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A question I am asked everyday is "Do I need to have my own website built or can I use a pre-made one? " Good question. Most people who ask this question are looking at shopping malls, affiliate programs, network marketing, or business opportunities to make money whereby the company gives them a website already built with the bells and whistles. My experience has taught me that having your own website built is the right way to go. I know, it costs a little more money but it is well worth it. Let me explain why.
Let's say you have joined a network marketing company and as a part of signing up you get this gorgeous website that supposedly does all of the selling for you. On the surface it seems this is going to be the gateway to your fortune on the internet. But most of the time, ready-made websites are just that: one big canned ad. They can provide some information to the prospective person looking at your company but they have far too many limitations.
Let me give you an example. Nearly 70,000 people searched for the term "Network Marketing" last month. Wow! That's a lot of eyeballs looking for information on network marketing. So you of course know you have the best company and products or services. And you want to get in front of those 140,000 eyeballs on the internet. Visions of success are dancing in your head but how do you drive this traffic to your ready-made website? A cloned website is an eye soar to the search engines.
The issue I see with ready-made websites is that driving traffic to it will be nearly impossible. Why? Well, search engines love sites that are constantly updating or adding new information. To the robots this means your site is worth visiting. You are a mover and a shaker, and building an informative website that they want to list. I am constantly adding or updating information on my website daily. Why? Because I get crawled often. I want the search engines to continue to know that my site is valuable.
Here's another inherent problem with ready-made websites. Let's say that you and 5 other of your teammates are lucky enough to get in the top 5 positions in Google. Most people will click on a few sites. They will see that all of your websites are clones or duplicates. One doesn't provide more or better information than the other. So what happens? People will generally let their fingers do the walking and keep searching for the website that provides them with the real meaty information they are seeking. Remember people who come to the internet are looking for the website that has the most information about the topic they are searching. It sounds so obvious but people often forget this basic building block of a successful website.
Another scenario is that let's say you had a dynamite rep you brought into your downline. And you wanted to tell the World about what this individual has done in the short time he or she has been in this business. That would be a great marketing tool for you. You could maybe even have a written and streaming video testimonial. But you can't do that in most ready-made sites. It is static and in my opinion, a dead website.
Let's use a whole different ready-made website scenario. Let's say you have a shopping mall. You paid $99 and they have set up a pretty mall for you on a cloned website. The concept looks great that you could have your own Mall for a mere $99. They have set up all of the products, shopping cart and done of all what appears to be the hard work. But again, how do you drive traffic to your website? Not to sound like a broken record but people come to the web looking for information. They come to shop because they believe you have more information about your products and will provide a good buying experience for them. It would be important for you to have tips and ideas and testimonials on your website but you can't. And people can tell when your website looks like it was stamped out.
Another important variable that you need to look at is getting your visitors names and email addresses. If your company website did not come with an opt-in way for you to capture this important information, you have lost a valuable means of communicating with people.
So, to review, the biggest obstacles I see in having a ready-made website are:
1. Can't add or change content
2. They have a canned appearance that turns visitors off
3. No opportunity for growth or expansion
4. Can't place your own articles, ideas, tips or information
5. Can't offer anything new
6. Can't capture their name and email address
Now is all lost if you have a ready-made website? Here are some solutions to still driving traffic to your website.
First, you can use pay per click advertising through Yahoo or Google. But be prepared to pay top dollar to be in the number 1 position. However, you will really want to take a look at what keywords to bid on and how much. This is important so you get the biggest bang for your buck and is an art form all by itself.
Second, I would suggest that you create your own website. You could have lots of information there and then redirect them to your ready-made website for ordering, or company video or program details. This way you have taken a step further than your next closest competitor and provided real information to your visitors. Of course, it would be wise to check with the company who provided you with the ready-made website to make sure this fits within their guidelines of operation. Better to be safe than sorry.
Third, you can be very proactive and write articles on your subject matter and send them off to magazines or e-zines. You will obviously put your website address in the resource box at the end of your article. So if you have information to share, get it out there and point them to your website for more.
So all is not lost but I would give thought to these marketing strategies and be more creative than the next guy. And if you have yet to start an online business, I would look at having a website built. As you grow your business, you will be able to grow your website.
Jan Peterson founder of http://www.goldstarreview.com researches and reviews business opportunities including internet marketing, real estate investing, affiliate marketing, financial investing and more. Over 400 FREE reports available.
