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OTHER WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR WEB SITE

After you have modified your pages and submitted them to all the Search Engines and Directories, you will need to take additional steps to promote your Web site. You may find some of our proposed actions time-consuming or they may seem unimportant. It is up to you to decide which of them you would want to take. We will list them in order of their importance and in their probability of returning positive results in increasing your Web site traffic.

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    1. GET YOUR VISITORS TO COME BACK

An important part of your Web Marketing strategy takes place once you gotten people to visit your Web site. It is very important to take advantage of their presence and give them a reason to come back and visit you again. After all the hard work you have done to bring them in, you must take steps to insure that they will continue to be a part of your future success. What can you do: You must always compare your Web site to a little retail store at your local shopping mall. Your site may not be commercial in purpose but you definitely share the same goals as that little store. Both of you are always on the lookout for visitors. As you need them to see and browse your pages, they need them to walk in, browse and buy their merchandise. Their most important goal after making a sale is to make sure that the customer will come back again. Repeat business and repeat visitors do not come easy. To get them back, you must work as hard as you did to bring them in at first place.

TIP:
Don't forget to actually ask your visitors to come back. It may sound too obvious but a polite "Please come back and visit us again" will give your visitors the feeling that when they do come back they will be coming back home.

      ONLINE RESOURCES:

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      ( 1 ) GIVE THEM A REASON TO COME BACK

When we were discussing the ways to attract potential visitors to come and visit you, it was very important that your title had some kind of hook, a way to grab their attention. Now when you have the same would- be visitor at your door actually entering and browsing around, you need to play the same old game again. It is just somewhat easier now when you have all the space in your pages available to place the invisible traps so as to make sure your visitors will be coming back. It may sound obvious but a statement promising new and exciting features or products coming soon could probably do the trick. Of course it is important to keep your promises, so when visitors do come back they will be pleasantly surprised. Not only will that make them return again and again, they will expect to be surprised from time to time, and they will regard your site as professional and as such, worth visiting again.

    GET THEM HOOKED AGAIN

A good example of a hook is to have a contest going on where you may ask visitors to answer some questions or to find an object hidden somewhere in your pages or ask them to send you a good joke. If you have the time to spend with your site, very often the best results occur when you can offer something new every few days, like a joke of the day or an event of the day and so on.

  • YOU NEED THE HOOK AGAIN
  • PROMISE NEW FEATURES
  • PROMISE NEW PRODUCTS
  • KEEP THE PROMISES
  • HAVE CONTESTS
  • HAVE DAILY EVENTS

It is up to your imagination to explore this subject and find a new and unique way of entertaining the visitors at your site. It is the same as with TV viewers holding a remote control in their hand, only here it is even faster. They switch channels or Web sites by clicking on their mouse in a split second.

NOTE:
If you have anything to offer for free, get your visitors to do something in return. Ask for a reciprocal link from their Web site. Most of them who like your site would do so anyway. Therefore, you may just have to push them a little bit in the right direction.

TIP:
Try to find a sponsor who would get free publicity on your site if he provides a gift for the winner of your contest. Nothing attracts attention as a chance of winning valuable gifts for real.

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      (2) GIVE THEM SOMETHING SPECIAL

As we mentioned earlier on the subject of search engine placement and the making of your Title Tag, it is important to always offer something special. If visitors get a feeling about your Web site, that it is special and offers more than your competitors do, it will be the reason enough for them to come back and visit you again. It will work as word of mouth as well, as long as your site can offer something more and better then others.

    WHAT CAN YOU DO

Anything that looks like:

  • FREE TIPS
  • FREE ADVICE
  • WIN A FREE GIFT
  • FREE GIFT WITH PURCHASE
  • FREE DOWNLOADS
  • FREE SAMPLES
  • TRY IT FOR FREE
  • SPECIAL SALE
  • BUY ONE GET ...

Will get the visitors attention and make them want come back again.

    OFFER OUR FREE META TAGS GENERATOR

Get all the important <META> tags for your Web page. Copy (CTRL-C) and paste (CTRL-V): Your Name, Web page Title, Description and Keywords in the form below. After submitting your info, just copy (Edit-SelectAll and CTRL-C) and paste (CTRL-V) the results into your Web page HTML.

Name:

(will be placed in your AUTHOR tag)
Title: (max 100 characters)

(will be placed in your TITLE tag)
Description: (max 200 characters)

(will be placed in your DESCRIPTION tag)
Keywords: (max 1000 characters)

(will be placed in your KEYWORDS tag)

Just Copy and Paste the HTML code below into your page and our server will handle the rest.


