Dos & dont's of Web promos - Web promotional strategies - Internet/Web/Online Service Information

Home Office Computing, June, 1997 by Victoria Hall Smith

Secrets of Getting Surfers to Return to Your Site

You've registered your new site with the top search engines, circulated your Web address to all your friends and family, and established lots of complementary links with other sites. At this point, your home page views exceed your initial expectations. But with the thousands of site start-ups each month, can you be sure that visitors will return to yours again and again? Well, with a little ingenuity and a lot of planning, you can--by launching online promotional campaigns.

To pique interest, encourage referrals, and entice repeat visitors, we asked Web experts for their favorite marketing innovations. But be warned: By using these tactics, you may very well see a spike in home page views as high as 300 to 400 percent. So make sure your Internet service provider is prepared to handle the load and brace yourself for an online onslaught.

Do remind visitors to bookmark your site. According to the technology research firm IntelliQuest, 44 percent of Web users never use bookmarks. This feature, found in most browsers, allows users to tag preferred sites and store them on a list to avoid reentering URLs. So remind visitors and tell them how to bookmark your site.

Don't overlook contests as a way to lure surfers. People love to win something and are quick to spread the word about how and where they won it. Contests work best if their duration is a month or less, many prizes are awarded, and they're interactive. But it's best to keep the entry requirements simple: Asking entrants to do a lot of work will be a turnoff.

Do put lots of info about your site on your contest page. There's always the chance that the contest page is the only one surfers will visit. So make sure they see who is sponsoring your contest and how to link to your home page. Don't forget to invite contestants to join your mailing list, promising them a reminder about next month's winner if they fill out your form. This is a great way to get return visitors and to build your list.

Do post fun quizzes and games. By taking advantage of the interactive nature of the Internet, a quiz or game is a great way to get surfers to stay at your site. But, cautions Steve O'Keefe in Publicity on the Internet (John Wiley & Sons), "games work best when their nature is in tune with the product being promoted." To increase its appeal, give prizes to those with perfect answers or post the names of the top scorers.

Don't dismiss soap operas as a way to promote a small-business site. If you have a knack for knocking out a good tale, put it to use on your site. Almost addictive, soap operas can be terrific traffic builders. Just make sure your ongoing saga connects with your product or service.

Do give live online demos of your product or service at lunchtime when people are eating at their desks. This strategy has proven successful for Rosalind Resnick, president of NetCreations in Brooklyn. But, cautions Resnick, make sure you test your demo several times before going live.

Don't skip online surveys. They offer you two chances to draw visitors: first when they fill the surveys out and again when they follow up for the results. To encourage people to view the results, send e-mail ticklers to remind respondents when the final tabulations will be available. Then, tie your survey finale into another promotional event--say, the day of your live demo. Besides gaining free knowledge of your customers' needs, the results also make fine fodder for a company press release.

Do give surfers the opportunity to receive your company newsletter. It's a way to regularly remind people to visit you on-line and to communicate any events you have scheduled. But don't offer so much information that they have no reason to log on to your site. Concise synopses of new postings will entice people to go to your site for the full text. Just make sure your newsletter includes your Web address.

Don't forget to add a thank-you page. After visitors have filled out a form, giving their names and mailing and e-mail addresses, set up your site so that once someone hits the Submit button, he or she sees your thank-you page as well as other reasons to stay.

Do post "something-of-the-day" For instance, Glen Davis launched Cool Site of the Day on InfiNet, and it grew into a hip Web spot. Of course, skew the topic toward your expertise, making it easier to come up with a new posting each day.

Don't overlook online parties. Birthday celebrations of your site or a day commemorating a popular icon in your business, for instance, are good ways to attract return visitors. Make the celebration last for a week or two with something new and entertaining posted each day.

Do offer visitors a membership to your site that lets them know about special deals and discounts. It'll give them a feeling of community, and returning to your site will be a welcome break from Web "noise."

Don't forget to check out the competition's promos. Search such keywords as contests, surveys, games, and giveaways to see how others, especially those with a business focus similar to yours, are promoting their sites.