Domain Name has various meanings. It could be the name entered by the users in their address bar of the computer and then looked up in the global Domain Name System-DNS to visit the particular site. All domain names have their own assigned IP address and the DNS translates the IP address into words. It could also be a unique address on the Internet referred to as Internet address. Domain names are also referred to as Uniform Resource Locaters or URLs.
In DNS a label could be the digits, hyphens and each string of letters used between the dots. There are certain rules that are applied for these valid labels which have been changed with time. Before labels had to begin with a letter and end with a letter or digit .Any intervening characters may be letters, digits, or hyphens. They must be between 1 and 63 characters long. Now they can begin with a digit and can have internal underscores but no domain name can be all numeric. These rules depend on the domain level. Some top level domains have more rules.
URL and Domain name: The difference between a URL and a domain name: URL: http://www.xyz.com/ Domain name: xyz.com
A domain name can have more than one IP address and more than one domain name assigned to an IP address. At the same time one server can have multiple roles, and one role can be applied for multiple servers. One IP address can even be assigned to several servers. The IP address and the server name are interchangeable. This makes it impossible for the server to know which IP address was used. But with the help of HTTP- hypertext transfer protocol, you need to specifically tell the server which domain name is being used. So, one server with one IP address can provide different sites for different domain names.
Say, the server particular server covers all these sites: xyz.com xyz.net xyz.org
When you put a request, then you will get the data corresponding to the host name requested.
Domain Levels:
Top-level domain
The end of all domain names is called top level domain. Say, xyz.edu or xyz.net or xyz.org etc where edu, net and org are all top level domain. This could be a list of generic names or a 2 character territory code like .ac or .ad or .in which are country code top level domains.
Second level domain
Second-level domain names are directly to the left of .com, .net, and the other top-level domains. For example: en.xyz.net where xyz is the second level domain.
Third level domain
The next level i.e. the third-level domains are to the left of a second-level domain. Here en is the third level domain.
Jeffrey Meier at Jam727 Enterprises at http://www.thearticlehome.com blog offers even more detailed information on a wide variety of topics.
Creating a well-designed website is the first step in your internet marketing strategy that must be backed up with techniques designed to drive traffic to the website for successful, long-term results. You wouldn't consider opening a retail store in a major shopping mall without signage and you shouldn't consider having a nice looking website designed without expanding your web presence in order to be found on the internet. The following strategy overview is designed to bring about these results:
This search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is composed of several processes in three stages.
Tier I
Website design is the foundation and beginning of a successful internet marketing strategy. It is true that several websites exist on the internet that are unattractive but seem to work. If there are aspects of these websites that work, imagine how well they could do if they simply followed basic design implementation tactics that resulted in a good image as well as simply pushed information out to the viewer. These basics are essential for Tier 1 success:
Once the website has been created and published, many new website owners think that the project is finished. But in reality, the real work is just beginning. In order to create a money-making site, traffic must be generated and driven to the website. There are several effective methods that can be implemented in Tier II for this to occur. While all methods may not be required to see successful traffic generation, some combination of most if not all will probably be needed to create traffic, maintain traffic and finally, grow traffic to our website with long-term results. Consider implementing these strategies:
Some combination of price and number of clicks will result from a well-designed and constantly monitored campaign. The important result to watch is the conversion rate. How many paid clicks convert into the desired result; i.e., new contract, sale of product, sign up for e-newsletter, etc.
Finally, after the hard-core efforts that are directly related to generating traffic to your website, you will want to create follow-on, additional traffic that is under your control. Several methods exist for this strategy:
In order to determine if the SEO efforts are successful, you must monitor results of backlinks, PR and web trend statistics. There are many sources for generating this data as well as programs that will assist in these analyses. Whatever method you choose, whether it is using specific programs or setting up a spreadsheet for entry of data, be consistent in tracking the data. There will be fluctuations from day-to- day. You are looking for general, overall upward trends. Upward progress followed by maintenance of a strong position with slow, steady growth would indicate a successful SEO campaign.
Article written and copyrighted by Chesa Keane, TAO Consultants, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Chesa Keane of TAO Consultants has been involved with the internet for 10 years through internet consulting, web development and search engine optimization. Go to http://www.computergoddess.com for a free Search Engine Optimization Checklist.
When you launch a new website you must register a unique domain name with an authorized registrar. When the internet was first starting, all domain names and IP addresses were registered through one organization, Internic. Eventually Network Solutions took over the role as "keeper" of the internet domain names. Today, there are hundreds of websites where you can register your domain name but Network Solutions still maintains the main database of domain names. Some websites charge as little as $2.95 per year for your domain name while others charge as much as $35 per year for the exact same service. Some even offer one year free if you register your domain name with them and host your website on their servers. Why pay $35 when you can register your domain name for much less at another website?
