you distribute handouts, be sure toadd your URL.

NETWORKING

As in traditional business, your online business will benefitfrom networking. Some excellent venues to network include:

- Trade shows - Chamber of Commerce and other commerce-relatedorganizations - Membership associations

As you can see, promoting a Web site is hard work. The myth"build it and they will come" is not true anymore. If you buildit and then promote it, you will see your traffic steadilyincrease and that's good for business.

About the author:Copyright (c) 2001 by Joanne Glasspoole. Joanne Glasspoole isthe editor/publisher of CYBER QUEST. Each issue is jam packedwith original reports, news briefs, cool Webmaster tools, andmore. To subscribe, send email to mailto:Majordomo@lists.kdv.comwith "subscribe cyberquest" in the body of your message. VisitJoanne's web site at http://www.glasspoole.com