    <CENTER>
    <FORM ACTION="http://www.web-consulting.cc/cgi-bin/tags.cgi" METHOD=POST>
    <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME=".mail_subject" VALUE="Web-Consulting Meta Tags Generator">
    <INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME=".email_target" VALUE="info@web-consulting.cc">
    <TABLE BORDER=0 BGCOLOR="#EAEAEA" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=12>
    <TR><TD>
    <B>  Name:</B><BR>
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="name" SIZE=30 MAXLENGTH=100><BR>
    (will be placed in your <B>AUTHOR</B> tag)
    </TD></TR>
    <TR><TD>
    <B>  Title:</B> (max 100 characters)<BR>
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="title" SIZE=60 MAXLENGTH=100><BR>
    (will be placed in your <B>TITLE</B> tag)
    </TD></TR>
    <TR><TD>
    <B>  Description:</B> (max 200 characters)<BR>
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="description" SIZE=60 MAXLENGTH=200><BR>
    (will be placed in your <B>DESCRIPTION</B> tag)
    </TD></TR>
    <TR><TD>
    <B>  Keywords:</B> (max 1000 characters)<BR>
    <TEXTAREA NAME="keywords" COLS=52 ROWS=7 WRAP=off></TEXTAREA><BR>
    (will be placed in your <B>KEYWORDS</B> tag)
    </TD></TR>
    <TR><TD ALIGN=CENTER><INPUT TYPE=submit VALUE="Submit">
    </TD></TR>
    </TABLE>
    </FORM>
    </CENTER>

    OR OFFER LINKS TO FREE ONLINE UTILITIES LIKE:

You can even become their reseller. After you fill the application on their Web site and copy the appropriate HTML code in your page, you will earn the percentage of sales made by visitors who purchase services at their Web site. Number "banner=ref9e25c9d9" that you see at the address below is our resaller code.

      IMPORTANT:

Any time you offer links to any Web page outside your site remind your visitors to ADD BOOKMARK. Once they leave, even unintentionally, they may never be able to find your site again. Use simple sentence like this:

      Great places to go AFTER bookmarking this site...

    TYPICAL VALUE-ADDED SITE

This site you are visiting now is a typical example of a value-added site. It's commercial purpose is to get customers for a Web Consulting service. The business goal is to make money and become profitable. But on the other Hand, it also provides a valuable free service to all visitors. This wealth of information, hundreds of tips, trade secrets, are all value-added services offered for free. That is the reason why you came here to visit us. Give your visitors similar value-added service and they will come in numbers too. Once you have them inside your store or inside your Web site, than their numbers work towards your success and they will be coming back as well.

NOTE:
Notice how many times in our pages and at our titles and descriptions in our pages we have mentioned FREE TIPS. People love to receive gifts, even if it's just free advice on how to do something better and easier.

TIP:
There are quite a few sites on the Web offering links to all the places that offer something for free. If you have a valuable free service on your site, don't forget to contact them and ask for your link to be included.

      ONLINE RESOURCES:

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      (3) KEEP REFRESHING YOUR SITE

Nothing will impress your visitors more than if you keep your site fresh and up to date. Whatever the purpose of your site, if you update your content often it will be the best reason for visitors to come back again and again.
It is like when people watch their favorite sitcom on TV, or when they read their favorite magazine. It always has to give them something new and fresh as a reason to come back and give it their precious attention. It is especially so with visitors on the Web. With so much choices available on the Net, their attention span is much shorter than with any other medium.
The content of your web site is what brought them in but The expectancy of new and fresh content is something that will bring them back. A successful Web site is most often not the result of a lucky incident but rather is the result of hard work and constant innovation.

  • KEEP IT UP TO DATE
  • KEEP THEIR ATTENTION
  • KEEP WORKING ON IT
  • KEEP BEING INVENTIVE

Be diligent in updating your pages, especially if your visitors are used to expect that from you. It is very hard to get a steady visitor to come back and keep visiting you. To loose them is so easy. All they need is to get disappointed just once and they will forget all the good times they had on your site and will never come to visit you again.

    DATE LAST TIME YOUR SITE WAS UPDATED

At the bottom of your page together with your page counter put a sign telling your visitors when was the last time your site was updated. It doesn't have to be a major change, it may be just a slight touch-up. Important is to show that your site is fresh.

NOTE:
Make a page where you will inform your regular visitors about new features you have added recently. Usually it's called a "What's New" page. Put it on your link bar.

TIP:
Always have a link "NEW" or "WHAT'S NEW" on your main link bar that will lead to a special page on your site that explains what's new at the moment.

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      (4) GET THEM TO ADD BOOKMARK

Ask your visitors to bookmark the page they are visiting. People often wish to come back and visit again, only to find out that they have forgotten how to find you again. Remind them to bookmark your page, all it takes them is a click of the mouse. For you the merchant, it may mean a future sale.
Offer them some incentive to bookmark. There are many ways to make your customer feeling special. He will show his gratitude coming back to visit, and all the effort it would take is a click of the mouse on the bookmark icon of his browser.

    WHAT CAN YOU OFFER

It may be a small discount on the purchase, or free access to a part of your site designated as "members only". The decision to buy on the Web is most often made in a split second. Small incentives, like discounts or free membership for a bookmark may mean the difference between a sale and a lost customer. For making you their favorite, offer them to become members of your visitors club, and become your favorite visitor. All it would take them to join is to bookmark your page. Every time they will look into their list of bookmarks your page will be inviting them to come back and visit again.