So why does Network Solutions charge $35 a year if they are the keeper of the database and their resellers charge a fraction or even nothing? Who knows and who cares! Register your domain with one of the cheaper providers and you'll be fine. A word caution - be care who you choose to host your website. Getting a free year of your domain name isn't worth it if your webhost is unreliable and your website is down more than it's up.
You pay for your domain name on a yearly basis. It's a separate charge from your webhosting bill. When you register your domain name choose the autorenewal option if it's available. This way your domain name will not expire if you forget to renew it. If your domain name expires, it's free for anyone else to register so you need to stay on top of when it's expiring. Also registering your domain name for a 3 to 5 year term will often save you money. For example, GoDaddy charges $8.95 a year for your domain name but only $7.25 a year if you register for a 5 year term.
When you register your domain you can create different contact names. The three contacts are Administrator, Technical and Billing. Most of the time the same person is all 3 contacts. If you web designer registers your domain name for you, make sure you are designated as the Administrative contact. This gives you control over the domain name and you must be notified if someone is trying to make changes to your record. If you aren't one of the contacts then someone can transfer ownership of the domain name without your permission.
To see a record of your domain name, go to networksolutions.com and use their WHOIS utility which is located in the bottom left corner of their home page. Simply enter your domain name and click Search. You'll see the complete record of your domain name, where it's registered and where your website is hosted.
When you register your domain name you'll have to the option of making it a private registration. I highly recommend paying the additional fee to make your information private. If you leave your registration public anyone can look up your domain information which includes your home or business address and your email address. Many spammers scan public domain registration records to find valid email addresses to spam.
I always use a yahoo or hotmail email account when registering my domains. This way if spammers to find my email address, I can just get a new "throwaway" email address and I won't receive spam at my primary email address.
Always make sure your domain record remains locked. Locking your domain name is a feature implemented a few years ago. When you want to transfer your domain name to a different registrar you must unlock it. Once it's unlocked the new registrar can "pull" your domain name from your current registrar. Once the transfer is complete, the domain name will be locked to prevent anyone else from "pulling" your domain away from you.
About The Author Ted Prodromou spent over 25 years in the computer industry working for IBM, Digital, and Cellular One. Today he's the owner of NetBizExpert, Inc, a consulting firm that provides personalized web design and small business marketing solutions. Download your free report Click Here For More Customers at http://www.netbizexpert.com/clickhere
Copyright 2009 NetBizExpert, Inc. All Rights Reserved This article may be reprinted only if it remains unchanged.
Promoting a Website is not an easy task. New Website Developers may have the impression of building a Website and sales are generated. This is far from true. There are millions of Websites. Within those millions, there are bound to be competitors. To rise above, or obtain a portion of the market-share, developers need to utilize an effective promotion campaign.
Establishing a Website is not much different than a brick-and-mortar business. Open a Deli in the heart of a City and millions of potential customers will pass daily. In contrast, open the Deli in the suburbs, and there would be one quarter of the potential customers. Obviously, the City would be much more expensive to get started and maintain, but the revenue should provide for the added expense.
The same holds true in Website Promotion. However, the landscape is different. There are no streets and sidewalks customers have to use. Therefore, our businesses need to be found by customers in a variety of places. It needs to be brought to the potential customer, or viewable from wherever they may be lurking.
Where do we start with Website Promotion?
One of the topics sweeping the developer's world is Optimization. The internet will naturally bring potential customers, if the site is optimized properly. Computers work hard on matching relevant information. This is a huge benefit to e-business owners.
Before promotion begins, or altering existing efforts, understand the Internet's backbone. Why has the World Wide Web become popular? Most should agree, information retrieval rules. Internet users don't have to sit down and watch television waiting for local weather. They don't have to wait for news of interest. They don't have to drive to find the best prices. They don't have to look through cook-books to find a recipe. They don't have to talk to salespeople for a car. Today it's all on the, "information," super highway.
As a developer, focus on information delivery before beginning promotion of a Website. If a page can be divided into two topics, make two separate pages. Over-use of graphics can present problems too. While it's nice to make a Site pretty, most people don't care. They want the information or products they are seeking. Sectors such as art could be an exception, but for the most part, lots of graphics are a waste. People read on the internet. Give people something to read, not just something to view.
