|
By Joe Dysart
While virtually every player in the industry has a Web presence now, Internet marketing consultants warn that without proper marketing and promotion, Web sites quickly can become white elephants in cyberspace.
“The now-cliche Web maxim ‘If you build it, they will come’ has lulled many online marketers into a false sense of opportunity. The truth is that Web site traffic building has its own set of PR needs and requires its own system of aggressive, attention-getting tactics” says Charles Sayers, an Internet marketing consultant based in Acworth, Ga..
Specifically, Sayers says uniform businesses looking to maximize the Web’s potential first should attempt to determine how many of their customers or clients are actually online – and how easily they will be able to reach this market.
Once you decide to take the plunge, Internet consultants advise you to take advantage of as many of the following Web site marketing and promotion strategies as possible:
This is probably one of the easiest – although sometimes one of the most expensive – ways to promote a Web site and company services on the Web. Essentially, firms using this technique rent exposure in an e-mail customer distribution list that already is established on the Web. Often, the firm owning the list recommends via e-mail that its customers visit the site of the list renter and sometimes includes a discount coupon for goods or services at the list renter’s site.
Seasoned Web users turn to search engines like Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com) and Excite! (www.excite.com) to help them find specific information on the Net quickly. Essentially, they simply type in a subject area and the search engine brings back “links” that they can click on for further information.
Given the great power these search engines have to steer thousands of Net cruisers to specific sites, it should come as no surprise that a number of Web-savvy firms have cropped up to help firms be among the first “links” the search engines return to information seekers. For a cornucopia of insight on these firms – as well as a great overview on how to work the search engines – check out Search Engine Watch (www.searchenginewatch.com).
Branders.com, based in Foster City, Calif., is apparently no stranger to this search engine listing strategy. When the keywords “promotional clothing L.A.” were entered into Google (www.google.com), a popular search engine, its site was the first link to be listed. Branders.com also came up first with the similar keywords “promotional clothing, New York.” That kind of visibility does not happen accidentally.
Another option: use a software program like Web Site Traffic Builder, by Draper, Utah-based Intelliquis (www.intelliquis.com). Traffic Builder automatically registers your site with more than 3,500 Internet search engines and will automatically put your business in the appropriate category for each search engine. Plus, you can use the software to check your site’s position on the Net’s eight most popular search engines. A similar program, WebPosition Gold, by FirstPlace Software (www.firstplace.com), focuses on getting your site placed high up on the Web’s top search engines.
Probably the easiest, least expensive, and most effective way to promote a site is to link your page with every other noncompetitive page on the Internet that shares the same interest. Roger’s Uniforms (www.rogersuniforms.com), features an extensive links section at its site. “Link until you drop,” says Craig Settles, a senior strategist for Berkeley, Calif.-based Successful Marketing Strategists and author of “Cybermarketing: Essentials for Success,” published by Ziff-Davis.
Web sites that have the mettle should attempt to get their new site judged by the many cool site of the day, week, etc. judging services. Sites that are worthy of an award are given the equivalent of a graphic blue ribbon they can post on their site. And the awarding service also provides a free link to the winning page from its own home page – a perk that can literally generate thousands of visits to a new Web site, according to Sayers.
Adds Jim Wilson, the Webmaster behind Virtual Promote (www.virtualpromote.com) and a samurai-class Web marketer, “Keep in mind that most people who will be surfing to your Web site don’t know the relative difficulty of earning different awards. All they see is that some people thought your site was good enough to win an award. Go ahead. Apply for everything.”
Another tried-and-true traffic generator in the bricks and mortar world, contests do the same for Web sites – as well as glean valuable demographic data about site visitors. AllHeart.com (www.allheart.com), based in Camarillo, Calif., is running a $100 shopping giveaway at its site. And Dickies (www.dickies.com), based in Fort Worth, Texas, runs a new contest every month.
Probably one of the most overlooked opportunities on the Web is the opportunity to establish a virtual press center on a site. Increasingly, journalists are turning to the Internet and the Web to search for stories and develop new ideas, and there is no reason why any company with a Web site should pass up an opportunity for free media exposure, says Settles. Branders.com sports an online press center that is well-stocked with press releases.
In an effort to make Web cruising a little easier, a number of businesses have packaged themselves in easy-to-use directories that help Net cruisers get to their sites more quickly. A good place to start is Made To Measure’s (www.madetomeasuremag.com) own online buyer’s guide. Visitors here can perform highly specific searches based on a specific product and/or industry niche.
This is the application that catapulted America Online to the premier spot among Internet Service Providers. Essentially, it’s a place where 30 or so people can “congregate” and exchange live text messages with one another over the Net. The operative word here is “live.” In a chat room, everyone gets to instantly read and respond to anything anyone else feels inspired to write on the spot. For more information, type the keywords “chat room software” or “free chat room software” into any popular search engine.
The Internet’s answer to the local coffee shop or town square, message boards enable visitors to post messages to one another in a dedicated domain and thus build a community centered around the sponsoring Web site. Team Spirit of Lexington
(www.team-spirit-of-lex.com), based in Lexington, Ky., offers a bulletin board for cheerleaders. For more info, type the keywords “message board software” or “free message board software” into any popular search engine.
Interesting and informative company newsletters are a time-honored way to establish an ongoing relationship with current and prospective customers. A good industry model can be found at Promotional Products And Ideas (www.promotionalproductsandideas.com), based in Seattle, Wash. The site has a sign-up for an e-mail-delivered newsletter.
The old maxim “Nothing is more valuable than word-of-mouth promotion” never rang more true than in cyberspace. Get your Web designer to add a “recommend this site” button. By clicking on the button, the visitor can dash off a quick “heads-up” about the site to a friend that is automatically forwarded to the friend’s e-mail address. Ingenious.
While most of us are comfortable bandying about catch phrases like “international marketplace” and “global economy,” only a handful of sites on the Web actually are truly global in reach. The reason-few businesses have bothered to sport more than their own language on their sites. Offering different versions of your site in a number of languages – along with other changes to your site that specifically appeal to the cultures you’re trying to attract – will ensure your business truly has a global appeal.
Sayers concludes: “Combining these tactics will virtually guarantee that, within a few short weeks, your access counters will start spinning like the gallon indicator on a 1950s gas pump.”
|