  • ASK THEM TO BOOKMARK
  • OFFER INCENTIVES TO BOOKMARK
  • OFFER THEM DISCOUNTS
  • OFFER THEM FREE MEMBERSHIP
  • CHECK HOW MANY DO BOOKMARK

You can check to see how many visitors are using their bookmarks to visit you by looking at reference.log file. Every time you see as a source of your visit not the URL of some Web page but address of the local file on somebody's hard disk, it is a bookmark file.

      IMPORTANT:

Any time you offer links to any Web page outside your site remind your visitors to ADD BOOKMARK. Once they leave, even unintentionally, they may never be able to find your site again. Use simple sentence like this:

      Great places to go AFTER bookmarking this site...

NOTE:
Many Internet users do not know how to bookmark the page they are viewing. Offer them advice or instructions on how to bookmark your page. Your visitors who know how to do it want pay attention, but the ones who do not know, will be grateful for it.

TIP:
Place a "Friendly Note" about adding a bookmark on your main pages. You need them to bookmark the pages that will give them access to your whole site. When they come back you will want them to have a choice of browsing through longer and make more "hits".

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      (5) MAKE YOUR OWN MAILING LIST

The best way of getting a feedback from your visitors is to provide a simple e-mailing form on one of your pages. All you need to ask for is an e-mail address and a name. It gives visitors a chance to communicate with you and it will give you many added benefits. This way, you will get a mailing list of your visitors. They are the people who already know about you and any e-mail promotion from you will definitely have a positive impact. It is much better than blindly sending e-mail to people you don't know. Very often their suggestions will give you a valuable imput on how to improve the performance of your site or they will discover mistakes or lost links for you. Sometimes the best ideas will come from the most unexpected sources. The most valuable marketing tool is information you can get from people who are actually using your site as it's day to day visitors.
Always respond promptly to all questions your visitors have for you. Even if they do not directly require an answer it is very good habit to respond with a short and polite notice of "thank you for visiting us".

  • PROVIDE E-MAIL FEEDBACK FORM
  • MAKE A LIST OF RESPONDENTS
  • SEND THEM YOUR PROMOTIONS
  • CHECK ON THEIR IMPUTE
  • ALWAYS RESPOND ON TIME

    EXAMPLE OF SIMPLE MAIL-TO FORM

Make it simple and just provide a button for your visitors to click on. You don't need a CGI script or complicated forms. Use and paste this simple HTML code:

    <FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="mailto:name@domain.com">
    <INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" VALUE="Click to Join our Mailing List">
    </FORM>

This is how it looks. Click on the button and join our mailing list.

    HOW TO ANSWER VISITOR E-MAIL

It is always preferable to answer to each visitor separately. It does not look good on the header of the e-mail your visitor will receive if there is a long list of recipients. The proper way is for your visitor to feel that he got a very special attention from you and e-mail that was prepared for him only.

    ANSWER VISITOR E-MAIL QUICKLY

Check your E-mail a few times a day. Respond quickly and show how much you care for your customers so they can see how reliable you are.

NOTE:
Chose the best messages you have received from your visitors and make a special "Thank You" page. Tell them you appreciate their attention and say it loud in the title of that page. Other visitors will see that you take seriously maintaining your site and will likely respond with positive feelings.

TIP:
Ask openly your visitors for their suggestions. They may discover a new exciting feature to add and improve your site that you have been looking all along.

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    2. GETTING LINKS TO YOUR WEB SITE

Some studies show that majority of links people click-on to get from site to site are the ones inside regular Web pages like yours. The more links that point out from other sites to your own Web site, more chances you have of getting more visitors. And if these other Web site's are very successful, you will share in their successes too.

    HOW CAN YOU DO IT

First, spend some time investigating which sites are there on the Web that would be perfect for you to place your Web site's link. Use Search Engines and Directories and enter your own keywords to see who is coming up. You will find many of your competitors pages but there will be sites that are similar to you and may be interested in exchanging a link with you. Ask them to place your link on their Web site. They may ask you for a reciprocal link, but this exchange of links may often bring you more traffic than you would have to give away. Don't forget to check, from time to time, if your link is still placed as before. If in time you get many links on your site, create a page only for links. It will provide additional services to your visitors. Internet is all about links, about sites and pages linked together. The more links that connect to your Web site, the more people will visit you, and the more successful you become.

  • LOOK FOR SIMILAR WEB SITES
  • ASK FOR RECIPROCAL LINK
  • GIVE THEM RECIPROCAL LINK
  • PERIODICALLY CHECK THE LINKS
  • MAKE A LINKS PAGE ON YOUR SITE

    ASK YOUR VISITORS TO PROVIDE A LINK

Like Web site "Duct Tape" did:

HELP US OUT!! PLEASE!
Link to us and help others find us on the web!
Our URL is http://www.affordablewebdesign.com/search/

    OFFER SOMETHING IN RETURN FOR THEIR TIME

This is how our "Get Links" E-mail form looks like: Place a link to our Home Page on your Web site and receive a free Newsletter. You will get regular updates on new developments in the field of Web promotion. We will then place a reciprocal link to your site on our Links page.
Link URL:
Name:
E-mail:

    HOW SHOULD YOU WRITE A MESSAGE ASKING FOR A LINK

The message should be informal, just tell them that you like their Web site and give them a short description of your site. Tell them that you think that both Web sites will benefit by link exchange. If they don't reply immediately, give them some time and send it again. Getting links is like fishing, never get upset if they refuse you. After links are exchanged, put it on your links list and check them out from time to time.