Promotion Budget
If launching a new campaign, it may take time to decipher an effective budget. There are simple variables that should be considered with budgeting. Given the potential scope of a Website, advertising should be devoted to different areas of the site. For example, paying to promote the free portion of a Website is not logical. In contrast, a free forum may sell advertising. The advertising segment of the site should be exploited.
There is a simple formula to develop a budget. If a site is new, it takes some research and investment to draw an accurate conclusion. Put simply, consider the following; how many potential customers are required to make a sale? From each sale, how much profit is generated? Of the profits, how much is invested into advertising? This identifies the value of potential customers. If ten customers make one sale, and ten dollars are allocated towards advertising, each customer is potentially worth one dollar. However, room for growth could be made by reducing the value of a potential customer or increasing the advertising contribution. A competitive sector may force reduced profits rather than reduced value of potential customers.
Comprehensive budgeting could be applied to aspects of the business. Promote each aspect as a unique entity. For example, a Website that sells music and movies could have separate budgets for the segments. This could reveal vital information to the survival of a business. Implement effective models that assist in tracking expense and results. This is fairly simple with website statistics and tracking tools.
Free Traffic Promotion - Keywords and Phrases
When it comes to free traffic, it's about information retrieval. People utilize tools that provide information accurately and quickly. These tools rely on the developer's interpretation of a Website or page (On-Site Optimization). What is the Website or page about? What phrases are people looking for that want to use this site? Information retrieval is a complicated double-edge-sword between people surfing the web and people creating the web. When the people creating the web do not create clear and focused pages, people surfing the Web cannot find them.
Free traffic is a gift from creating user friendly pages, clearly focusing on a specific topic, and the result of promotion efforts. It stems from a good balance. While free traffic primarily comes from Search Engines, it also comes from referring sites. People will write about a Website in blogs, forums, or on their personal pages. People will add links to Sites they like.
If developers hunt for free traffic, problems can arise. Hunting for free traffic has made developers try tricks that got the site removed from Search Engines. This can present a big problem as they are a large source of free targeted traffic. Keep free traffic in mind while promoting a Website, but don't make it the focus of promotion. It will come naturally over time. Take it as a gift and an acknowledgement that a Website has been optimized well, presents clear information, and is promoted in the right places. Although some may argue the point, don't anticipate quality free traffic to begin immediately. It takes extensive thought, advertising, and planning for this to happen, especially within competitive sectors.
Promoting in Directories
One place to start promoting a Website is Website Directories. Most directories are organized by topic. Some are more comprehensive than others. In addition, there are, "Niche," directories that focus on one topic. For example, there are directories for shopping, reference, art, and automotive sites. In contrast, there are general directories that provide all the niches.
Finding an appropriate place within a directory may be difficult. Directories can a large structure. However, a comprehensive structure benefits advertisers with targeting. Comprehensive directories enable developers' to classify a Website. For example, it maybe possible to promote a site the sells speakers, for cars, but only domestic cars, and ones that are late model. In addition, some directories may implement regional indexing. Targeting an index in a directory can be complex, but it can be a great benefit too.
Don't expect to rush from directory to directory and establish a bunch or references. Each directory is unique. Take time to understand how the directory is structured, what they expect as a title and description, and how the suggestion process works. Seek similar sites; take note of where they appear, and how they are described.
Directories are generally affordable solutions. Most Directories are indexed by search engines. They help search engines understand a sites focus. In addition, they are a reference point for some people. It may be a good idea to seek-out one or two directories a week, or as appropriate to a budget. Finding good directories will consume a lot of time. However, once a link is added, it will remain there for a long duration.
News and Media Promotion - Public Relations
Public Relations an important factor when promoting any Business. News and Media channels are the vehicles that convey information to the public. News about a business can make a huge impact on the public. Good news can make lots of people remember a business. Some developers release news about every change or added feature to a Website. Ironically, some developers never utilize this area of promotion.
There are a variety of distribution sites that will expose news releases to numerous channels, for a modest fee. In addition, most will offer free options. It may be a good idea to utilize free options for news that is not very important. For example, adding a, "Calculator," to a Website probably will not gain much attention. However, anything that may be important to the public needs to be announced.
If it can be added to the budget, outsource public relations efforts. PR companies have knowledge of what the media likes and contacts that make them valuable. PR specialists can be found in almost every City.
Ezine Articles - Provide Rich Content
Writing articles is a powerful promotion tool. Some developers refer to this as, "Viral Marketing". There are Websites that require content. Content brings them traffic. Traffic builds valuable ad space.
