Make Your
Web Site
Pay Offby Bill
Treloar
You’ve spent a lot of
time and money on your company’s web site. So, after all of that, how
come you’re not getting any business from it? Surely a decent percentage
of people who visit your site will become customers. So where are they?
The sad truth is that they probably
never get to your web site at all because they can’t find it.
Conduct A Simple Test
Think like a customer who wants your
most important or most profitable product or service but doesn’t know
the name of your business. Go into any search engine and try to look up
your own web site just like that customer would.
Does your web site show up in the first
30 listings? Is it in the first three pages of results? If not,
customers aren’t finding you. For potential customers to find your site,
you need to get it into the top 30 listings on most of your important
keywords in most of the important search engines. And the way to do that
is with search engine positioning.
Search Engine Positioning
involves making changes to your web site that will cause it to appear
closer to the top of the search listing. It’s a proven technology that
makes a real difference in the number of visitors to a web site. And
those visitors are pre-selected customers because they’re already
looking for what your business offers.
You Can Do it Yourself
It’s possible to do your own search
engine positioning. While it takes time and effort to do an
effective job, the payoff is undeniable. There are several books
available that can help you optimize your own site. A few examples are:
1. Search Engine Positioning by
Marckini
2.
Webmaster’s Secret Internet Marketing & Search Engine Positioning
Strategies by Lary & Gregg
3. Internet Marketing and Search Engine Positioning – A
"Do-It-Yourself" Guide by Sekhar
4. The Savvy Way to Website Promotion by Galon
|
You Can Hire Someone Else to Do It
For You
If you decide to pay someone to market
your web site, look for a number of features:
- Do they work with you to identify
the important and powerful keyword phrases to target for your site?
- Do they report to you on how you rank
on those keywords in the different search engines before they suggest
changes to your site?
- Do they optimize your site (or show
you how to do it yourself) so you rank highly on your important
keywords in the important search engines?
- Do they submit your site carefully so
you won't get penalized for spamming?
- Do they submit effectively to
directories like Yahoo?
- Can they help you submit to
"pay-per-click" sites and show you who is paying what for your
important keywords?
- After your site has been optimized
and submitted to search engines, can they report on how you're doing
in terms of moving up or down and retaining your good positions over
time?
- Can they keep your site in the top
listings for your essential keywords?
Summary
Effective web site marketing through
search engine positioning can make a world of difference to your
business. Results are not immediate, but we normally see dramatic
differences within about three months. Search engine positioning
is well worth the time and trouble if you do it properly. It translates
into new customers and increased revenue for your business.
Bill Treloar has been a
member of NNJM for over 30 years. He is also the President of Treloar
Associates, located in East Hanover, NJ. You can find them on the web at
http://www.TreloarAssociates.com. |