    REFERRALS

The most reliable way of promotion is when other people are telling their friends about your Web site. Ask your visitors to tell their friends about your site to 'Recomend-it'.

    OFFER OUR FREE 'RECOMMEND-IT' E-MAIL FORM

Place it on your Web site and get your own visitors to recommend-you. They can also place it on their Web sites and benefit from this useful 'Recommend-it' service too. Just Copy and Paste the HTML code below into your page and our server will handle the rest.

Like this site? Tell a friend! Please 'Recommend it'.
Your Name: E-mail:
Your Friend: E-mail:
Comments:
This referral system generates significant amount of this site's traffic.
Send your referral to find out how to set it up on your own site, free!
( PRIVACY! This 'Recommend it' form do NOT record any information. )


    <P><CENTER>
    <FONT SIZE="+1">
    <B>Like this site? Tell a friend! Please 'Recommend it'.</B>
    </FONT>
    <FORM ACTION="http://www.web-consulting.com/cgi-bin/rec.cgi" METHOD=POST>
    <TABLE BORDER=1 BGCOLOR="#EAEAEA" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=12>
    <TR><TD ALIGN=RIGHT>Your Name:
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="yourname" SIZE=10 MAXLENGTH=20> E-mail:
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="yourmail" SIZE=22 MAXLENGTH=50><BR>Your Friend:
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="friendname" SIZE=10 MAXLENGTH=20> E-mail:
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="friendmail" SIZE=22 MAXLENGTH=50><BR>Comments:
    <INPUT TYPE=text NAME="comments" SIZE=39 MAXLENGTH=100><BR>
    </TD><TD ALIGN=CENTER>
    <INPUT TYPE=submit VALUE="Send"></TD></TR>
    </TABLE>
    </FORM>
    <B>This referral system generates significant amount of this site's traffic.<BR>
    Send your referral to find out how to set it up on your own site, free!<BR>
    <FONT SIZE="-1">
    ( PRIVACY! This 'Recommend it' form do NOT record any information. )</B>
    </FONT>
    </CENTER></P>

    EXAMPLE:

For T-shirt Web site, the best link is from a "T-shirt Shopper" site. They list hundreds of T-shirt selling Web sites and they will even offer to place your listing on the top if you respond accordingly and place their banners prominently. For almost every product there is somewhere an equivalent of "T-shirt Shopper" waiting for you to find it and benefit from it's success.

    BROWSING BACKWARDS

At some Search Engines you can list the Web pages linked to your site. Just type: "link: www.yoursite.com" and see how many pages are linked to your Web site.

Check Links:

search  

NOTE:
Check the Usnet Newsgroups or even post a question about Web sites similar to yours that would like to exchange links with you.

TIP:
Use the multiple points of entry for different links. Make a copy of a page, rename it and give out its address for that external link. If you place a counter on it, it will tell you how many people are coming to you from that link.

      ONLINE RESOURCES:

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    3. SELF PROMOTION

The most overlooked opportunity to promote the Web site is inclusion of your URL on everything you give out. It is very important not to forget, to always include your URL on everything you print out yourself. Business cards, promotional letters, printed t-shirts, key chains, small calendars, imprinted pens and so on. They all should have your URL printed together with your company name and telephone number. The easiest way to contact you is through your Web site. There is an e-mail link waiting for them just to click on it.

  • PRINT YOUR URL EVERYWHERE
  • GIVE OUT YOUR URL TO EVERYBODY
  • URL IS BETTER THAN TELEPHONE NUMBER
  • ADD YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS AS WELL

    EASY TO REMEMBER DOMAIN NAME

If possible, get a domain name that is easy to remember. If ".com" or ".net" are not available you can use ".cc". Most people may have a problem remembering seven or nine digit telephone numbers, but an easy way to remember word that connects with your Web sites subject is a sure thing. Like, our address is www.web-consulting.cc, if you lost our business card it is easy to look for us on the Web.

    GET ANOTHER CATCHY DOMAIN NAME

Check the domain name availability. Type in your URL and just click on "Go!"

Check Domain:

TIP:
Tell your friends to tell their friends about your Web site. With an easy to remember name it will spread far and wide.

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    4. DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN

Everything we have mentioned so far has always been connected to the Internet. All the promotion techniques were explored in regards to doing the things online. Often overlooked opportunities to promote the Web site is to use the old fashioned ways of promoting like direct snail mail campaign.
If you live in a small community or appeal to a very limited audience on the Web, it is a good idea to target them with a direct mail campaign. It used to work for years for mail order businesses of every kind, it just may work for you also.

  • USE DIRECT SNAIL MAILINGS
  • INCLUDE YOUR URL EVERYWHERE
  • URL IS BETTER THAN TELEPHONE NUMBER
  • ADD YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS AS WELL

    EASY TO REMEMBER DOMAIN NAME

If possible, get a domain name that is easy to remember. If ".com" or ".net" are not available you can use ".cc". Most people may have a problem remembering seven or nine digit telephone numbers, but an easy way to remember word that connects with your Web sites subject is a sure thing. Like, our address is www.web-consulting.cc, if you lost our flyer it is easy to look for us on the Web.

