Monday, March 10, 2008
Website Traffic Is Not The Key To Success
By: Mike Burke
Website traffic is deemed the single most important factor when it comes to the success of a website but that statement needs to be qualified. Although it's true that a constant stream of traffic is the lifeblood of a website, the quality of the traffic is far more important than the quantity.Of course, any amount of website traffic is better than no traffic at all but even if you have the most perfect website, your site is doomed to fail if you are not getting visitors that are looking for the products or information you have available on your site.It's easy to get caught up in a numbers game. It's exciting to see the number of visitors to your site climb from a few a day to a few hundred a day. On the surface, this looks like exactly what you want but if your visitors are looking for something other than what you are offering, for the most part, your website traffic is wasted.You could have a great website design, compelling copy, the lowest prices and fantastic specials but all your efforts will be useless unless your website is drawing traffic that is interested in what you are providing or promoting. What you need are visitors specifically interested in your product or service -- you need 'targeted traffic'.Don't think of targeted traffic as a sub-category of website traffic because they really are two separate entities. If you're marketing plan is designed to drive as much website traffic as possible to your site, no matter what kind of traffic it is, then you're not making effective use of your time and you're setting yourself up for disappointment.The web is a very different venue than a shopping mall. A shopping mall relies on unfocused traffic, wondering from store to store, not looking for anything in particular but willing to spend it's money on an impulse.Believe it or not, people surfing the web will leave a website after viewing it for only about 2 seconds. They're looking for specific items or information and if they don't quickly find what they are looking for on your site, they'll click out of your site and go to one of the other millions of sites on the web.That's why most of the successful websites are tightly focused on their 'niche' and their marketing plan is focused on driving people to their site that are looking for what they offer - they understand the importance of 'targeted traffic'.Of course, targeted traffic and a website focused on a particular 'niche' go hand and hand. Think about your website. Does it really lend itself to a specific product or service, or is it so broad that it tends to confuse potential customers?Here are a few tips to help you prepare your website for targeted traffic:Design your website to promote one particular product or service as your main item.Determine the type of people that will be interested in your product or service and adjust your website to be attractive to them.Establish the items or services that are 'closely' related to what you're promoting on your website. If you think that they would be interesting to your visitors, offer those items on your website as well.Keep a constant flow of free content, that your visitors will find useful, on your website and add new content and information often. Invite your visitors back to your site to see the new material you're constantly adding.Keep in mind, a website that's focused on a particular 'niche' item or service lends itself to targeted traffic simply because there is something specific to target and the more targeted traffic your site receives, the more productive your site will be. There are many conventional and many not so conventional ways to drive targeted traffic to your website but we'll explore them in other articles.The purpose of this article is to point out the difference between website traffic and targeted traffic. More isn't always better and if you focus your marketing on 'targeted traffic' you'll quickly find that the hits your getting on your website aren't just empty numbers - they'll be potential customers and, more importantly, sales.
Website traffic is deemed the single most important factor when it comes to the success of a website but that statement needs to be qualified. Although it's true that a constant stream of traffic is the lifeblood of a website, the quality of the traffic is far more important than the quantity.Of course, any amount of website traffic is better than no traffic at all but even if you have the most perfect website, your site is doomed to fail if you are not getting visitors that are looking for the products or information you have available on your site.It's easy to get caught up in a numbers game. It's exciting to see the number of visitors to your site climb from a few a day to a few hundred a day. On the surface, this looks like exactly what you want but if your visitors are looking for something other than what you are offering, for the most part, your website traffic is wasted.You could have a great website design, compelling copy, the lowest prices and fantastic specials but all your efforts will be useless unless your website is drawing traffic that is interested in what you are providing or promoting. What you need are visitors specifically interested in your product or service -- you need 'targeted traffic'.Don't think of targeted traffic as a sub-category of website traffic because they really are two separate entities. If you're marketing plan is designed to drive as much website traffic as possible to your site, no matter what kind of traffic it is, then you're not making effective use of your time and you're setting yourself up for disappointment.The web is a very different venue than a shopping mall. A shopping mall relies on unfocused traffic, wondering from store to store, not looking for anything in particular but