Successful website marketing
How do I get my website seen?
Ok so you now have a website but you have very little interest in it so where do we go from here?
It is not enough just to create a website and then expect people to find it and start purchasing from you, unfortunately it doesn't work this way for most of us.
You may have spent a considerable amount of money on your website and don't have a lot to put into advertising and marketing it. Don't worry the internet is a fantastic place to promote yourt website with little or even no cost at all, apart from your time.
Every bit of marketing you do on the internet will also help the search engines in placing your website in the best position possible for you to attract potential new customers too.
Ok so you now have a website but you have very little interest in it so where do we go from here?
It is not enough just to create a website and then expect people to find it and start purchasing from you, unfortunately it doesn't work this way for most of us.
You may have spent a considerable amount of money on your website and don't have a lot to put into advertising and marketing it. Don't worry the internet is a fantastic place to promote yourt website with little or even no cost at all, apart from your time.
Every bit of marketing you do on the internet will also help the search engines in placing your website in the best position possible for you to attract potential new customers too.
Website Link Marketing
One of the best and most popular ways to get your website noticed is by obtaining links to it from other related websites, forums and directories. The first thing you need to know though is how to link as so many people get this wrong and waste valuable hours getting in links to their websites that will do them no good at all.
Linking Correctly
The most common mistake is people not understanding how a link will work if done in the correct manner. If I simply put a link like this to one of my websites www.money-earner-online.com this would tell the search engines nothing and the potential visitor to that link very little. If however I anchored the link in a keyworded phrase such as this:
Earn Money Online
Now, not only can the search engines see what type of website this is, the person reading the link also gets an idea of what the site may be about, hopefully enticing them to click on it. This is enourmously helpful if you are trying to get higher up the page for a certain key phrase. So in other words, if I ask 50 websites to put this phrase on their pages and link back to me then chances are I would go further up the search engines for the search phrase 'Earn Money Online'
So don't put a phrase in the title you are already on page one for, find a phrase that is being searched for a lot that would suit your site being seen in the results and use this for your link title. To find out what people are typing into the search engines use a keyword tool such as the Google Adwords tool. Don't use it constantly for years, change your titles every now and then to reach out for other phrases you want to improve on too. So maybe do 50 - 100 with one title then change it and get 50 - 100 links in with a different key title phrase.
One of the best and most popular ways to get your website noticed is by obtaining links to it from other related websites, forums and directories. The first thing you need to know though is how to link as so many people get this wrong and waste valuable hours getting in links to their websites that will do them no good at all.
Linking Correctly
The most common mistake is people not understanding how a link will work if done in the correct manner. If I simply put a link like this to one of my websites www.money-earner-online.com this would tell the search engines nothing and the potential visitor to that link very little. If however I anchored the link in a keyworded phrase such as this:
Earn Money Online
Now, not only can the search engines see what type of website this is, the person reading the link also gets an idea of what the site may be about, hopefully enticing them to click on it. This is enourmously helpful if you are trying to get higher up the page for a certain key phrase. So in other words, if I ask 50 websites to put this phrase on their pages and link back to me then chances are I would go further up the search engines for the search phrase 'Earn Money Online'
So don't put a phrase in the title you are already on page one for, find a phrase that is being searched for a lot that would suit your site being seen in the results and use this for your link title. To find out what people are typing into the search engines use a keyword tool such as the Google Adwords tool. Don't use it constantly for years, change your titles every now and then to reach out for other phrases you want to improve on too. So maybe do 50 - 100 with one title then change it and get 50 - 100 links in with a different key title phrase.
Hopefully you are getting my point here about link titles and the importance of them in increasing your page ranking.
When asking a site to link to yours, as well as the page title, you also want to supply a 25-30 worded description that explains in good detail about the website and of course don't forget to supply the website you are asking for a link back your full website address. This means including the http://www. before your domain name. Don't have 100 links going to www.yourwebsiteaddress.com and then 100 going to yourwebsite.com as Google will treat these as two seperate websites! put the www before the domain and use that every time you leave a link to your website anywhere on the internet.
Ensure when linking to and from another website (e.g on a link exchange) it is extremely important that you only use websites that are relevant to yours. They don't have to sell the same goods and services but something similar.
When asking a site to link to yours, as well as the page title, you also want to supply a 25-30 worded description that explains in good detail about the website and of course don't forget to supply the website you are asking for a link back your full website address. This means including the http://www. before your domain name. Don't have 100 links going to www.yourwebsiteaddress.com and then 100 going to yourwebsite.com as Google will treat these as two seperate websites! put the www before the domain and use that every time you leave a link to your website anywhere on the internet.
Ensure when linking to and from another website (e.g on a link exchange) it is extremely important that you only use websites that are relevant to yours. They don't have to sell the same goods and services but something similar.
Please understand that the advice I give on this page is from my own experience over the last ten years. To give you the full ten years worth would take me another ten years to put onto this site so I have tried to outline the most importnat and basic forms of internet marketing. Of course there is far more in depth ways of achieveing this and if you put your mind and time to it you can learn this all yourself.