Article Distribution sites assist promoters with circulating articles. Many Ezines rely on Distribution Sites for their content. Post an article to a distribution site and the article is, "up-for-grabs," to anyone. The article begins to circulate the internet like a virus. Everywhere it appears, reference is given to the author and their Website.
Advertising on the Web
There are a variety of reference websites. Generally, these sites consist of Forums, Article content, and Online Chats. They rely on selling ad space as the main revenue stream. While some reference developers are, "trying to rich quick," there are sites that offer affordable solutions to promote a Website. With free traffic in mind, seek-out text link advertising venues. Look for sites that charge a flat fee. Sites that charge per click or by the impression usually mask links for tracking. This does not build good recognition with search engines.
Seek relevant opportunities for promoting the Website. If the allows people to buy tennis shoes, a sports reference and information area may be prove beneficial. Another might be a reference site about footwear. Trial and error will reveal good advertising sources for promotion. Regardless of the site being promoted, there are reference areas that are valuable promotion tools.
Promotion Summary
The internet moves fast in certain aspects. When it comes to Website promotion, it moves slowly. Modifications that are made to a Web Page are not going to be seen the next day. Significant results appear months later. The most important area of promotion, is keeping accurate records. Website promotion is complex. Developers need to consider on-site and off-site optimization, targeting, and ad construction. The right mix can provide a significant advantage over the competition.
Michael Medeiros has an extensive background in business and advertising. He is the proprietor of the Mjmls Classifieds [http://www.mjmls.com] ([http://www.mjmls.com]), which is an open-source advertising solution for businesses and individuals.
Selecting a proper domain name is one of the first important steps when starting an online business. In the online community, your domain name actually represents the name and reputation of your business, so choosing a domain name for your website is just as important as choosing your business name.
The first step to selecting a domain name is to brainstorm a list of possible domain names for your business. Ideally, your domain name should contain your business name, if possible. Customers who remember your business name can then return to your website easily by entering the URL of your website on their browser.
If it’s not possible to register a domain name that contains your business name (because it has already been registered), then you need to include your business keywords in the domain name. These keywords should describe what your business does, or what products your business sells.
For example, if you plan to sell rare gemstones, you can register domain names like ‘uniquegemstones.com’ or ‘raregemsonline.com’. These domain names contain the word ‘gem’, which describes your business.
Another reason why you must include your business keywords in your domain name is that search engines will rank your website higher if your domain name contains the keywords you want to optimize your site for. You’ll benefit from a higher stream of targeted visitors from Google, Yahoo or MSN when visitors search for your keywords.
For instance, a website with the domain name ‘webtuitionservices.com’ is likely to rank higher than ‘tuition4you.com’, for the keywords ‘tuition services’, all else being equal.
Additionally, keep your domain name short and catchy. If your business name is too long and complicated, first-time visitors to your site may have a hard time remembering your URL, and cannot return to your website for future purchases.
When choosing a domain name, you should always register a ‘.com’ URL. The ‘Dot-Com’ domain name has become the industry standard, and everyone remembers ‘.com’ first before ‘.net’. If you use a ‘.net’ or ‘.org’, you risk losing potential customers, simply because they assume that your business uses ‘.com’.
Registering The Domain Name
After you’ve brainstormed a list of possible domain names, you need to check their availability before actually registering them.
An example of where you can determine the availability of a domain name is Register.com, Inc. (http://www.register.com)
You can then proceed to register the domain name you’ve chosen. Popular domain name registration services like http://www.register.com or http://www.godaddy.com easily come to mind. The costs of registering each domain name can range between a few dollars to less than $20 a year.
Take note that domain name registration and web hosting are two separate services. The domain name registration service only registers your domain name – nothing else.
A web hosting service, on the other hand, allows you to upload your website onto a server so that visitors can view it via HTTP on the internet. The web hosting service comes together with Domain Name Service (DNS), which is the tool that directs visitors to your website when they enter the domain name on their web browser.
Also note that some web hosting services also offer free domain name registration as part of their web hosting package. One such example is PowWeb, Inc. ([http://www.powweb.com]). Before you register your domain name at http://www.register.com or http://www.godaddy.com, you should decide on your web host first and find out if they offer free domain name registration. This can probably save you a couple of extra dollars for domain name registration each year.
In conclusion, you need to select a domain name that is short and memorable, so that your visitors can easily return to your website another time. Your domain name should also contain either your business name, or the major keywords of your website, to rank higher on the search engines.