willing to spend it's money on an impulse.Believe it or not, people surfing the web will leave a website after viewing it for only about 2 seconds. They're looking for specific items or information and if they don't quickly find what they are looking for on your site, they'll click out of your site and go to one of the other millions of sites on the web.That's why most of the successful websites are tightly focused on their 'niche' and their marketing plan is focused on driving people to their site that are looking for what they offer - they understand the importance of 'targeted traffic'.Of course, targeted traffic and a website focused on a particular 'niche' go hand and hand. Think about your website. Does it really lend itself to a specific product or service, or is it so broad that it tends to confuse potential customers?Here are a few tips to help you prepare your website for targeted traffic:Design your website to promote one particular product or service as your main item.Determine the type of people that will be interested in your product or service and adjust your website to be attractive to them.Establish the items or services that are 'closely' related to what you're promoting on your website. If you think that they would be interesting to your visitors, offer those items on your website as well.Keep a constant flow of free content, that your visitors will find useful, on your website and add new content and information often. Invite your visitors back to your site to see the new material you're constantly adding.Keep in mind, a website that's focused on a particular 'niche' item or service lends itself to targeted traffic simply because there is something specific to target and the more targeted traffic your site receives, the more productive your site will be. There are many conventional and many not so conventional ways to drive targeted traffic to your website but we'll explore them in other articles.The purpose of this article is to point out the difference between website traffic and targeted traffic. More isn't always better and if you focus your marketing on 'targeted traffic' you'll quickly find that the hits your getting on your website aren't just empty numbers - they'll be potential customers and, more importantly, sales.
So You Have A Website Now What?
By: Jessica VanderHaar
You start with a great idea or product that you want to market. You have done the research and built the website but how do you drive people to your site? The internet can be a field of dreams; however, due to its sheer size even if you build it, they may not come.
If you have unlimited funds, you can definitely pay to get your website submitted to multiple search engines quickly. If you want to submit your website to search engines for free, it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks for the search engine to finally add you to their results. But you want traffic now. There are a lot of submission programs being advertised on the internet. Some are legitimate programs and some will take your money and not deliver. It is hard to know who to trust. Here are some ideas to help assist you on the road to success. 1. Promote your website yourself. This sounds like a very broad statement and just where do you start? Get creative. There are many avenues that you can take to advertise your product and/or website. a. Add your website information to your signature line in your email account. Every time you send an email, you are also advertising your website. b. Print up flyers about your product / website and post them around your community. c. Take out classified ads in your local papers. Many of these you can do online and can do so rather cheaply. d. There are multiple free classified sites that you can submit to. You may not get a large number of clicks through free classifieds but the goal is to get your information circulating. e. Another good avenue I have found to drive traffic to your website without having to pay out large advertising dollars is by using Instant Buzz. Instant Buzz is the easiest way to drive targeted traffic to your website just by doing what you do anyway; surfing the web. You can install Instant Buzz in seconds, never do anything different ever again, and you'll still earn traffic every time you surf. It is free to use so you don't really have anything to lose and everything to gain. For more information you can visit http://www.InstantBuzz.com/r/?jpvh28 2. Pay-Per-Click This form of advertising can get pricey pretty quickly but by using Google Adwords and Yahoo, you can set your own daily spending limit to ensure you don't go over budget. Both sites have keyword help to assist you in creating the keywords for your ads. A small word of advice, start small when using Pay-Per-Click. Allow yourself the opportunity to get the hang of it. If you choose keywords with low click price, you can receive more clicks before you reach your limit. There are a lot of great resources out there to learn about using Pay-Per-Clicks. I have come across an eBook that has changed my way of thinking when it comes to Internet Marketing. It is called "Dotcomology. The Science of Making Money Online". This book contains information on how to use Pay-Per-Click search engines properly to drive traffic to your site; How to profit using Google Adwords; How to make your website attractive, engaging and interactive. This book has so many resources and insights, I am unable to list them all within this article. The best part of this eBook is that it is free. No gimmicks, no hype. Just a free resource for you to use.
You start with a great idea or product that you want to market. You have done the research and built the website but how do you drive people to your site? The internet can be a field of dreams; however, due to its sheer size even if you build it, they may not come.