However, if you find my advice to confusing or if you just don't have the time then I would be happy to give you a free quote to optimising your existing website myself. Please call me on 01608 684796 or email me.
However, if you find my advice to confusing or if you just don't have the time then I would be happy to give you a free quote to optimising your existing website myself. Please call me on 01608 684796 or email me.
Find local business directories, many of these are free. If you find one that charges, it may still be good to link, contact them and ask what their viewing hits are like? If they receive 20,000 visitors a day then maybe a link from their site for £20 a year is a good deal, especially if the majority of their audience is targeted to your type of service or goods.
Once you have got a few links coming in from other well established websites this is the time to make sure your website has been submitted to Google, MSN, Yahoo and any others you can think of, although other search engines will automatically list you once you are on Google anyway. You can submit your site to Google using the Google Webmaster Tools, a very handy tool to have! But do check first your site isn't listed by just typing your url into the search bar of Google's main page.
Forums
Forums are a fantastic way to promote yourself, but please don't just spam the forums with links to your site as you will just be banned and your posts deleted. The best way to get attention to your services is by joining as a member to forums that are related to the line of work you are in. Once joined, if they allow it, add your website link to your signature using the key phrased title I mentioned above. Don't go in shouting about how good you are and how everyone should visit your website, in fact quite the opposite, don't even mention your website. Firstly, if there is a section to introduce yourself to other members go and do this first. Tell them little bit about yourself, 'married with 2 kinds' etc.. and briefly mention what you do but don't over do it. Once you have done this, go and read some of the posts already on the forum and join in with the conversations. Be polite, friendly and try where possible to answer as many questions other members may have, again without sounding like you are promoting yourself and you will be surprised how quickly people will get to know you. Leave them to click on your link, trust me when you are helpful to someone and solve a problem for them, they will be inquisitive about you and click on your website link and quite likely become a client.
Once you have got a few links coming in from other well established websites this is the time to make sure your website has been submitted to Google, MSN, Yahoo and any others you can think of, although other search engines will automatically list you once you are on Google anyway. You can submit your site to Google using the Google Webmaster Tools, a very handy tool to have! But do check first your site isn't listed by just typing your url into the search bar of Google's main page.
Forums
Forums are a fantastic way to promote yourself, but please don't just spam the forums with links to your site as you will just be banned and your posts deleted. The best way to get attention to your services is by joining as a member to forums that are related to the line of work you are in. Once joined, if they allow it, add your website link to your signature using the key phrased title I mentioned above. Don't go in shouting about how good you are and how everyone should visit your website, in fact quite the opposite, don't even mention your website. Firstly, if there is a section to introduce yourself to other members go and do this first. Tell them little bit about yourself, 'married with 2 kinds' etc.. and briefly mention what you do but don't over do it. Once you have done this, go and read some of the posts already on the forum and join in with the conversations. Be polite, friendly and try where possible to answer as many questions other members may have, again without sounding like you are promoting yourself and you will be surprised how quickly people will get to know you. Leave them to click on your link, trust me when you are helpful to someone and solve a problem for them, they will be inquisitive about you and click on your website link and quite likely become a client.
Try and participate in forums on a daily or at the very least weekly basis so that you are seen as a top contributor and you have my word this will do you more good than anything else.
You could also consider creating a forum yourself to go with your website to attract business, but take it from me this is hard work and takes many years to establish in most cases. You are probably better off joining a forum that already has hundreds or thousands of members.
You could also consider creating a forum yourself to go with your website to attract business, but take it from me this is hard work and takes many years to establish in most cases. You are probably better off joining a forum that already has hundreds or thousands of members.
Social Networking sites
You've all hear of these sites but some of you may be a bit scared to try them... Well don't be, this really is the way forward to getting your website business seen. Social networking has really taken off over the last few years and will only get bigger.
Get yourself a Facebook account. Very few people don't have one so this is a great place to attract a lot of attention to yourself. Create a personal profile as well as a business page, that way you can interact with your clients both in a friendly and professional manner. Get as many friends and family that have facebook accounts to join your network and then just sit back and watch it grow! Talk about your business, use it as a diary if you like. Whenever you have a new product or service, or uf you are having a sale then mention this on your facebook account. (You are allowed to link to your site every time you mention it so use this free service, you won't regret it.
Twitter is another one you really can't afford to be without. This is similar in that it is a networking site, but you will find more people will follow you on this one without any effort at all. Unlike Facebook, Twitter only allows you to post one small sentance at a time, but it's a great way of letting people know what you are up to with your business and all the big companies are using it including Google.
There are tools within both Facebbok and Twitter that allow you to put a connection from your website back to both of them too, so visitors to your site can join your networking groups too.
Don't just think about doing this.... DO IT TODAY! Or you'll get left behind!
Video Networking
There are many video networking sites, the most popular you will probably have heard about, You Tube. You Tube is visited by millions of people every second of the day and is a great way to market your website business with a corporate video. Videos can be made very easily by yourself, or if you haven't got the knowledge to do so it is worth having a professional make one for you to promote over the internet. Videos are becoming one of the biggest ways to show off what you have to offer and you'll be surprised just within a few weeks how many people will view your videos. Make your videos fun, enjoyabe and interesting to watch and you'll find people will pass on the link to your videos to all their associates too.
