Q: How will people find my web site?
A:
Your pages must be built properly and they must be registered in various search engines, directories and link lists, in order to have maximum exposure. When we design a site, we carefully consider how to best maximize it's visibility to the search engines, crawlers, spiders and robots. We use special wording and keywords in the page title, page text and in special tags within the HTML code, which aren't visible to humans reading the page. These, and other techniques we employ, assist the automatic search routines of the crawlers, spiders and robots, such as those used by Google, Alta Vista and Lycos to get your site listed properly. In addition, we provide a web site promotion services which will get your site or page registered in hundreds of search engines, link lists, directories and newsgroups.
In addition to search engines there are a variety of ways to help visitors find your site which include: placing your email and web site address on all of your pamphlets and promotional material, business cards and "tag lines" at the bottom of all your email messages communications.
You can also aid people find your site by looking for other related sites that are willing to trade links with you. Each site ultimately benefits from the partnership. Simply putting links on your page to other sites does little to your ranking if they do not do the same.
Advertising in industry-related e-zines, traditional media (magazines, newspapers, etc.) will also help your marketing strategy. The internet is a very far reaching and cost-effective means of site awareness but it can't be done to the exlcusion of everything else. A good marketing campaign includes traditional media.
If you really want to seriously promote your site, you can buy advertising banners at other sites that have already established a lot of daily traffic.
Banner Exchanges run your banner ads on other web sites if you run other web sites banners on your web site. Most banner exchanges will display your banner once if you display two of their banners on your web site.
Finally, you can make arrangements for "reciprocal linkage." This means your URL is made available on someone else's site, and their URL is listed on your site, so you each can benefit from the combined group of visitors. The more reciprocal links, the greater the opportunity for new visitors.
Be certain you do NOT believe the hype that once you have a web site "millions of web surfers" will all of a sudden want to visit you. There are now over a hundred million web pages out in cyberspace, so it is not like having a location in a big mall and just having people stroll in on a busy Sunday afternoon because they have nothing better to do. To get visitors to your site, you must both attract and encourage them.
Q: What Is A Search Engine ?
A:
Think of a search engine as an advanced form of telephone directory assistance. Search engines crawlers, spiders and robots index your web site and make note of every word on every page. When someone searches for a word that exists on one of your web pages they will be returned a link for each page that is relevant to their search. Relevancy ranking is what causes some pages to be at the beginning of the list (returned first) and some web pages to be at the end of the list (returned last).
Q: Please give me a brief overview of how search engines work?
A:
There are three important elements to search engines: the database, the user search and the ranking of the search results.
Database: The database contains indexed URLs and descriptions of web pages.
Search: The user searches by a keyword or phrase and the search engine uses a special algorithm to match the word or phrase to the needed web pages in its database.
Results: Most search engines give each document some measure (ranking) of the quality of the match to the search query. Relevant scores reflect the number of times a search term appears in the document's title, at the beginning of the document or html tags and if all the terms are near each other. Each search engine uses a different method of ranking, too, and they seem to always be changing.
Standard Search Engines are the most practical for finding general and popular areas of interest. The only pages you'll find with these search engines are those that have been submitted directly to them. Typing in a search keyword topic brings up information that is relevant to that specific topic, guaranteed. This eliminates the need to browse millions of results that may or may not have anything to do with what you're looking for.
Examples of standard search engines:
Info space •Comfind •Galaxy •Search.com •Yellow Pages •Starting Point
Q: What is the best way to be found by the search engines? Can I do it myself?
A:
There are many techniques to use with the search engines, since each one uses its own method. We can do this for you, or teach you how to use Web Position Gold.
Q: What is "site submission"?
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Site submission is the registering of your site with all the major search engines. Once your site is finished we can submit your site address (URL) to each major search engine individually. Major search engines include Yahoo, AOLNetfind, Lycos, Infoseek, Excite, HotBot and AltaVista. Without site submission your web site would be virtually "unfindable" by anyone.
Q: What is site submission to "specialty directories"?
A:
Specialty directories are internet sites and online directories that cater to a specific subject. These directories do not exist for everyone's needs, but there are more and more being created all the time. For instance: If you are an environmental company it would make good business sense that you would want your web site to be listed among directories specializing in the field of environmental. There are a growing number of companies out there that automatically consult an online directory when they are searching for a specific service or product to meet their needs. Most directories are free to get listed in but not all. If you know of a specialty directory or news group that exists that you want to be listed in, please let us know. Because this can be very time consuming, we do charge a small fee for listing your site with each specialty directory.