If you have unlimited funds, you can definitely pay to get your website submitted to multiple search engines quickly. If you want to submit your website to search engines for free, it can take anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks for the search engine to finally add you to their results. But you want traffic now. There are a lot of submission programs being advertised on the internet. Some are legitimate programs and some will take your money and not deliver. It is hard to know who to trust. Here are some ideas to help assist you on the road to success. 1. Promote your website yourself. This sounds like a very broad statement and just where do you start? Get creative. There are many avenues that you can take to advertise your product and/or website. a. Add your website information to your signature line in your email account. Every time you send an email, you are also advertising your website. b. Print up flyers about your product / website and post them around your community. c. Take out classified ads in your local papers. Many of these you can do online and can do so rather cheaply. d. There are multiple free classified sites that you can submit to. You may not get a large number of clicks through free classifieds but the goal is to get your information circulating. e. Another good avenue I have found to drive traffic to your website without having to pay out large advertising dollars is by using Instant Buzz. Instant Buzz is the easiest way to drive targeted traffic to your website just by doing what you do anyway; surfing the web. You can install Instant Buzz in seconds, never do anything different ever again, and you'll still earn traffic every time you surf. It is free to use so you don't really have anything to lose and everything to gain. For more information you can visit http://www.InstantBuzz.com/r/?jpvh28 2. Pay-Per-Click This form of advertising can get pricey pretty quickly but by using Google Adwords and Yahoo, you can set your own daily spending limit to ensure you don't go over budget. Both sites have keyword help to assist you in creating the keywords for your ads. A small word of advice, start small when using Pay-Per-Click. Allow yourself the opportunity to get the hang of it. If you choose keywords with low click price, you can receive more clicks before you reach your limit. There are a lot of great resources out there to learn about using Pay-Per-Clicks. I have come across an eBook that has changed my way of thinking when it comes to Internet Marketing. It is called "Dotcomology. The Science of Making Money Online". This book contains information on how to use Pay-Per-Click search engines properly to drive traffic to your site; How to profit using Google Adwords; How to make your website attractive, engaging and interactive. This book has so many resources and insights, I am unable to list them all within this article. The best part of this eBook is that it is free. No gimmicks, no hype. Just a free resource for you to use.
Is automated traffic something to consider?
By: Greger Klen
Automated traffic - What's it about?There are many, different services that offer some sort of traffic exchange. Some require you to click, and browse other people's web pages. As this is a requirement for everyone, your site will be seen by everyone using the same system. Other programs - known as autosurfs - are based on the same idea, but instead of clicking links, the script does it for you. The good thing about it is; you do not have to browse, or even watch a single page to earn "page views". The downside is quite obvious; there is no guarantee your site will actually be seen, you are only getting automated page views. Another way of exchanging traffic with other websites is thru, so called toplists. You simply send visitors to a toplist - the more you send, the higher your link will be placed - getting you more visitors back.Yet another popular method is banner exchanges, borderline automated. Often it IS script based, with methods of earning credits much the same as traffic exchanges and autosurfs. But the big difference is in the quality of traffic received. Another big advantage is the free exposure you - and your trademark - will get from having your banner seen all over the web. It is no coincidence large companies spend top dollar on making their trademark(s) well known.Is this traffic of any use?Well, it might be. Depending on what your site is about, you can gain much from these programs. Advertising a product appealing to webmasters and site owners, will make it easier to attract new customers, since they are the only ones using these traffic programs.If you have a site completely unrelated to the webmaster community, you might advertise your affiliate program, if you have one. For those of you not running an affiliate program, and with no products appealing to webmasters, it's time to get creative.If you use these "tools" to your advantage, it is possible to extract quality visitors - all though not in the same quantity - instead of merely site views and loss of bandwidth. Read more about converting hits into visitors at El TrafficoAre there any hazards?Many contextual advertisers do not approve of automated traffic, some will even terminate your account if you repeatedly send automated traffic to pages with contextual advertising code on it. If you drive a lot of traffic to your site, see to it you only send it to pages without these ads. This is extremely important if you are getting paid per impression. No one wants to pay you for automated impressions.Try to spread the traffic out a bit, not allocating all visitors at the same time. It can, and will be a huge amount of page views if you are using autosurfs to directly send traffic to your site. This can slow the site down if you point them to a "heavy page".