Finding Customers who can't find you
This is a favourite of mine that very few people ever think about and yet it is so very simple. Whatever your business offers, be it a service or goods, go to the search engines and be the cutomer for a second. Pretend you are having trouble finding your goods or service and type in a question:
You've all hear of these sites but some of you may be a bit scared to try them... Well don't be, this really is the way forward to getting your website business seen. Social networking has really taken off over the last few years and will only get bigger.
Get yourself a Facebook account. Very few people don't have one so this is a great place to attract a lot of attention to yourself. Create a personal profile as well as a business page, that way you can interact with your clients both in a friendly and professional manner. Get as many friends and family that have facebook accounts to join your network and then just sit back and watch it grow! Talk about your business, use it as a diary if you like. Whenever you have a new product or service, or uf you are having a sale then mention this on your facebook account. (You are allowed to link to your site every time you mention it so use this free service, you won't regret it.
Twitter is another one you really can't afford to be without. This is similar in that it is a networking site, but you will find more people will follow you on this one without any effort at all. Unlike Facebook, Twitter only allows you to post one small sentance at a time, but it's a great way of letting people know what you are up to with your business and all the big companies are using it including Google.
There are tools within both Facebbok and Twitter that allow you to put a connection from your website back to both of them too, so visitors to your site can join your networking groups too.
Don't just think about doing this.... DO IT TODAY! Or you'll get left behind!
Video Networking
There are many video networking sites, the most popular you will probably have heard about, You Tube. You Tube is visited by millions of people every second of the day and is a great way to market your website business with a corporate video. Videos can be made very easily by yourself, or if you haven't got the knowledge to do so it is worth having a professional make one for you to promote over the internet. Videos are becoming one of the biggest ways to show off what you have to offer and you'll be surprised just within a few weeks how many people will view your videos. Make your videos fun, enjoyabe and interesting to watch and you'll find people will pass on the link to your videos to all their associates too.
Finding Customers who can't find you
This is a favourite of mine that very few people ever think about and yet it is so very simple. Whatever your business offers, be it a service or goods, go to the search engines and be the cutomer for a second. Pretend you are having trouble finding your goods or service and type in a question:
I recommend these sites to get listed on: Hot Frog Free Index Top Listed Gumtree (you can place around 5 adverts a day on this one and has millions of viewers every day)
Now this doesn't work all the time, but keep typing in questions like this, that relate to what you can offer and you'll be surprised how many forums and websites that Google will take you to that will find people asking the exact or very similar question. Check the date that the question was posted because if someone posted the question on a forum 3 years ago then don't bother answering them, but you may strike lucky and find a recent post as the search engines pick up forum posts almost immediately. Sign up to the forum and go to work offering the person in need a solution... You!
I have used this method myself several times and it does work.
Talk to people!
I meet a lot of people who believe if they create a website the world will come to them. It doesn't happen like that and so you need to let people know of your site and your business. Just because it is internet based doesn't mean you only discuss it on the internet. I have gained business for my websites from talking to the assistant at my bank whilst paying a cheque in, whilst having my hair cut, whilst in the doctor's surgery to name but a few. Whenever you get the chance to talk about your website do so. If the person you are talking to is not interested in your services or products, they will very likely no someone who is. Carry some business cards with you with your business name, contact details, email address and website on and hand them out whenever you get thye chance. I have also got business from telling my own family and friends what I do as they have then mentioned this in conversation at a later date to their friends too.
A good way to market your website is to promise yourself to spend a set amount of time every day at making one form of contribution to pushing your site. Be it half hour, two hours, whatever you can spare and stick to it. Maybe one day you spend that time getting some links in to your site, another day you will spend in forums and so on. What seems like a lifetimes worht of work to get yourself promoted will then seem far more easier and approachable if you pace yourself.
I have used this method myself several times and it does work.
Talk to people!
I meet a lot of people who believe if they create a website the world will come to them. It doesn't happen like that and so you need to let people know of your site and your business. Just because it is internet based doesn't mean you only discuss it on the internet. I have gained business for my websites from talking to the assistant at my bank whilst paying a cheque in, whilst having my hair cut, whilst in the doctor's surgery to name but a few. Whenever you get the chance to talk about your website do so. If the person you are talking to is not interested in your services or products, they will very likely no someone who is. Carry some business cards with you with your business name, contact details, email address and website on and hand them out whenever you get thye chance. I have also got business from telling my own family and friends what I do as they have then mentioned this in conversation at a later date to their friends too.
A good way to market your website is to promise yourself to spend a set amount of time every day at making one form of contribution to pushing your site. Be it half hour, two hours, whatever you can spare and stick to it. Maybe one day you spend that time getting some links in to your site, another day you will spend in forums and so on. What seems like a lifetimes worht of work to get yourself promoted will then seem far more easier and approachable if you pace yourself.