    GET ANOTHER CATCHY DOMAIN NAME

Check the domain name availability. Type in your URL and just click on "Go!"
Check Domain:

TIP:
Look for a co-sponsor. If somebody you know is doing a direct mail promotion, ask him to include your URL. It is all about numbers, the more people see your URL or e-mail address, the more likely somebody will use it.

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    5. GET AWARDS FOR YOUR WEB SITE

It may sound to obvious but it may also bring you more rewards than any other way of promotion. First you have to make sure that your site deserves special attention. It has to be designed perfectly and it has to perform smoothly. We will just list the features you should think of when attempting to reach that goal.

  • STRONG IDENTITY
  • PROFESSIONAL LOOK
  • SUPERB GRAPHIC DESIGN
  • EASY CLEAR TEXT
  • EASE OF NAVIGATION
  • ACURATE INFORMATION
  • WORKING LINKS
  • FAST LOADING

    WHAT ELSE SHOULD YOUR SITE POSESS

Apart from superb design, your site must have some added features that would distinguish it from thousands of other "normal" sites. You must have a special attitude to accomplish that "impossible" goal. Think what else can you do and add to your site to make it best. Your site must posess:

  • WEB SITE USEFULNESS
  • VALUE ADDED SERVICES
  • DESIGN INGENUITY
  • SPECIAL FEATURES
  • UNIQUE APPEAL

You will find more information on how to improve the look and performance of your pages at the WEB SALES part of our site.

    WHERE TO SUBMIT YOUR SITE

There are hundreds of places on the Web giving all kinds of awards for best Web sites. Here are some usefull links:

  • 2Ask
  • Adze Cosmic Site
  • Club Web Platinum
  • Computer Currents Links
  • Wow! Web Wonders
    		•
  • Cool Site of the Nite
  • Eye Candy WWW Site Review
  • The ASource
  • The Cowpie Awards
  • Windows Magazine HotSpot Page
    		•

    There are hundreds of places on the Web giving all kinds of awards for the best Web sites. Check the Search Engines and look at Yahoo.

      WHERE TO LOOK AT YAHOO

    Just look at Yahoo Awards Directory:
    Home : Computers and Internet : Internet : World Wide Web : Best of the Web : Awards :

    NOTE:
    Any time your site gets any kind of award or is mentioned anywhere, always write that down on your index page. When visitors see that others are impressed with your site, it will make them look at it in a different more positive way.

    TIP:
    When thinking of ways of how to improve your site or how to make it special, it's good to have a strong, positive attitude. You must deeply want to make it "perfect". You must constantly believe that your site will definitely be "number one" in it's category.

        ONLINE RESOURCES:

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      6. GET ACTIVE WITH USENET NEWSGROUPS

    It used to be that most Internet users got into it because they needed e-mail or wanted to participate in Usenet Newsgroups. If you are not using and reading Newsgroups, first spend some time with them, just to get familiar with the concept. Use Search Engines or www.dejanews.com to find Newsgroups whose subject is similar to what you are offering on the Web. Whenever you can, read the messages from these groups. Sooner or later someone will ask a question that deals with the question of what your web site is about. Then, post the correct answer to that question, but do not forget to use the signature part of your message to give all the information about your Web site, including of course it's full URL. You have four lines available for your signature, more than enough to get your massage through. This way nobody will feel offended since you have been following the Newsgroups etiquette.

    • SPEND SOME TIME WITH NEWSGROUPS
    • USE WWW.DEJANEWS.COM TO SEARCH
    • FIND SIMILAR NEWSGROUPS
    • USE SIGNATURE PART OF MASSAGE
    • GET ACTIVE WITH NEWSGROUPS

      KEEP DOING IT

    Once you get involved in going on of certain Newsgroups and become an active member, nobody will pay attention on your "unintentional" add, within your signature. Every time you have fun participating in a Newsgroup discussion your signature is "invisibly," reminding other participants of your Web site and what it may offer for them. You may also use Newsgroups to get hard to find answers on any conceivable topic. It is easy, just ask the question and sooner or later somebody will come up with the right answer.

      WHERE TO LOOK FOR USENET NEWSGROUPS

    Just look at Yahoo Usenet Directory:
    Home : Computers and Internet : Internet : Usenet :

    IMPORTANT NOTICE:
    Do NOT use the services of Bulk E-mailers or spammers. They may offer you their "Services" to spam the Usenet too. Our experience says NO. Spam is very, very unpopular among the general population of the Web. You may loose more by being associated with something as unpopular as spam, than gain by getting a temporary increase in visitors, if any.

    NOTE:
    Only a year ago Usenet Newsgroups were one of the most promising ways of improving your site's traffic. Unfortunately nowadays they are so overwhelmed with spam that it is getting very difficult to get noticed. If you participate in Newsgroup discussions anyway, your signature will get you noticed with the people that take them seriously.