Automated traffic - What's it about?There are many, different services that offer some sort of traffic exchange. Some require you to click, and browse other people's web pages. As this is a requirement for everyone, your site will be seen by everyone using the same system. Other programs - known as autosurfs - are based on the same idea, but instead of clicking links, the script does it for you. The good thing about it is; you do not have to browse, or even watch a single page to earn "page views". The downside is quite obvious; there is no guarantee your site will actually be seen, you are only getting automated page views. Another way of exchanging traffic with other websites is thru, so called toplists. You simply send visitors to a toplist - the more you send, the higher your link will be placed - getting you more visitors back.Yet another popular method is banner exchanges, borderline automated. Often it IS script based, with methods of earning credits much the same as traffic exchanges and autosurfs. But the big difference is in the quality of traffic received. Another big advantage is the free exposure you - and your trademark - will get from having your banner seen all over the web. It is no coincidence large companies spend top dollar on making their trademark(s) well known.Is this traffic of any use?Well, it might be. Depending on what your site is about, you can gain much from these programs. Advertising a product appealing to webmasters and site owners, will make it easier to attract new customers, since they are the only ones using these traffic programs.If you have a site completely unrelated to the webmaster community, you might advertise your affiliate program, if you have one. For those of you not running an affiliate program, and with no products appealing to webmasters, it's time to get creative.If you use these "tools" to your advantage, it is possible to extract quality visitors - all though not in the same quantity - instead of merely site views and loss of bandwidth. Read more about converting hits into visitors at El TrafficoAre there any hazards?Many contextual advertisers do not approve of automated traffic, some will even terminate your account if you repeatedly send automated traffic to pages with contextual advertising code on it. If you drive a lot of traffic to your site, see to it you only send it to pages without these ads. This is extremely important if you are getting paid per impression. No one wants to pay you for automated impressions.Try to spread the traffic out a bit, not allocating all visitors at the same time. It can, and will be a huge amount of page views if you are using autosurfs to directly send traffic to your site. This can slow the site down if you point them to a "heavy page".
Google Marches On!
By: Roger Bauer
October 19, 2006-Wow!!! First Google reports another blowout quarter. Earlier the same day, Nielsen publishes search results for September 2006, and Google put the hammer to the competition there also. They garnered 50% search share which equates to 24% growth year over year (YOY). Talk about impressive numbers-the Google train obviously isn't slowing!How does this impact the major search game? Does this sound the warning siren to Microsoft that maybe they ought to reconsider buying out Yahoo? It makes perfect sense given the fact that Microsoft's search results continue to fall (-12% YOY to a 9.23% share), and Yahoo isn't keeping Google within an eyeshot either although they still maintain a nice share of the search market (23.4%; up 12% YOY). The two of them combined would give Google a little competition, and we, the consumer, would benefit from greater services and advancements in software along with online options as the companies battle it out in the marketplace. If not, Google is going to run off and hide. Perhaps Yahoo (with a lot of cash to spare) will buy some smaller niche companies to make themselves even more attractive to Microsoft, but I don't believe Microsoft will sit by idly while Yahoo postulates what to do next. It's Microsoft's move to make, and the time to act is now; not a year from now when their collective search share is even lower. Google is a formidable threat to Microsoft, and they aren't going to take a breather just because they've hung up yet another blow out quarter financially and in search. Yahoo has shown they can't keep pace on their own so they're going to need some help if they have any intention of ever catching Google. Google smells blood, and that signals the time to push harder; not back away. YouTube is likely just the beginning of an intriguing acquisition spree for the gang in Mountain View. Microsoft would be wise to snatch up Yahoo right now after Yahoo posted a rather blah quarter earlier in the week which will shrink their market capitalization a little where Mr. Softy could acquire Yahoo at a "discount." They didn't like the idea of buying Yahoo at $29/share a couple months ago, but they should probably like it at $25. Yahoo isn't "dead." It's not like they're stinking up the joint (they are still growing albeit much slower), and they do understand the search game which Microsoft hasn't quite yet figured out. It seems to make a logical marriage at this stage of the game. Bottom line: this is shaping up rather nicely as a good ole fashion duel that may take some time to determine the ultimate winner, but we'll be anxiously monitoring the three "big dogs" as they ponder their next move in this high stakes search engine chess match. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.
