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| How to Make Your Site Successful |
You are here: Help Topics > How to Make Your Site Successful
Naturally, you want your website to work for your business by attracting new customers and informing them about your products and services. But first, they must find it.
Note: this page contains links to several relevant pages in the website2Go User Guide, where many operations are discussed in more detail.
Help customers find your site
Aside from seeing your site's URL (web address) in your other advertising (see below), potential customers will use Internet search engines, such as Alta Vista and Excite, to find suppliers for their needs. After typing keywords into a search engine's web page, they will see a list of vendor websites that match their inquiry. You want your page to be on that list, preferably near the top. Here's how:
- Each search engine uses a slightly different approach to indexing websites, but all of them count heavily on your meta data: the keywords and description you provide by clicking on the Edit Metadata button at the bottom of the Navigation Bar on your Home page.
- Remember, keywords are what you think a user will type into a search engine to find your business. This is not necessarily the same as an accurate description of your website! Be creative, and put yourself in their place.
- In most search engines, your site's nearness to the top of the list is determined by how many search terms matched your keywords, and how close those keywords were to the top of your list. Put the most important ones first.
- Don't be tempted to repeat the same keywords over and over, in hopes of higher rankings. The search engines know about that trick, and may not list you at all if they catch you trying it.
- The short description you enter on the Metadata page is what many search engines will display when they present your site in the list of matches to the user's query.
- Make sure you've entered your own contact information in the Site Data page, including the name of your site and your email address.
- You can't use the Search Engines feature until your domain name has been fully registered and propagated throughout the Internet. If you can access your own site by using your domain name, it's ready to submit.
- Use the Search Engines page of your Site Manager to submit your site for indexing by most of the top search engines.
- Yahoo, Netscape, and AOL also have important search capabilities. However, these directories are organized hierarchically into subject categories, which do not lend themselves to automated submission by website2Go on your behalf. You should visit these directories, find the appropriate category for your business, and submit your site manually using their procedures. Look for an "Add site" or "Add URL" link on the category page where you want your site to appear.
- Please realize that while website2Go makes the submission task much simpler, we have no control over how long each search engine takes to add your site to their index. Some will add it immediately, some will take several weeks, and some may take months. We check every day for new appearances of our subscribers' sites in search engines, and will email you automatically when these occur.
Coordinate with your other advertising
At the least, your site should be part of your overall advertising and marketing strategy, and should be coordinated with your Yellow Pages ads, print ads, business cards and letterhead, catalogs, newsletters, etc.
- Show your URL any place you now display your telephone number.
- Use your website to reinforce your advertising message and build brand recognition.
Generate qualified leads
Some businessmen consider a website a complete success if it delivers sales leads they would not otherwise have gotten. You already know how much a qualified lead is worth - these are people who took the trouble to find YOU, and they are ready to buy. How many "out-of-the-blue" sales per month will it take to pay for the cost of your site? Probably not many. But there's more...
Maximize the impact of your site's content
Your site also offers the opportunity to provide a much greater depth of information about your company and its offerings than is possible in a Yellow Pages ad or radio commercial, or even a catalog.
- Use this advantage to convince your potential customers that your company is their best choice, by providing complete product descriptions, photos, specifications, warranty information, and other details that they need to make the final purchasing decision.
- Our templates include useful consumer information that we hope your customers will want to bookmark, to return again and again for answers to their questions. You can and should add in-depth information specific to your business. Every time a potential customer sees your logo, your company's message is reinforced.
- Your site can also be used to support your sales staff. They might refer customers and prospects to your site for in-depth product information, printable coupons for seasonal specials, or online operating or maintenance documentation. Some sales reps carry a laptop computer on calls, and use the customer's phone line to bring up the website - on the customer's desk - instead of showing a printed catalog. Of course, if they use the customer's own computer, they'll want to add your site to his bookmark or favorites list.
Keep them coming back for more
In addition to attracting new prospects, you'll want your existing customers to revisit your site regularly. Repeated exposure to your product line helps, but consider using one or more of these ideas to make them bookmark your site and check back periodically for new content:
- Write a series of articles on consumer issues in your industry, with fresh information every week or month.
- Tell people how to get the most from your products, a different one each month.
- Offer discount coupons that can be printed right from the customer's browser window.
- Announce special deals for Internet customers, not available to the general public. These can be extra discounts, free items when they bring a printout of your site to your store, or advance notice of upcoming sales.
- Seasonal specials. (Tip: use the Show/Hide button to toggle the visibility of page elements without having to delete and re-enter them again.)
- If you're not selling banner space on your pages, use the Add Banner button to place your own banners at the top and/or bottom of your pages. Use them to promote your own special products and events.
Other promotion opportunities
The Web Publisher's Advertising Guide is an interesting (and massive) introduction to Internet-based promotion.
Please note: website2Go does not endorse or recommend any third-party affiliate or banner advertising program, and offers the following for informational purposes only.
- Affiliate Programs. Pay owners of other websites to refer prospects to your site. Options generally include payment for a web surfer clicking on your ad banner (pay per click), for filling out a form on your site (per per lead), or for actually buying something (pay per sale). See Refer-It.com for descriptions and links to a number of leading affiliate programs.
- Banner Advertising. Covered well in The Web Publisher's Advertising Guide
- Opt-in Email. See this Yahoo category for providers of targeted email promotion to users who have given permission to receive such information.
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