The basics of marketing your website

The first thing to keep in mind is that the world wide web is huge, and growing everyday. Last report was that it was growing by 7 million pages a day. With that said you should realize that your new website is just one of many that are seeking to be found on the web. How should you market your website?

One route is to pay to pay a professional search engine optimizer (SEO) a few hundred dollars a month to continually "optimize" your site. They do this by creating their own pages filled with keywords, but written in a prose format, that link both to your site and to other similar sites that happen to be clients of theirs. The reputable ones generally have success, but you usually pay continuously to keep your ranking high.

A less expensive route, but one that requires your time, is to build a website that has value, with information that both a search engine and your visitor will seek. Rather than spending your energy trying to trick the search engine by hiding keywords in the background, or stuffing your meta tags with keywords that are popular search engines words, but have nothing to do with your site, you should create pages full of interesting text, and keep it fresh by updating it frequently. Within that text you can put keywords that search engines will find and site visitors will find helpful. Once you've published this website, give the search engines a chance to find it. This may take months, so be patient.

What do to while you wait for Google to find you

There are a few steps to take while you wait for the search engines to find your well-crafted site:

• start by submitting your web address (the home page) to the major search engines. See the link section below for details. But don't keep submitting week after week. Wait 3-4 months. If your site isn't listed then submit again.
• find web directories that are specific to your area and submit your web address there also.
• also if you belong to a trade organization, or are a distributor of a product, or a member of a chamber, check these sources to see if they have a website that will list you.
• don't miss any opportunity to publicize your new website address. This includes business cards, even if it means adding a label to the back or having a stamp created and stamping your new web address on the front of your current stock of business cards
• add a greeting to your answering machine for those calling you after hours that information about your business or organization can be found 24/7 on your website and state the address clearly, spelling it out, if necessary.
• if you do any print advertising, be sure to include that new web address
• if you have business vehicles, look into purchasing a frame for your rear license plate that has your web address on it.
• and don't forget any signage on the building where your business is located. Add that web address!

Structure your webpages using keywords to your benefit. Some of the best places to put keyword phrases are:

• Page title tag
• In headings
• As links
• In bold text
• In the first 25 words on the page (this refers to the first 25 words of text placed in the HTML document, which is often navigation)
• In the file name (i.e. the URL)
• META tags

Avoid the following to ensure that search engines can spider your pages successfully:

• Links accessible solely through frames, image maps, or JavaScript
• Very long pages
• Very short pages
• Flash pages
• Long JavaScript (JavaScript should be placed in an external document)
• Dynamic URLs

Google's Local Business Center: Currently it's free, you'll need to sign up for a google account, and people searching for you through Google's Maps will find your location.

Web Directories (General)

Open Directory's directory of web directories
International Directory of Search Engines
DMOZ
Yahoo (free for non-commerical sites only)
Web World Index
Zeal (non-commerical sites only)
WOW directory
DirectoryArchives
Yeandi
Seekon
Turnpike
JoeAnt
Gimpsy
websavvy
Web World
Genius Find
Internet Search Engine Database
Business Directory

Specialist Directories

Requires reciprocal link

Keyword Tools (to help you formulate your list)

Wordtracker (paid service)
Overture
Google's Adwords Keyword Tool