    TIP:
    By using Usnet Newsgroups to publicize your Web site, you have an opportunity to appeal to a very narrow, targeted audience. They may well be the perfect visitors or customers for your Web site.

        ONLINE RESOURCES:

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      7. PUBLIC E-MAILING LISTS

    As with Usnet Newsgroups, there are thousands of Public Mailing Lists covering any conceivable topic. For you, it presents an opportunity to find a very narrow audience, ideal as visitors for your Web site.

      GET ACTIVE

    Use Directories like www.liszt.com and find out which of the lists may be of interest to you and your Web site. Get into discussions, get active. Use your signature part of the e-mail massage to unobtrusively give the information about your Web site. This way you are actually providing a service to people who may find some of their answers by visiting your site.

    • USE WWW.LISZT.COM
    • FIND RELEVANT LISTS
    • JOIN DISCUSSIONS
    • USE SIGNATURE
    • GET ACTIVE

      WHERE TO LOOK FOR PUBLIC MAILING LISTS

    Just look at Yahoo Mailing Lists Directory:
    Home : Computers and Internet : Internet : Mailing Lists :

    IMPORTANT NOTICE:
    Do NOT use the services of Bulk E-mailers or spammers. Our experience says NO. Spam is very, very unpopular among the general population of the Web. You may loose more by being associated with something as unpopular as spam, than gain by getting a temporary increase in visitors, if any.

    NOTE:
    As mentioned earlier with Usenet Newsgroups, the Public Mailing Lists are just getting overwhelmed with spam and it's getting very difficult to get noticed. If you participate in Mailing List discussions anyway, your signature will get you noticed with the people that take them seriously.

    TIP:
    Make your own mailing list. Place imput forms on your Web site, where visitors can enter their e-mail addresses, if they wish so. See our instructions at MAKE YOUR OWN MAILING LIST.

        ONLINE RESOURCES:

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      8. MEDIA PUBLICITY

      WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

    Do it yourself or hire a publicity specialist. The point is that your press release must contain something that the editors will find newsworthy. Convince them that your Web site is special, that it provides something new, service or product. Or that is at least presented in a new and original way.

    • DO IT YOURSELF
    • HIRE A SPECIALIST
    • GET YOUR SITE NEWSWORTHY
    • SEND IT EVERYWHERE

      WHERE TO SEND YOUR PRESS RELEASES

    There are lot's of places online to help you write or submit press release. Here are some useful links:

    Just look at Yahoo News Services Directory:
    Home : Business and Economy : Companies : News and Media : News Services :

    Press release may be costly, it may not produce results, but it gives a chance for a huge success. If your press release gets noticed by a famous magazine, or very popular Web site, you may hit big. And it would follow like a chain reaction. You may get noticed by many more important magazines or Web sites.

    NOTE:
    Don't forget the old fashion snail mail press releasing. Write a nice press release on a plain peace of paper and snail mail it. Sometimes, editors may get so surprised to see snail mailed Web site press release that they may actually decide to check it out.

    TIP:
    Make your Web site newsworthy by offering some special free gift or service. It can be a contest of some kind. Sometimes it is better to give away some of your products as samples than just simply paying outright for banner advertising.

        ONLINE RESOURCES:

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      9. BANNER ADVERTISING ONLINE

    We have placed this option as the last one, since it involves your time, your effort and most importantly your money. Take these steps.

      OUR EXPERIENCE WITH BANNER ADVERTISING

    If you are not "Microsoft" or "AT&T" don't do it. For small or medium- sized Web sites, it just doesn't pay to get involved in banner advertising. Have you ever seen a banner on "Yahoo" for a small mom and pop Web site business. The reason is simple, to bring a visitor through banners advertising it will cost you from $0.10 to $0.50 and only if you do have something attractive to offer on your banner. Many surveys of shopping sites on the Web have shown that selling Web site makes anywhere from $0.10 to $0.30 in sales per visitor. It is just impossible to pay for visitors to come and than make enough to cover even the cost of advertising. That is why we have put this article about advertising on the bottom of our list.

    TIP:
    We don't say that you shouldn't try, if you can find a co-sponsor or work out a very special deal with some other small Web sites you may get a good deal. But there is still a lot to do and accomplish other than just paying for advertising and we hope our manual will show you the right way to success.

        ONLINE RESOURCES:

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        ( 1 ) BANNER EXCHANGES

    You may try some banner exchange Web sites, where they will show some of your banners in exchange for placing their banners on your web site. If you are serious about your Web site, you should consider this option carefully. First, you will always have to give more than you will get back. Most likely the number of hits you will get from them will be considerably smaller than the number of hits they will get from you. It is never a fair exchange, since they have to make some profit for doing their services to you. Their profit is also in the difference in hits you give and receive from them. Second, and more important, you will have to accept on your Web site a banner from sites that you may not approve of. Any kind of banner may be shown on your site that will make them money.

    • TRY BANNER EXCHANGES
    • LOOK FOR EXCHANGE RATIO
    • LOOK AT CLICK TROUGH RATE
    • LOOK FOR BANNER CONTENT
    • SEE WHAT YOU REALLY GET

    If your Web site is not about specifically targeted audience, if you just care about traffic, you may even gain some by banner exchange services. If you want to sell on your Web site than look for other ways of Web promotion.

