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

• <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">

Example: http://www.hollabaughbros.com/

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

Source: http://agmap.psu.edu

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 ad. – 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

Source: Centre Daily Times, 10/5/06

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