Ray Yee is the founder of Dropshipperscentral, a website that provides a wealth of informative articles, guides and resources on everything you'll need to know about setting up and marketing a Drop Ship Business. Click here for the Drop Ship Directory [http://www.dropshipperscentral.com] from [http://www.dropshipperscentral.com].
Welcome to part seven in this ten-part search engine positioning series. Last week we discussed the importance of human testing. In part seven we will cover the best practices of website submissions, where to submit your website to, and how to do so.
With services offering to help you get more traffic and higher search engine positioning by submitting your website to "18 Bazillion Search Engines For Just $19.95 Per Month!" and other such claims, there has grown much confusion around website submissions. In this article we will clear up many of the misconceptions around submitting your website and may even save you "Just $19.95 Per Month!" in the process.
Over this series we will cover the ten key aspects to a solid search engine positioning campaign.
The Ten Steps We Will Go Through Are:
1. Keyword Selection
(http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/keywords.htm)
2. Content Creation (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/content.htm)
3. Site Structure (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/structure.htm)
4. Optimization (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/optimization.htm)
5. Internal Linking (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/internal-linking.htm)
6. Human Testing (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/human-testing.htm)
7. Submissions
8. Link Building
9. Monitoring
10. The Extras
Step Seven - Website Submissions
While there are definitely more critical areas of the website optimization process there is perhaps no area subject to as much misinformation and to such a vast audience. Here are some common misconceptions that are often believed about search engine submissions:
1. You need to submit your website often to keep it indexed by the search engines
2. You need to submit your website to thousands and thousands of search engines to get decent traffic
3. Submitting your website often will keep you at the top of the search engine rankings
These beliefs are all incorrect and those who can make a quick buck selling this disservice perpetrate them. If you have not recently received an email offering to "Submit Your Website To More Search Engines Than There Are Websites On The Internet For Just $19.95 Per Month!" then I can pretty much guarantee that you will in the not-too-distant future if your email can be found somewhere on your website.
An irony of this can be found in Google's webmaster area where they note:
Amazingly, we get these spam emails too:
"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Reserve the same skepticism for unsolicited email about search engines as you do for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
Good advice as I'm sure Google has their website submissions taken care of. Just because you receive such an email, doesn't mean that you're missing out on anything. Let's first look at a breakdown of which engines are responsible for which traffic.
According to research the major search engines are responsible for the following percentages of traffic as of June 2004:
Google - 41.6%
Yahoo - 31.5%
MSN - 27.4% (MSN draws their results from Yahoo!/Overture)
AOL - 13.6% (AOL draws their results from Google)
Ask Jeeves - 7.0%
Lycos - 3.7%
Netscape - 3.0% (Netscape draws their results from Google)
AltaVista - 2.7% (AltaVista draws the Yahoo!/Overture)
Source: Neilson/Netratings (http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/)
Note: These numbers total over 100% as people may use multiple search engines if they don't find the information they are looking for at the first one they try.
So what does this tell us? This tells us that the very vast majority of search engine traffic does not come from many thousands of search engines but rather, relatively few. This would lead to the obvious questions, "Is it worth paying to be submitted to thousands of search engines?" The real answer, "No."
Then How Do I Submit My Own Website?
Automated search engine submission systems simply access the existing and readily accessible "Add URL" pages of the search engines and automatically submit your site. You can do this yourself simply by visiting the search engines and submitting through these same pages.
To simplify this process you can visit the "search engines" page on the Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning website (http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/info/search-engines-major.htm) where we link directly to the submissions pages of the major engines.
But What About The Other Engines? Surely They Provide Some Traffic?
Quite honestly, they may. You may get a visitor or two. Is it worth $19.95/mth or some such amount? No. You can get a better dollar/visitor ratio on any of the many PPC engines out there.
An additional point to note is that you may want to actually visit some of the lists of engines on the sites offering these services to you. You will discover a couple of important facts:
- Many of these so-called "search engines" are not engines at all but rather FFA (Free-For-All) pages and classified ads sites. They will not help your rankings, you will not see traffic from them and your listing will probably last about as long as spam in your Inbox.
- Many of the actual search engines and directories are topical. What this means is that they are focused on a single area and unless your site coincidentally is about space exploration, topographical mapping, etc. you won't get listed. Submitting should not be confused with "guaranteed listing". Submitting your site to thousands of engines is not the same as getting your website indexed on thousands of engines.
The Submission Myth
The truth of that matter is, submitting your website at all can realistically be considered a waste of time. Aside from a few key general directories (DMOZ, Yahoo, etc.) and a number of SEO directories, we did not submit the website http://www.beanstalk-inc.com to any of the major search engines. It's true, not a single submission.
