Lets Do a Search - Internet/Web/Online Service Information

Home Office Computing, April, 2001 by Holly Aguirre

Make sure potential clients can find your Web site

IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME, EFFORT AND courage to hang out your own virtual shingle. Now that your Web site is up and running, your customers need to know how to easily find it. But what's the best way to register your Web site with a search engine?

First, carefully proofread and check your site for bugs and broken links. When it's ready to receive visitors, that's when you can begin registering your site with as many Web search engines that you can find.

Site Descriptions

The good news is that many main search engines will let you list your site for free. Registering your .com on these sites will require you to write a description of your site. A descriptive title of your site should contain only five to eight words for each page. Remove as many filler words from the title--such as "the," and "and"--to help you better target your site on an engine when a user does a search.

Make your site sound like it's a one-of-a-kind destination to encourage users to click on your link. Brainstorm on keywords with friends and colleagues who may fit your site's demographic. Refrain from repeating any one word more than three times in a title because some engines penalize for "keyword spamming".

Submitting Your Site Consider using a submission service, such as 123Link (www.123link.com/ulinki/form2.html), or All4one Submission Machine (www.all4one.com/all4submit/), to get your site on major search engines. Your site will be indexed by search engines like AltaVista, Google, Excite, HotBot, Lycos, Infoseek, and WebCrawler. Finally, there's Yahoo, which is technically a directory, but it's probably the most important place for your site to show up on a search. A helpful hint about listing on Yahoo: When submitting your title to Yahoo, write it as concisely as possible or it will be pared down for you by the search engine's editors.

Buyer Beware Listing companies typically offer to submit your site to up to 300 different search engines. Most of the places listing companies submit your site to may not actually be search engines at all, but are actually directories. Instead, consider linking your Web page on other industry sites, like reputable trade publications. Linking on sites that relate to your business will help streamline your audience.

Barry McDonald, CEO and president of Ypsilanti, Mich.-based StoryAlbums.com, has tried several strategies to promote his family-run Web site. "I've registered my site on a few search engines and Web portals, but my clients usually find it mainly by word of mouth," he says. "Before listing the site on major search engines, I wanted to make extra sure my Web site concept was viable and on the mark before mass marketing my business."

Sharing space on a Web portal has increased traffic to StoryAlbums.com, as well. "I have received traffic from the few Web portals that I have registered with," says McDonald.

Another way to get your URL noticed is by joining a banner exchange program. A major program such as LinkExchange (www.linkexchange.com) will set up a rotating banner of your site on LinkExchange member sites. The caveat: You have to show rotating banners of members that are providing space for your ad, too.

Spending money for banner ads on appropriate sites can prove useful. Expect to pay a banner exchange program $10 to $40 per every thousand users who they say will see your ad. Exchange programs typically tell you that its ads achieve a click-through rate of 0.5 percent to 1 percent of the users they attract.

Uses for Newsgroups

Lastly, consider promoting your site on mailing lists and newsgroups. The Internet offers thousands of targeted mailing lists and newsgroups made up of people with highly specialized interests who will be happy to hear about your Web site.

You can find newsgroups by logging onto DejaNews (www.dejanews.com) to find potential customers that may be seeking advice about your type of business or product. Look for groups where a strong, loyal dialogue is taking place. When you interact with the newsgroup users, don't use aggressive marketing plugs. Instead, be an authority and add to the discussion in a helpful way. You can promote your site with the signature at the end of your e-mail postings.