October 19, 2006-Wow!!! First Google reports another blowout quarter. Earlier the same day, Nielsen publishes search results for September 2006, and Google put the hammer to the competition there also. They garnered 50% search share which equates to 24% growth year over year (YOY). Talk about impressive numbers-the Google train obviously isn't slowing!How does this impact the major search game? Does this sound the warning siren to Microsoft that maybe they ought to reconsider buying out Yahoo? It makes perfect sense given the fact that Microsoft's search results continue to fall (-12% YOY to a 9.23% share), and Yahoo isn't keeping Google within an eyeshot either although they still maintain a nice share of the search market (23.4%; up 12% YOY). The two of them combined would give Google a little competition, and we, the consumer, would benefit from greater services and advancements in software along with online options as the companies battle it out in the marketplace. If not, Google is going to run off and hide. Perhaps Yahoo (with a lot of cash to spare) will buy some smaller niche companies to make themselves even more attractive to Microsoft, but I don't believe Microsoft will sit by idly while Yahoo postulates what to do next. It's Microsoft's move to make, and the time to act is now; not a year from now when their collective search share is even lower. Google is a formidable threat to Microsoft, and they aren't going to take a breather just because they've hung up yet another blow out quarter financially and in search. Yahoo has shown they can't keep pace on their own so they're going to need some help if they have any intention of ever catching Google. Google smells blood, and that signals the time to push harder; not back away. YouTube is likely just the beginning of an intriguing acquisition spree for the gang in Mountain View. Microsoft would be wise to snatch up Yahoo right now after Yahoo posted a rather blah quarter earlier in the week which will shrink their market capitalization a little where Mr. Softy could acquire Yahoo at a "discount." They didn't like the idea of buying Yahoo at $29/share a couple months ago, but they should probably like it at $25. Yahoo isn't "dead." It's not like they're stinking up the joint (they are still growing albeit much slower), and they do understand the search game which Microsoft hasn't quite yet figured out. It seems to make a logical marriage at this stage of the game. Bottom line: this is shaping up rather nicely as a good ole fashion duel that may take some time to determine the ultimate winner, but we'll be anxiously monitoring the three "big dogs" as they ponder their next move in this high stakes search engine chess match. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.
Top Ten FREE Traction Building Ideas for a New Web Site
By: Andrew D. Ive
The dot com era proved that just building it isn't enough. The chicken and the egg issue exists -you need customers to get customers... and attempting to launch a web site, is that issue on steroids. So, how to get traction? Here are Ten FREE Traction building Ideas we are trying:1) Email Your Friends:Find everyone you know that relates to your target market and introduce them to your website via email... as you know them, leverage every piece of emotional capital you have with them to encourage them to take a look at your new site and join.2) Ask Your Friends to Refer Others:If you send an email to people who are your target market, clearly articulate why it is valuable to 'THEM' (not just you) to join your site... and then ask and make it easy for them to refer people they know. Here's an example of an email I wrote that asks for a referral -"Please forward to anyone that may be interested... entrepreneurs, advisors, people with Blogs, press contacts etc! Even forwarding to four or five contacts will make a big difference for us! Happy New Year and thanks!++ I've just discovered a new web service bringing potential business advisors together with entrepreneurs and early stage businesses. For Advisors - It's a great way to discover new deal flow and get involved in a hot new company. For Entrepreneurs - a great way to take your business to the next level in 2007!The site is called Advisor Garage - http://www.AdvisorGarage.com and was recently featured in Business Week!Please sign up and forward this email to great advisors and entrepreneurs.