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Ten Things to Make Your Web Site More Visible!
by Jean-Pierre “PETE” LeClair
http://www.agentz.com
Do you have an “invisible”
website?
Entrepreneurs tend to under-value
the power of the web to bring them new business, and to bring them precisely
the kinds of clientele they want! Some will invest in a great website and then
fail to market it. There are some great websites that are virtually "invisible"
out there on the WWW. Marketing on the web has at least this in common with
other marketing: Regardless of the quality of the advertisement, it will not
bring you traffic unless lots of people see it.
I tell people that want to start a business website that an effective web presence
consists of two different components. The primary being the creation of the
site. This requires some degree of skill in programming, page layout, graphics
editing, and creativity. If you are lacking in these areas, hire someone at
least to get you started as you bring yourself up to speed. The second component
is marketing. This component can be much more repetitious, routine and can be
down right boring, but it must be done consistently over time.
Here are the Top 10 things I recommend
to make your web site more “visible”:
- Title Tag. This is the first
“invisible” item that should be in the code in between the "<head>
and </head>" tags of every web page. It is the first thing a search
engine sees at the top of your page. While this title is visible on browsers,
most people ignore it as it is tucked in the uppermost left corner of your
browser window. I've seen great sites that have no title at all! Use 3-8 words
that accurately describe what the webpage is about. Use a different descriptive
“title for each page. This provides fodder for the search engines.
- Keywords Meta Tag. The second “invisible” item between the
"<head> and </head>" tags of your page should be the
“keywords” meta tag with 15-25 words to help people find you.
These are words people are likely to enter in a search request to find you.
An CPA might have a string that started with: "Accounting, bookkeeping,
records, taxes,…." . Use keywords that are appropriate for each
page in your site.
- Description Meta Tag. The third “invisible” item in between
the "<head> and </head>" is a sentence that describes
both your page and your site. Make it exciting, use as many of your Keywords
as possible, and make it accurately reflect what is on that particular page.
This is a one-sentence description of who you are, what you do, and why people
should visit your page. You've got 15-20 words. Use them! ( call these first
3 items “invisible because the person visiting will never see them (except
for possibly the first item) but they can be crucial for search engines.)
- Visible Title. This is what visitors will see at the top of your page and
what they will perceive as the title of the page. Once again, you want it
to be inviting, to be accurate, and to be brief. While your logo or banner
may look great at the top of your page (and graphics can definitely be included
in the top of the page), remember that 3-5 powerful words will load faster.
The words at the top of the page are also more heavily weighted by search
engines.
- First words on page. The first few seconds as a page down-loads are crucial,
and a brief statement of what you do will display faster than most images.
First impressions are critical ! And again, search engines will catalog a
short but exciting description of your business, and they give more weight
to text near the top of the page!
- Submit to search tools repeatedly. Search engines constantly up-date and
expand their databases. To stay in the game, I suggest you re-submit your
site at least once a month and re-submit after every change. Using the web
to draw business is an on-going project, not a once and forget it task! There
are services that will do this for you (for less than $100), or you can do
it yourself. But schedule several hours every month, and do it!
- Optimize your Content - Content is king, use the keywords that you have
in your meta tag on your pages. Use those keywords in your 'DESCRIPTION' meta
tag , in ALT tags for images and use them in comments that you can add to
your page. Even though your readers won't see the comments the search engines
will.
- Include your website address (URL) on all your other advertising. This
seems obvious, but lots of people forget. Have your URL on your business card,
brochures, license plate frames, etc. ! If people are interested, want more
information, or are just curious, make it easy for them to find you. Display
your URL on everything!
- Exchange links. One of the best ways to increase traffic, and to target
specific audiences, is to trade links with other sites that attract a similar
audience. I recommend that you have a page dedicated to "Favorite Links"
that have agreed to also put a link to your site on their page. "You
scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" is a great way to build your
web marketing impact. Also, many search engines set relevancy of a site by
the number (and content) of the sites that link to it.
- Have something of value that changes often. Give your visitors something
they can learn, do, or enjoy each time they visit. Let them sign up for your
newsletter, post a "Joke of the Day" or a daily quote. It doesn't
have to relate directly to your business. People love parenting tips, humor,
inspiration or practical tips for better living (Remember Martha Stewart?).
Give them a reason to come back!
Have a blessed week, and remember to keep it fun!
© Copyright 2003 by Jean-Pierre “PETE” LeClair.
http://WWW.AGENTZ.COM
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