Tools to get your web site found

web site tools

If goes without saying that before anyone will purchase anything from your site, they must find your site. There are seven basic ways to get your web site noticed:

Put your URL everywhere - Your URL is your domain name you selected in step one. Place this URL on your business cards, letterhead, mailing labels, catalogs, invoices, all advertising, (while I don't believe in this, I'm seeing it more and more on the back of shirts like a football player), press releases, shopping bags, you name it.
Submit your business to search engines - Site submissions is a science unto itself. People pay large sums of money to get rated high on the results pages. However if you do not have large sums of money, then read some articles on the subject and use a service like http://www.selfpromotion.com for $25 per year to automate this process.
Create an e-mail list - I have personally have found this to be the best way of getting your name in front of potential purchasers. An old advertising rule says "You need to get your name in front of the buyer seven to eight times before they will buy anything" So develop an opt-email list and send out product related emails weekly or monthly.
Purchase email lists - If you can find a email list that covers your niche market this might be worthwhile if used with the previous discussion. However, I have found that people tend to discard email addresses often. With my mailing list, I find that 10% to 15% abandon their email address every month. Joining a local group such as the chamber of commerce that has a opt-in mailing list may be worthwhile for local customers. And I'm finding even through the web is "worldwide" more and more local customers are using it as a substitute for the yellow pages to find nearby services.
Create a regular e-newsletter - This is a spin off of the using an email list. But the difference is that newsletters provide "content" versus advertising. More and more people are seeking unbiased information about your niche. So keep your newsletter from reflecting the notion that your products are the only products that are any good. Explain your product features and benefits and what your service consists of. Remember, you can not sell everything, even in your niche. So mention the other areas that are loosely related to your products.
Run contest, give something away - They say the two most searched for words on the Internet are SEX and FREE. So give something away. You don't have to make it a expensive prize but make it useful to your niche market. To win they must complete a form and give their email address, name and address so you can send them the prize. This is where you develop your opt-in mailing list of people who are interested in your products. Now you can email them with information about new and improved products, tips on how to use new tools, the list goes on and on. Remember to email them often. They will then classify you as an expert on the subject and everyone trusts the expert for the best products and information.
Establish reciprocal links with complimentary sites - One way search engine rank sites is by the number of links to complementary sites. People who search the web are looking for a specific piece of information. If they can not find it on your site, by being user friendly and cleverly redirecting them to a complimentary site will only tend to keep them coming back to your site.

I've mentioned in several of the above tips, using an email list to promote your site. When your email list is small manually sending out multiple emails is not a chore. However when the list gets above 50, and you generate several lists used for different products, you need a quick and simple way to handle this process. I have used a product called "WorldMerge" for several years and recommend it to many clients and promote it during my seminars. If you decide to purchase this software it currently costs under $50 and all upgrades are free. This product allows you to use a database or spreadsheet program to manage your list, then couple it to your word processed message. With "WorldMerge" you can sort the list and sent your message to a select portion of the list or the entire list. You can even personalize the message with the client name you gathered with the form they used to register for your newsletter.

There are many such programs but for the price, your can not beat this product. Order this software on line here and download it to your PC.

AEW Internet Consultants
209 Needlewood Lane
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
614-596-1964