Q: What are "meta tags" and why are these so important?
A:
These are codes in the HTML, which are invisible to humans reading the page. They are intended to help certain search engine crawlers, robots and spiders get the site or page properly listed. These special codes should be used on all pages to list keywords and a description of the page content.
Meta tags are very important. Unfortunately few design services pay attention to meta tags. Meta tags are the keywords, title and key phrases written into the html code of your site. Why would this be important? Because these keywords, title and key phrases are what search engines use to "find" your site. If you don't have well-tailored meta tags your site has a far less chance of getting "hits" (coming up as a result on someone's search).
Q: How do you measure your success?
A:
The success of efforts related to improving the search engine attractiveness can be measured by observing your rankings on the search engines that have indexed your site.
Q: Can't I just resubmit my web site every month to ensure good search engine rankings?
A:
Will changing content regularly on my web site give me a better search engine ranking?
Put your self in the position of the search engine. How would you rate search engine relevancy and content for your top 10 search positions? Wouldn't you want web sites that have fresh content, updated text, and the most current site information? Well this is how many search engines base relevancy scores and high ranking such as Google. If the content on your web site page sits there for years you will notice your pages will drop off the search engines ranking simply because you have nothing current to offer. Plan on creating seasonal text changes with your web site designer, nothing drastic just a few changes to tell your viewers you do maintain the site and are offering the most up-to-date information. Not only will you maintain your search engine listings, but your customers will notice as well.
Q: Can you guarantee my site will appear on the first page in a search engine?
A:
Nobody can honestly claim to do so because of the ever-changing algorithms and formulas search engines utilize. There are hundreds of different search engines and indexes all of which have their own method of determining what ranking they will give you based a keyword search.
So, what optimization technique works in one search engine is given less weight or even penalized by another. The overall strategy we employ is try and find a happy medium and make sure your keywords are present where they need to be. Other factors such site popularity (determined by how many other popular sites are linking to you), keyword placement in your page titles, page text, alternate text for images and meta tags (special tags read by some search engines which contain keywords specific to your industry and the site content) will determine your site's relevance vs. the keywords the potential visitor has typed in.
With every custom web site we create, we include submissions to some of the most popular search engines and indexes such as Yahoo, Alta Vista, Lycos, Google, etc. More comprehensive optimization strategies and submissions are always available to achieve improved results.
Q: Do you guarantee hits to my web site?
A:
No. Realistically, no provider can really guarantee hits to any page, and we won't make that promise in order to sell you our services. We understand the web and how to best promote sites. We also understand how searches are done by the major search engines, link lists and directories and we endeavor to stay current with their ever changing methods. The search engines, link lists and directories, however, control how information is indexed and presented to users and their methods, as well as their databases, are constantly changing. So, even though a well ran promotion may produce additional traffic in the short term, there is no way to guarantee that level of traffic to continue or increase.
Q: What is Spamming the Search Engines?
A:
Spamming is a major concern on the World Wide Web and threatens the existence of many worthwhile ventures on the Internet. Spamming is flooding the Internet with bulk unsolicited e-mail sent to advertise and promote a product or service to people who would otherwise choose not to receive it. If you choose to spam you'll endanger the continued use of your ISP, possibly invoke legal action, and will undoubtedly be bombarded with email from many angry people.
Spamming also refers to loading a web site with keyword terms and phrases that have nothing to do with the site's specific content. Webmasters do this to obtain higher than normal rankings on search engine listings. This is a foolish way to increase the number of viewers a particular site receives. First of all, if the site comes up high on a search query it better contain information concerning what the viewer searched for. The viewer may be lured into the site, but they will surely hit the back button just as fast as they entered the site.
The following are some common spamming practices. If you choose to employ any of these tactics the search engines will penalize you. NOTE: Be aware that search engines are getting smarter every day.
Repetition of keywords.
Using colored text on same-colored background to hide content.
Keywords that do not relate to the content of the site.
Duplication of pages with different URL's.
If these spamming tactics are used, the only success is in making the search engines look bad. How often have you used a search engine and wondered why 9 out of the ten results are either the same site or sites that have nothing to do with your search?