Are we indexed? Yes we are.
How did we get indexed without submitting our site? If you take the time that you would be spending submitting your site and spend it instead finding quality inbound links (which we will write about next week) your site will be indexed and much quicker than you think.
You've probably heard the term "search engine spider". Search engines crawl websites. This means that they visit a page, follow all the links on that page and so on. If you have a link on a website that is already known to the search engines it is only a matter of time before your website will be found by default. If fact, when the Beanstalk site went live and the first link was established to it, it did not take the weeks that are estimated through the use of the submissions pages for our site to be found. The homepage of beanstalk-inc.com was index by Google three days after the site went live and the other major engines followed within a week or so.
Final Notes
If there are any points that I hope you take away from this article they are the following:
1. Automated search engine submissions services are not worth the money they charge.
2. You do not need to be submitted to thousands of "search engines". The vast majority of traffic comes from the top few.
3. You will want to consider whether it is even worth the time to submit to search engines or whether that time could be better spent building quality, relevant links to your site and submitting your site to the major and topical directories.
An additional failing to the automated submissions systems not covered above is their inability to take into consideration the exact characteristics of your website for their directory submissions. When you're submitting your website to directories you will have to choose the exact category your site falls into. Most directories have slightly different category hierarchies and the more exact you are in your submission, the higher the chance you will be listed. Automated systems can never be as exact across multiple directories as a human can.
Submitting your website, even correctly, will not guarantee you top rankings however it will leave you with money in your pocket to spend on other promotional endeavors that may actually produce a solid ROI. And THAT'S what it's all about.
The rankings? You'll have to read the other nine steps of the series to find out how to attain those.
Next Week
In part eight of this search engine positioning series we will cover the importance of link building, how to attain high quality, relevant links to your website, and the tools to reduce the time it take to do so significantly. With the importance of inbound links to your overall rankings you won't want to miss this very important step in the website optimization process.
Dave Davies is the CEO of Beanstalk Search Engine Positioning. He has been optimizing and ranking websites for over three years and has a solid history of success. Dave is available to answer any questions that you may have about your website and how to get it into the top positions on the major search engines. To keep informed about what going on in the SEO world you may also want to visit the newly created SEO blog on the Beanstalk website.
One of the biggest challenges to a webmaster is how to generate traffic. More traffic to your website equates to more sales. So how does one generate extra traffic to their website? Search engine optimization, email campaigns, pay-per-clicks, banner advertising, are among some of the tactics that are popular. Another method of generating traffic is through expired domain names.
Step 1: Find a domain pending expiration
Every day thousands of domain names are released. Many of these expired domain names were active websites that have already been promoted by the previous owner. A few of the domains that are released daily are valuable because of their age and the number of links that they already have at various locations over the Internet. How does one find these domains? There are many means at which you can research these domains. There are newsletters to which you can subscribe and request to receive a daily email with up-coming expired domains. Go to google and enter "search for expiring domains". There are hundreds of thousands of locations at which you can find domains pending deletion. One site we often use is Expired Domains. This site is focused on just one thing: helping people find the perfect domain name for their website. Another example of a newsletter for web marketers is NitroMarketing.com- a newsletter specifically aimed at helping web marketers. Once you find a domain that you want, at google enter links:domain.com (replace "domain.com" with the domain you are researching) - this will show you how many links this domain already has. This will tell you the value of the domain. You want to look for a domain with a respectable link popularity of around 500 to 1,000.
Everyday, hundreds of developed and thriving websites expire Yet, these sites still receive endless traffic from the search engines and links to them Identify these hot sites, make use of their expired traffic, and make $$$
Step 2: Bid on the domain: If you have decided that you want a domain that is pending deletion, you can bid on it at one of the many sites that have auctions or bidding forums. Bidding and winning these domains is not something that you can leisurely embark upon. It takes time and persistence. However, if you spend a little bit of time every day, you will get great domains at a low price. Some auction houses that we recommend are namewinner.com or enom.com. Most require no deposit to begin bidding, but they will ask that you confirm your identity via telephone or electronic means. This is in an effort to reduce fraud and keep the prices lower for legitimate bidders. After you have established an account, and you have found a domain that you want to try for, open a bid on that domain. Start low, but keep a watchful eye on the date and time that the bidding stops. Twenty minutes before the bidding is scheduled to be closed on that domain, re-visit their site and watch the top bid. Refresh your screen every minute to see the current highest bid. If the price gets too high for your budget, stop. But if you can afford the current high-bid, you might want to keep bidding in order to win that domain. If the bidding stops and you are the current high-bid, then you have won that domain.
