| You've spent the money, got the website, now the | | | | booted off the search engine altogether if you |
| visitors and inquiries from your website should start | | | | continue to resubmit without having anything new on |
| flooding in, right? Well, maybe, but there are some | | | | your website. |
| essential steps you can take to make sure of it. | | | | Getting Linked A really effective way to promote |
| The beauty of a website is that you will get some | | | | your website is to have other websites put a link to |
| visitors regardless of how much promotion you do. | | | | your website. It is incredible how easy it is to do this. |
| The world-wide-web is a huge place - by chance, | | | | Often, it only takes a polite email asking the |
| people are bound to stumble on to your website. | | | | webmaster of a website to include a link to your |
| However, getting a website and not spending a small | | | | website. If the webmaster decides that it is relevant, |
| amount of time to promote it is sort of like ordering | | | | they will include a link to your website, as simple as |
| 30,000 brochures and not giving them out. | | | | that. |
| Inhouse Promotion The first step in promoting your | | | | It's usually a good idea to offer a reciprocal link from |
| website is to include it in all your advertising and | | | | your website to theirs as extra incentive. |
| promotional material for your business or organisation. | | | | Directories On the Internet there are hundreds and |
| Brochures, newsletters, newspaper and/or radio ads, | | | | thousands of directories. Sports directories, business |
| letterhead, business cards, - everything. | | | | directories, tourism directories, - the list is endless. All |
| This is probably one of the most important way to | | | | you have to do is a search for whichever directory |
| promote your website. | | | | would be suitable for your website and submit your |
| Search Engines An important step is to effectively | | | | URL. |
| promote your website is to ensure that you are | | | | This is usually as easy as filling in an online form, other |
| registered with as many search engines as possible. | | | | times you will need to send a polite email. The |
| Your webdesigner will likely do this for you as part of | | | | directory will then include your URL in its list of |
| their service. For example, Componic Webdesign will | | | | websites, with a link to your website. |
| submit your website with 65 of the top Search | | | | Some directories will charge to have a link to your |
| Engines on the Internet, such as Yahoo, Google, Alta | | | | website, but many do not. |
| Vista, etc. Some search engines will register you | | | | It's simply a case of deciding where you want to be |
| within a week or so, others, particularly the larger | | | | listed, and how much you want to pay, and the |
| ones, may take up to three or four months to | | | | benefits you will receive (or the number of visitors |
| register you. | | | | you will get) from the amount you pay for that link. |
| There are two main ways to register with Search | | | | Time Usually it doesn't cost anything to promote |
| Engines. Firstly, you can visit each search engine | | | | your website, just a little of your time. And it's |
| individually by filling out their "submit a URL" form. | | | | actually quite a lot of fun, especially when you start |
| You can usually find a link to this form at the bottom | | | | to get results. Componic Webdesign recommends |
| of their home page. The second way to register is | | | | that you spend a set amount of time dedicated to |
| automatically through a website that is set up | | | | promoting your website. It could be one hour a week |
| specifically for this purpose. There are literally | | | | or one hour a month just cruising the Internet getting |
| hundreds of these, to find one, just do a search. | | | | your website noticed, using one or more of the |
| Resubmitting to Search Engines You are able to | | | | methods above. |
| resubmit your website to search engines, however, it | | | | It's incredible how many visitors you will attract to |
| is recommended that you make a change to your | | | | your website by following the above methods. And |
| website first. This is because there is a risk of being | | | | it's incredible how little time it actually takes. |