A:
Q: What web design techniques don't work with indexing search engines?
A:
Purely graphic web sites with little or no text prevent search engines from getting inside your site. Its like locking the door on many of the search engines. This may result in some of the pages on your site not being indexed, or none of your site being indexed at all.
Q: Is there anything else that helps the visibility of my web site?
A:
Yes. Here are a few things that will certainly help:
Get your own domain name. It provides name recognition and name association. Please see the Domain Name FAQs for additional information.
Publish your web and e-mail address everywhere you publish or list "anything," eg. stationery, business cards, advertisements, newsletters, articles, at the bottom of each of your e-mail messages, fax cover pages, product packages, news releases, etc.
Surf the net and e-mail other sites about a "reciprocal link; " they add a link to your site and, in return, your add a link to their site. Do a keyword search and contact the top 20 sites to see if they will trade links with you. Links are the most powerful method for people to find your site, they can generate significant traffic and they can also increase your ranking in certain search engines.
Learn the basics of "Netiquette" and become an active participant in Internet Newsgroups, which are related to your organization, products and services. Make sure your URL and e-mail address is listed at the bottom of each of your postings.
Use banners ads, which are the rectangular graphics you generally see near the top or bottom of popular web pages. The banner ad is actually linked to the advertisers page and is meant to generate traffic. They are inexpensive and you can even get some free banner advertising through Free Link Exchange and others.
The page title is the caption which appears on the title bar of your browser and many search engines consider it to be the most telling description of the content. Some search engines will continue to list the old version and the new one, which doubles your opportunity for traffic.
Be creative in finding new ways to offer useful information on your web site, which will draw more viewers and lure back those who have already visited.
Reevaluate often and take an active role in keeping your site active, current and healthy.
Q: How long will it take to see some results?
A:
You will notice immediate results from the promotion, because many of the search engines will dispatch crawlers, robots and spiders to your site immediately. In general, however, the average time between the promotion and seeing your listing is approximately 5-8 weeks and it varies.
Q: What are the differences between Search Engines?
A:
Deep Search Engines vs. Standard engines Comparison
There are two main types of search engines scouring the web today, Deep Search Engines and Standard Search Engines.
Deep search engines are constantly searching the World Wide Web for new and updated pages. These search engines are useful when searching for obscure and hard to find information. By searching for popular subjects like entertainment and games the number of results returned would be in the millions, making it extremely difficult to find exactly what you're looking for.
This is a list of the Deep Search Engines that use spiders to update their pages:
Alta Vista •Excite •Hot Bot • Infoseek •Lycos •
Northern Light •Webcrawler •Planet Search
Q: How do I know how many people are actually seeing my site?
A:
If we are your web hosting provider you will access to on-line reports which can show you how many people visit your site, where they came from, which pages they looked at and which links they followed. This allows you to keep a track on the most popular features of your site without any public display of counters.
Many sites utilize visible 'hit counter' to keep track of how many people have visited their site. Such counters actually provide very little information, and can create a negative image to the surfer if the number of hits is too low or too high.
Q: What Are Banner Ads?
A:
Banner ads are graphic ads that are displayed on web pages. The banners can be for advertising different areas of your web site or they can be for advertising completely different web sites and web pages. Banner ads are generally sold to advertisers by the thousand impressions (CPM) or by the thousand click thrus (CPIC). Banner Exchanges will run your banner ads on other web sites if you run other web sites banners on your web site. Most banner exchanges will display your banner once if you display two of their banners on your web site.
Q: Are banner ads really going to work?
A:
Banner ads are very popular among companies and they tend to spend a significant amount of money on banner ads. The most successful banner ads have a "click thru" rate of 3 - 4%. We encourage the use of banner ads, but we recommend only placing strategic banner ads on certain websites (such as industry portals, distributor's websites, or complementary businesses). We don't recommend some highly advertised banner ad programs that claim your ad will be placed on 500 websites because these ads are not placed strategically.
Q: What Is A Banner Exchange?
A:
Banner Exchanges will run your banner ads on other web sites if you run other web sites banners on your web site. Most banner exchanges will display your banner once if you display two of their banners on your web site.
Q: How can learn more about banner advertising ?
A:
read some of the following articles.
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