++After three or four weeks of steps 1 & 2 we found that we had begun to get a few people onboard... So now what?3) Write a Press Release and get it OUT there... I can almost hear a few folks swallowing and already considering looking for the next blog... it really isn't that tough and it isn't expensive. In fact, its FREE! Don't believe me? Consider signing up to PR Leap (http://www.prleap.com/learn_more). Not only do they have some good articles which explain for dummies (like me!) how to write a press release but they also offer a free submission service to multiple channels such as Google News, Google Search, Yahoo! Search, Topix.net, Technorati, MSN, Ask News, Moreover, NewsNow and others. According to their website - PR Leap is the best way to send your news release(s) to all major search engines, newswires, and websites. And basic accounts are free! So what happened with us? Well we signed up, created a one page press release (took about 30 minutes), submitted it and it was approved earlier today. It will appear tomorrow. If you are interested, the link to the press release is: http://www.prleap.com/pr/61185/ The basic plan (read... Free) comes with stats, so I'll let you know in a few days if the press release was actually read by anyone and if it was picked up by any sites, bloggers, press etc. Let's see how good PR Leap and our press release writing skills are!4) A Personalized Toolbar:A great startup called Conduit (http://www.Conduit.com) offers people the opportunity to create their own, personalized toolbar for FREE. Conduit has a wizard embedded within their website which takes you through the setup process step-by-step. It took about twenty minutes and once you're done, they create a link to your toolbar download site which you can then share through an email signature or through a click through download on your new networking site. There are a number of cool ways to tailor the toolbar... your branded search, create links to particular pages on your own site, add weather, a radio and so on to make sure its a value download for your customers.5) Design Your Site with the Customer In Mind and Make Inviting Others EasyIf, like us, your marketing budget is measured by the quarters rattling around in your pocket, then do your site a favor and design it so the 'Invite Others' button is never far away. No matter what page the users happen to be on. Bold it, make it big, underline it if you have to but referrals from happy customers are always easier to get than attracting new customers. 6) Friends & Contacts Revisisted:Do any of your friends know anyone in the press or people who have blogs ? Well you won't know until you ask... ASK! 7) Join Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com)If you haven't already, consider joining linked in. Yes, its another networking site, and you could consider them the compeitition (In your dreams!)... but after joining you can search through the directory and find people that may either a) be interested in joining your site or b) encouraging others to do so. If you aren't a member already, take a look8) Groups & Forums:Are there Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com) or Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) or other online forums that include the types of people you want to attract to your new networking site? If so, join them but beware... most groups want members to contribute to the discussions and no groups appreciate spam. So find the best forums for your target customers, join and spend some time getting to know what subjects are being discussed. Give it a week or two then jump in and add some value... and make sure that your post includes your email and perhaps the web address. If it is valuable, then members may check out your new site... One last thing, if there aren't any good groups with your target customers... consider creating your own... and make it it feeds your new networking site. Here's one I started and yes... I know it only has a few members... but its more links in the internet for your website which appears in your google or Alexa results: http://groups.google.com/group/Harvard_Entrepreneurs_Startups?lnk=oa&hl=en 9) Write to your Existing Members:Do you have a few members? If so, email them occassionally (Not every day!) and remind them of the value of your site... perhaps highlight a particularly useful tool or feature of your website. Maybe reach out to some of the individual members and ask them if you can write about them joining the site, a person feature if you will. At the bottom of each of these emails... give them a few sentences (above for example) to send on to others they know. Stress how much you would appreciate their help and how important they are to you and your young business.10) Drum roll... .badda badda badda... .Create a Blog!Here's hoping that a blog is the tenth and most valuable means of getting the message out there about a new networking site. (Wordpress.com is FREE) Good Luck!