      TRY AD SPACE CONSOLIDATORS

    These are the people that will find you a sponsor, or offer your site for placement of banners for a percentage of the fees involved in advertising. With them you have more control over what will be displayed at your site and you can work with them as with the banner exchange. You can always decide if you want to get paid or just reimbursed by showing your banner somewhere else.

      WHERE TO LOOK FOR BANNER EXCHANGES

    Just look at Yahoo Banner Exchanges Directory:
    Home : Computers and Internet : Internet : World Wide Web : Announcement Services : Banner Exchanges :

    TIP:
    If you have two different Web sites, just make banners for each of them and show them yourself. You will have visitors going from one site to another. They will both get visited and you will be able to show more of your Web pages.

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        ( 2 ) SELLING BANNER ADVERTISING ONLINE

    You can actively look for advertisers and see if there is anybody on the net interested in sponsoring your site. If it doesn't work you can always go to "Ad Space Consolidators". These are the people that will find you a sponsor, or offer your site for placement of banners for a percentage of the fees involved in advertising. With them you have more control over what will be displayed at your site and you can work with them as with the banner exchange. You can always decide if you want to get paid or just reimbursed by showing your banner somewhere else. Always look for at click trough rate, which is the most important thing in Web banner advertising. What counts is how many people will actually click on your banner and come to visit you.

    • LOOK FOR ADVERTISERS
    • TRY AD SPACE CONSOLIDATORS
    • LOOK FOR A SPONSOR
    • LOOK AT CLICK TROUGH RATE

    If your Web site is not about specifically targeted audience, if you just care about traffic, you may benefit by selling banner advertising. If you want to sell anything other than advertising on your Web site than look for other ways of Web promotion. You will always loose more in lost sales than gain in selling banners.

      WEB ADVERTISING TERMINOLOGY

        IMPRESSIONS

    Number of times your ad was viewed by visitors. Or, how many times was the ad image requested. It doesn't mean how many people saw it, just the number of times it was shown.

        CPM

    Cost per thousand impressions. Usually it will cost you anywhere from $5 to $25 per CPM. Every time someone sees your ads, it cost you from $0.005 to $0.025.

        CLICK-THROUGH

    Percentage of people who are viewing your banner add that would actually click on it. Usually it is about 5% (for a good-looking banner ad). So if for a thousand impressions you should get about 50 visitors. Divide the cost of $5 to $25 with 50 visitors and it should cost you anywhere from $0.10 to $0.50 per visitor.

      HOW MUCH CAN YOU GET

    How much can you get selling banners on your site. It goes by how much you can get per thousand impressions, or cost per thousand (CPM). Impression is when the ad banner is viewed by a visitor. For small Web site with less than 200,000 impressions per month you can expect from $1 per CPM up to $20 per CPM, or from $0.001 to $0.02 per impression.

    IMPORTANT TIP:
    If your Web site is not for targeted audience, if you just care about traffic, you may benefit by selling banner advertising. If you want to sell anything other than advertising than look for other ways of Web promotion. You will always loose more in lost sales than gain in selling banners. bring you visitors.

    FOR 'IMPRESIONS' MODEL OF ADVERTISING CONTACT:
    Flycast Communications Corporation | Real-time web advertising network. We have good relationship and very positive experience with them.

    FOR 'CLICK-THROUGH' MODEL OF ADVERTISING CONTACT:
    Value Click Advertising Netvork | Click-Through Solutions Specialists. We have good relationship and very positive experience with them.

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        ( 3 ) BUYING BANNER ADVERTISING ONLINE

    If your Web site is targeting a specific audience, than the best thing to do is to go to the Search Engines. They have the option to have your banner displayed in combination with certain keywords. It means that your banner will be shown every time a certain keyword or combination of keywords is entered. That gives you an opportunity to have people see your ad, but to people who are already interested in what you have to offer. It increases the chance for click trough, which is the most important thing in Web banner advertising. What counts is how many people will actually click on your banner and come to visit you.

    • TARGET A SPECIFIC AUDIENCE
    • LOOK AT CLICK TROUGH RATE
    • OR LOOK FOR A SPONSOR

      OUR EXPERIENCE WITH BANNER ADVERTISING

    If you are not "Microsoft" or "AT&T" don't do it. For small or medium- sized Web sites, it just doesn't pay to get involved in banner advertising. Have you ever seen a banner on "Yahoo" for a small mom and pop Web site business. The reason is simple, to bring a visitor through banners advertising it will cost you from $0.10 to $0.50 and only if you do have something attractive to offer on your banner. Many surveys of shopping sites on the Web have shown that selling Web site makes anywhere from $0.10 to $0.30 in sales per visitor. It is just impossible to pay for visitors to come and than make enough to cover even the cost of advertising. That is why we have put this article about advertising on the bottom of our list.

