Marketing Yourself on the Web: Part 2
I have a website, what now?
Once you have a website you need to get it in front of people. Users that come through your website are called web traffic. Web traffic is often referred to Hits and Sessions. Hits are how many times a web page in your website is viewed. Sessions are how many times individual Users come to your website. Once you have a website you want to bring in a lot of web traffic. An important thing to remember is that you do not just want any traffic, you want traffic that is going to buy into you business. Whether you bring traffic to your website from offline or online resources, you want Relevant Traffic.
Offline marketing is marketing your website through means other then the Internet, i.e. flyers, business cards, billboards, etc.
Online Marketing is marketing your website through the Internet, i.e. Search Engines, Search Directories, Banner Ads and Articles on websites, etc.
All of this costs money and the more traffic you want, the more it costs.
What is a Search Engine?
A Search Engine is a website that allows people to search the search engine’s database of websites. Generally, people go on to a Search Engine and type in a phrase that relates to what they are interested in getting information on. These phrases are called keywords.
What is a Search Directory?
A Search Directory is similar to a Search Engine. It is a website that allows people to search the search directory’s database of websites. Generally, people go on to a Search Directory and type in keywords that relate to what they are interested in getting information on.
What is the difference between a Search Engine and a Search Directory?
The difference between Search Engines and Search Directories is very subtle. Both Search Engines and Search Directories add websites to their database of websites that people can search. This is called indexing web pages. The difference is that Search Engines use computer programs to add pages to the database of websites. A Search Directory has humans to add pages to the database of websites. This causes differences in the search results that are returned from searches and can help or hurt you, depending on what you are to find. Some Search Engines and Search Directories are better at indexing pages than others.
What are keywords and how do I find mine?
Keywords are a word or group of words that people type into a search engine or search directory to get search results of websites to find more information about the information they are trying to find. There are tools available to you on the Internet to access statistics on recently searched keywords. These can usually be found on the search engine or search directory websites. You can use these tools to tell what keywords are going to be able to bring you the most relevant traffic associated with your website.
What is Paid Inclusion?
Paid Inclusion is paying to be ranked well in the search result, which are returned when your keywords are typed into a search. This can cost anywhere from $0.10 to $20.00 per click depending on how competitive the keywords are in which you want the rankings.The major search engines that you can get Paid Inclusion through are Google, Overture, and Looksmart.com. This is complicated processes that can be expensive for the keywords, and to manage the process. A reputable web design company will help customers get set up and have them manage the process on their own to minimize costs.
What is Natural Ranking?
Natural Ranking is having a website that is designed to get ranking on the search engines or search directories without paying the engines directly. This is very valuable in the long term. There are many factors that go into this: website layout, content on the website, the way the code is programmed, the websites that link to your website, the activity you show to the search engines, etc.
How can a Search Engine Specialist help me get rankings?
Since there are so many factors, this makes the process is very complicated and unless you are a Search Engine Specialist. If search engine ranking is important to you, then you should hire one to help you. Here is a list of some of the services that they will provide:
- Keyword Targeting ’ Helping you find your relevant keywords.
- Website Architecture Search Engine Optimization ’ Designing and Programming your website layout to be search engine friendly.
- Website Search Engine Optimization ’ Designing the code that search engines see so that they rank you toward the top of search results.
- Website Submission ’ Submitting your website to search engines so that they will index your website before other websites.
- Website Reporting ’ Monthly reports of where your website is ranked on the search engines.
- Pay Per Click Management ’ Management of your Pay Per Click budget to make sure you are yielding the most traffic possible from the budget your are spending with the search engines.
- Strategic Positioning ’ Getting you website advertised on other websites that have users that are potential customers and building links from websites that will increase your ranking on the search engines.
This can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands and thousand of dollars dependent on how much time and money is going into optimizing your website. A full service optimization package from a reputable company costs about $2500 for setup and $30 per URL per Month. This does not include Pay Per Click Management or Strategic Positioning.
If you have any questions in regard to this information, you can email Greg Trinidad at gregt@northstarhosting.com.
Author Contact Info:
Greg Trinidad
http://www.northstarwebdesign.com
858.459.6988