The dot com era proved that just building it isn't enough. The chicken and the egg issue exists -you need customers to get customers... and attempting to launch a web site, is that issue on steroids. So, how to get traction? Here are Ten FREE Traction building Ideas we are trying:1) Email Your Friends:Find everyone you know that relates to your target market and introduce them to your website via email... as you know them, leverage every piece of emotional capital you have with them to encourage them to take a look at your new site and join.2) Ask Your Friends to Refer Others:If you send an email to people who are your target market, clearly articulate why it is valuable to 'THEM' (not just you) to join your site... and then ask and make it easy for them to refer people they know. Here's an example of an email I wrote that asks for a referral -"Please forward to anyone that may be interested... entrepreneurs, advisors, people with Blogs, press contacts etc! Even forwarding to four or five contacts will make a big difference for us! Happy New Year and thanks!++ I've just discovered a new web service bringing potential business advisors together with entrepreneurs and early stage businesses. For Advisors - It's a great way to discover new deal flow and get involved in a hot new company. For Entrepreneurs - a great way to take your business to the next level in 2007!The site is called Advisor Garage - http://www.AdvisorGarage.com and was recently featured in Business Week!Please sign up and forward this email to great advisors and entrepreneurs.++After three or four weeks of steps 1 & 2 we found that we had begun to get a few people onboard... So now what?3) Write a Press Release and get it OUT there... I can almost hear a few folks swallowing and already considering looking for the next blog... it really isn't that tough and it isn't expensive. In fact, its FREE! Don't believe me? Consider signing up to PR Leap (http://www.prleap.com/learn_more). Not only do they have some good articles which explain for dummies (like me!) how to write a press release but they also offer a free submission service to multiple channels such as Google News, Google Search, Yahoo! Search, Topix.net, Technorati, MSN, Ask News, Moreover, NewsNow and others. According to their website - PR Leap is the best way to send your news release(s) to all major search engines, newswires, and websites. And basic accounts are free! So what happened with us? Well we signed up, created a one page press release (took about 30 minutes), submitted it and it was approved earlier today. It will appear tomorrow. If you are interested, the link to the press release is: http://www.prleap.com/pr/61185/ The basic plan (read... Free) comes with stats, so I'll let you know in a few days if the press release was actually read by anyone and if it was picked up by any sites, bloggers, press etc. Let's see how good PR Leap and our press release writing skills are!4) A Personalized Toolbar:A great startup called Conduit (http://www.Conduit.com) offers people the opportunity to create their own, personalized toolbar for FREE. Conduit has a wizard embedded within their website which takes you through the setup process step-by-step. It took about twenty minutes and once you're done, they create a link to your toolbar download site which you can then share through an email signature or through a click through download on your new networking site. There are a number of cool ways to tailor the toolbar... your branded search, create links to particular pages on your own site, add weather, a radio and so on to make sure its a value download for your customers.5) Design Your Site with the Customer In Mind and Make Inviting Others EasyIf, like us, your marketing budget is measured by the quarters rattling around in your pocket, then do your site a favor and design it so the 'Invite Others' button is never far away. No matter what page the users happen to be on. Bold it, make it big, underline it if you have to but referrals from happy customers are always easier to get than attracting new customers. 6) Friends & Contacts Revisisted:Do any of your friends know anyone in the press or people who have blogs ? Well you won't know until you ask... ASK! 7) Join Linked In (http://www.linkedin.com)If you haven't already, consider joining linked in. Yes, its another networking site, and you could consider them the compeitition (In your dreams!)... but after joining you can search through the directory and find people that may either a) be interested in joining your site or b) encouraging others to do so. If you aren't a member already, take a look8) Groups & Forums:Are there Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com) or Google Groups (http://groups.google.com) or other online forums that include the types of people you want to attract to your new networking site? If so, join them but beware... most groups want members to contribute to the discussions and no groups appreciate spam. So find the best forums for your target customers, join and spend some time getting to know what subjects are being discussed. Give it a week or two then jump in and add some value... and make sure that your post includes your email and perhaps the web address. If it is valuable, then members may check out your new site... One last thing, if there aren't any good groups with your target customers... consider creating your own... and make it it feeds your new networking site. Here's one I started and yes... I know it only has a few members... but its more links in the internet for your website which appears in your google or Alexa results: http://groups.google.com/group/Harvard_Entrepreneurs_Startups?lnk=oa&hl=en 9) Write to your Existing Members:Do you have a few members? If so, email them occassionally (Not every day!) and remind them of the value of your site... perhaps highlight a particularly useful tool or feature of your website. Maybe reach out to some of the individual members and ask them if you can write about them joining the site, a person feature if you will. At the bottom of each of these emails... give them a few sentences (above for example) to send on to others they know. Stress how much you would appreciate their help and how important they are to you and your young business.10) Drum roll... .badda badda badda... .Create a Blog!Here's hoping that a blog is the tenth and most valuable means of getting the message out there about a new networking site. (Wordpress.com is FREE) Good Luck!
