Build it and they will come.

Who hasn't heard this famous line? If this is how you think websites work, you may be in for a rude awakening. This ever-growing internet contains billions of pages of information and thousands, if not millions of pages that compete directly, or indirectly with the very message you are trying to get out.

So how do you get the most out of your website? What is the other guy doing to make his website show up better in search engines? What can you be doing to make more people aware of your own site?

Search Engines and Directories.

Let's begin by explaining the difference between a search engine and a directory.

Search Engines:
A search engine is a database of websites which is maintained by webbots or spiders (programs that span the web looking for new sites or updated pages.) Google is the most famous of these. A search engine generally depends on keywords and descriptions (among other criteria) to decide rankings for each website.

Directories:
A directory is also a database of websites. A directory is maintained in part by human editors. The logic being that people will be more discerning when placing your site in a category. They claim to be better at avoiding decoy sites (usually illegal sites) which use keywords to try to gain an advantage over yours.

Sadly, the truth is that neither of these systems works particularly well at weeding out the abusers, and sites that don't deserve to be listed above yours still seem to find their way into the top spots anyway.

So what's an honest site owner to do?

There is plenty you can do to help your site gain more attention without resorting to the same seedy tricks of the average porn or gambling site. My best advice is to try to ignore the search engines and directories for a while and concentrate on real world advertising.

Below are the traffic reports for two of my clients who are in identical businesses. The first is a business owner who had her website designed and has pretty much ignored it ever since. The second shows how much differently a website can perform when the site owner works to have it noticed.  

Poor Performance

Good Performance

So what are these two women doing differently?

The first woman thinks like most people. She has bought into the myth that websites are advertisements like TV, radio or print ads. They are not. Unlike TV, radio and print ads, which have guaranteed audiences, websites depend on luck or skill to be found. This woman is hoping for luck.

In example #2, the website owner has realized that an audience for her website is not guaranteed. She practices good technique to get more value from her website. Luck will only carry a site so far. She has taken the reins and learned some simple tricks to promote her site.

What are those tricks?

1.) RWA - Real World Advertising. Make sure that your website address (URL) is displayed prominently in any other advertising you produce. This means: business cards, letterhead, newsletters, in the signature of your outgoing emails, posters, signs, billboards, tv, radio and print ads.

2.) Fine print isn't good enough! Your website could be your most important advertising tool. When you have a business card designed, don't make your website address so small that you need a magnifying glass to see it. My business card has my website address in bold letters against a glossy coloured background. To me, it's more important than my name. It's on both sides of my business card in big, bold lettering.

3.) Keywords, keywords, keywords! You've heard this before, but it bears repeating. Good keywords help search engines and directories to place you more accurately. Be sure to include geographical information and even commonly mispelled words to help people find your site.

3.) A good description. A couple of sentences to succinctly describe your product or service. The description is most often read by web bots and a site which lacks a description will suffer. The description is hidden in the code.

4.) Another good description. It is important to include a good description on the first page of your website. This should be the very first text on your website. Some search engines grab the first few words off your website to use as a description. Don't waste it by saying "hello, and welcome to my website!" Or, "We are located in Beach Area 3 adjacent to Tim Hortons". I'm sure Tim Hortons will appreciate the free advertising, but it does nothing to help your site.

5.) Talk about it. Don't forget to tell people about your website. Drive it into their heads. It is your most important advertising tool and to neglect to mention it just makes no sense.

6.) Reciprocal links. This is far more important than you might think. It's good for you and it's good for your business associates to share links. Create a "Links" page on your website and include friends, neighbours and associates. Ask them to do the same. You would not believe how many hits my site gets because a client of mine has my website listed on their links page.

7.) Current information. This is the most often neglected, yet most important technique for getting a good ranking. Even if you change only one letter on your site every month, new information is recognized by search engines. A site that has not been touched in two years will be considered unimportant and suffer in the rankings. When any change is made to a website, it is stamped with today's date. Search engines don't neccessarily know what has changed, just that is has changed. If your competitors fail to make any changes to their sites, yours will slowly glide upwards in the search engines.

8.) Search Engine Placement Companies. Arrrrgggh! Don't waste your money. Nobody can guarantee you a good ranking in any search engine or directory unless you pay for the privilege of being in the number one spot. And, you can do that yourself if you have the budget. Their techniques won't amount to a hill of beans if you go back to ignoring your website. Hire one of these companies and you'll be thousands of dollars lighter but no further ahead.

9.) Advertise on good sites. If you find a site out there that has an audience which might be interested in your services, find out if they accept advertising. Some sites sell advertising for rediculously low prices or even free, yet they can be invaluable to you for generating new business. Do a little research. Google the keywords that someone might use to find your product or service to see if any information sites come up. If they appear on the first or second page of Google, they might be a good place to advertise your site.

10.) Good information. Websites hold a wealth of information. If your business is real estate, it's not good enough to simply tell people your name and contact info. You need to entice people to your site with good and useful information. Articles can capture and hold an audience. If you can, include information about recognizing a bad house or questions to ask when buying a home. These are just examples, but whatever your business is, there are probably a thousand questions that can be answered via your website. You are an expert in your field! And while you are answering questions, you are gaining a bigger and more loyal audience.

If you employ some or all of these techniques, you WILL see some improvement in the traffic to your site. It takes a little time and effort, but the results are definitely worth it.