      WHERE TO LOOK FOR BANNER ADVERTISING

    Just look at Yahoo Announcement Services Directory:
    Home : Computers and Internet : Internet : World Wide Web : Announcement Services :

    IMPORTANT TIP:
    If you have an attractive banner with a catchy offering and you believe it can produce a high click-through rate, go for the pay per impression model. It means you will pay for the number of banners shown and if you can achieve a high click through rate you will benefit. Vice-versa, if you are not able to achieve high click through rates with your ad banners, go for the click-through model of advertising and pay only when they actually bring you visitors.

    FOR 'IMPRESIONS' MODEL OF ADVERTISING CONTACT:
    Flycast Communications Corporation | Real-time web advertising network. We have good relationship and very positive experience with them.

    FOR 'CLICK-THROUGH' MODEL OF ADVERTISING CONTACT:
    Value Click Advertising Netvork | Click-Through Solutions Specialists. We have good relationship and very positive experience with them.

    NOTE:
    The only way of promotion that will bring you imidiate results is to pay for visitors (banner advertising). If you have money to burn, to take it as advertising expance or tax ride-off. If you have really interesting and valuble product to sell you may take your banner advertising expance as your "Retail Store" rent.

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      10. FREE ONLINE TOOLS

    There are a number of free online tools available on the Web. You can use them to check your load time, dead links, link popularity, spelling, page HTML code, META tags, who is linking you, domain name availability and so on. Check these out:

      WEB SITE GARAGE

    Use it to check your load time, dead links, link popularity, spelling, page HTML code and much more. Type in your URL and just click on "Go!"

    Tune Up Web Site:

      META MEDIC

    Will check your META Tags for you. Type in your URL and just click on "Go!"

    Check META Tags:

      CHECK WHO IS LINKING YOU

    At some Search Engines you can list the Web pages linked to your site. Just type: "link: www.yoursite.com" and see how many pages are linked to your Web site.

    Check Links:

    search  

      DOMAIN NAME CHECKER

    Check the domain name availability. Type in your URL and just click on "Go!"

    Check Domain:

      BEST SUBMISSION SERVICE

    Use Submit It!, the leader in Web site marketing services, to promote your Web site on the Internet. We have been using it for three years!

      POSITION AGENT

    POSITIONAGENT, monitors where your web site is ranked on leading search engines for selected keywords and reports all listings and positions.

    TIP:
    Use caution when applying suggestions received from computer programs. Read this online manual and use your own judgment in modifying your Web pages.

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      11. AFFILIATE PROGRAMS

    "By 2002, 25 percent of the expected $37.5 billion in Internet retail sales, not including autos, will have originated on affiliate sites" -- Nicole Vanderbilt, Jupiter Communications.

      AFFILIATE BENEFITS FOR MERCHANTS

    • To promote your Web site or to sell a product the most effective way is to let other people (Web sites) do it for you. You will need to pay commission, but if you have made a sale or got a valuable lead, it has paid for itself, and you have made a profit. Even if you spend big on other ways of advertisement, you never know if it will make you any money. Affiliate marketing idea is simple, you have the product, your affiliates have visitors. If they bring you a sale you pay them commission.
    If your company sells products online, then you're probably already aware of the tremendous value a well-run revenue sharing program can bring an organization. With Affiliate Programs listed below you can quickly establish a pay-per-click, pay-per-lead or pay-per-sale program - or any combination of these programs - and connect to a network of pre-screened affiliates.
      With a pay-per-click program, you pay a commission when an authorized affiliate refers a customer to your site and that customer enters your site.
      With a pay-per-lead program, you pay a commission when an authorized affiliate refers a customer to your site and that customer fills out a form or performs another action that allows you to follow up on the sales process.
      With a pay-per-sale program, you pay a commission when an authorized affiliate refers a customer to your site and that customer buys a product or service. The purchase may occur when the visitor is at your site or it may occur at a later time.

      AFFILIATE BENEFITS FOR WEB SITES

    • If you have a good looking Web site and more importantly if it attracts many visitors but you don't sell anything and are looking for ways to make money, don't look any further, affiliate programs are the answer for you.
    Web site owners and online retailers across the Web are using this innovative advertising strategy to generate more money than ever before. It’s called affiliate marketing, and it is revolutionizing the way retailers pay for advertising.

    In this marketing relationship, online retailers, web sites which offer products and services, place their advertising in the form of banners, buttons, text links, and product links, onto affiliated web sites. Whenever one of these links generates a sale or qualified lead, the "affiliate" receives a pre-determined commission from the retailer. Retailers ONLY pay for advertising when it results in a sale, a lead, or a customer visit,

      'TWO-TIER' (MULTI LEVEL) AFFILIATE CASH COMMISSION PROGRAMS THAT WORK

      BEST! Commission Junction is the easiest way to generate Web revenues when you have a following of online users. (10% two-tier commission)
      Opportunity Plus Help us find webmasters and we will pay you an amount equal to 33.3% of their earnings
      Your WebSponsors.com account as the referring account will get credited 10% of each referred account's eligible earnings.
      Referit.com The leading search engine for revenue sharing programs, will pay you $20.00 for each premium member you refer.

    TIP:
    The key to successful affiliate marketing is to find a merchant whose product fits well within your Web site niche. If there is a CLICK the product will SELL and you will earn CASH COMMISSION.

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      12. LIST OF OTHER RESOURCES ON THE WEB