Improve Your Websites Performance
By: Rob Jones
How well is your website performing? Are you satisfied with the amount of customers who view your website? Do you get enough business through your website? By reading this article you will be in a position to do something about all three questions.It's all very well having a nicely designed and appealing website for your business but it's of no use if you don't get the customers to visit it. The number one term you will find associated with this is search engine optimisation. You will find endless sources on the Internet telling you to optimise this and optimise that but what does it all mean?Search engine optimisation simply means making your website as friendly to search engines as possible. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN provide your business with the ability to reach a huge amount of customer's, they are by far the most successful method to boost sales for your business. If your website is nicely optimised then you will have a greater chance of appearing higher up on the search engines.Most customers will type in a phrase into the search engine and view the first couple of websites that it finds, they will usually be successful in finding what they were looking for on the first page of results. Statistics show that customers very rarely look further than the first page (90% don't look past the first page) so what good is it if your website was on page 10? This is where search engine optimisation comes in, it will give your business a greater chance of being on that first golden page in the search engines.There are many methods that all contribute to a higher ranking but some are more influential than others. The first factor is having a well built website. This is a standard feature that all website design companies should offer.The second method is keywords. Keywords are the words that are associated with your business, the idea is to include these words in your website so when a customer types in a phrase in a search engine, your website is more likely to appear. Keywords should be chosen carefully to target the correct market for your business. It's no good targeting the word "Fruit" if your business sells website design.The third factor that contributes to a high search engine ranking is back links. This simply means a link from someone else's website to yours. The more links you have to your website the better. Search engines view your back links as a sign of popularity and obviously the more popular you are the more successful you appear. One of the best methods for this is to submit your website to online directories, not only will you get a back link but you are also likely to get a lot of customers coming to your website from that link. Make sure that you select trusted directories and one's that can relate to your business, there is a chance that you will get penalised by search engines if you sign up to link farms (websites that collect lot's of spam and poor quality links).Finally, having a website that is constantly updated also gives you a boost in terms of search engines as they like to see fresh content. This is also likely to draw customers back to your website as they know they are likely to see something new. This in turn will boost the amount of traffic you get to your website which will also help in gaining a higher search engine rank.These are just some of the methods in which you can improve your website performance, there are many other factors that contribute to a high search engine ranking. Most are an on-going process so it is very beneficial to your business to continually try to improve your performance as there is always someone competing against you for that top spot.
How well is your website performing? Are you satisfied with the amount of customers who view your website? Do you get enough business through your website? By reading this article you will be in a position to do something about all three questions.It's all very well having a nicely designed and appealing website for your business but it's of no use if you don't get the customers to visit it. The number one term you will find associated with this is search engine optimisation. You will find endless sources on the Internet telling you to optimise this and optimise that but what does it all mean?Search engine optimisation simply means making your website as friendly to search engines as possible. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN provide your business with the ability to reach a huge amount of customer's, they are by far the most successful method to boost sales for your business. If your website is nicely optimised then you will have a greater chance of appearing higher up on the search engines.Most customers will type in a phrase into the search engine and view the first couple of websites that it finds, they will usually be successful in finding what they were looking for on the first page of results. Statistics show that customers very rarely look further than the first page (90% don't look past the first page) so what good is it if your website was on page 10? This is where search engine optimisation comes in, it will give your business a greater chance of being on that first golden page in the search engines.There are many methods that all contribute to a higher ranking but some are more influential than others. The first factor is having a well built website. This is a standard feature that all website design companies should offer.The second method is keywords. Keywords are the words that are associated with your business, the idea is to include these words in your website so when a customer types in a phrase in a search engine, your website is more likely to appear. Keywords should be chosen carefully to target the correct market for your business. It's no good targeting the word "Fruit" if your business sells website design.The third factor that contributes to a high search engine ranking is back links. This simply means a link from someone else's website to yours. The more links you have to your website the better. Search engines view your back links as a sign of popularity and obviously the more popular you are the more successful you appear. One of the best methods for this is to submit your website to online directories, not only will you get a back link but you are also likely to get a lot of customers coming to your website from that link. Make sure that you select trusted directories and one's that can relate to your business, there is a chance that you will get penalised by search engines if you sign up to link farms (websites that collect lot's of spam and poor quality links).Finally, having a website that is constantly updated also gives you a boost in terms of search engines as they like to see fresh content. This is also likely to draw customers back to your website as they know they are likely to see something new. This in turn will boost the amount of traffic you get to your website which will also help in gaining a higher search engine rank.These are just some of the methods in which you can improve your website performance, there are many other factors that contribute to a high search engine ranking. Most are an on-going process so it is very beneficial to your business to continually try to improve your performance as there is always someone competing against you for that top spot.
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