Step 3: Receive the traffic: Now what? You have a great domain... you can park that domain so that it redirects visitors to your main website. With domain parking, visitors will automatically be re-directed to your main website. Some web hosting companies charge a small fee for domain parking. WebsiteSource.com offers free unlimited domain parking to its web hosting customers. If you maintain the domain's registration every year, you could have targeted visitors to your website for less than $15 bucks a year. Cheap targeted traffic really does exist!
Results: Increase your company's unique brand recognition with more exposure. Increase your traffic = increase sales.
About the author: S. Rosendahl is a Technical Executive Writer for Website Source, Inc. http://www.websitesource.com. Her established writing skills coupled with experience in the website hosting industry have provided internet professionals with marketing, product and service ideas for many years.
So you want to have a website. You have gone on to the internet and surfed but you have no idea what developing a website involves.
You are not alone
The majority of my clients know they need a website but they feel overwhelmed and intimidated by internet technology and why not? Internet technology is continually evolving and changing. What is true this month may not be true next month.
Where do I start?
Domain Name
The first thing you need to know is what a domain name is and how to register it. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular websites. For example:
http://www.artistadesign.com
The whole address you see above is the URL of my business but the domain name is ArtistaDesign.com. The only way to register and start using a domain name is to use the services of a domain name registrar.
The registrar you choose will determine the cost for registering a domain name. You can expect to pay a yearly fee. The website I use is http://www.godaddy.com they have competitive prices and it is easy to transfer your domain name to any server - web hosting service you choose to host your site.
In picking your domain name make sure it is the name of your business or something related to your business. Once you have a domain name registered it is exclusively yours nobody else can have it unless you don't renew it.
Now What?
Website Development
Once you have registered your domain name it is time to seriously think about building your website. You have two choices: outsource it or do it yourself.
Let me tell you my bias. For nearly all businesses and non-profits I recommend outsourcing the initial web design. Many small businesses attempt to design their own website or to hire someone merely on the basis of cost. Both of these options carry potential consequences.
Having a poorly performing ineffective website is worse than not having one at all. A true professional knows what is needed to make a website a success. There are many types of websites and each business will have a different goal in mind. A professional website developer can help you understand what your needs are and put you on the path to success.
My website is done so what is next?
Hosting
Web hosting is the service that makes a website available to others on the internet. Simply put, you are renting a place to hold your website. Once your website is built your domain name is transferred to your web hosting provider.
Your web designer will upload all the files that are developed for your website to a server (host). The server gives you a specific amount of disc space and allows your website to be accessed by internet users. Web hosting is billed by the month or by the year.
It is very important to find a reliable hosting company for your website you want to be up 24/7 with out any complications. The level of web hosting also depends on the complexity of your website. Your web designer will be able to point you in the right direction.
There are many good hosting companies one of my favorites is http://www.canaca.com they are reliable and give you a good range of choices and options best of all they are reasonably priced.
I think I am ready!
Not yet, it is important to set up professional e-mail addresses. If you have picked a good internet hosting company you should be able to have your e-mails set up - or set them up yourself. It is totally unprofessional for a business to use a free internet e-mail such as AOL or yahoo. You want your business to look legitimate and credibility is of utmost important especially when your business is internet based.
Example:My email is pamela@artistdesign.com that is much more impressive than pamela@yahoo.com . When ever I get an email from a business that has a generic address I get the impression they are not very internet savvy.
Ready Set Go!
Marketing
This is where the action takes place. If you just build your website and park it in cyberspace what do you think will happen? NOTHING...
I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "I have a website but it hasn't helped my business at all!" Well what would happen if you rented a store filled it with beautiful object for people to buy and just set there? NOTHING...
The same is true for the internet. You must market your website. Traditional marketing is great - add internet marketing and you have a recipe for great success. There is much more to marketing your site than putting the proper key words and sending your site to search engines.
Make sure your URL is on every piece of marketing material you have IE: business cards, ads, banners, flyers, brochures etc.
Have a free online newsletter filled with informative information.
Send out press releases announcing your business.
Have special offers on your website.
There are many things you can do to market your internet business. This is just the tip of the ice berg. One website that will give you invaluable information on marketing your business is http://www.kathleengage.com and best of all it is free!
Did you know...
On-lines sales were up 45% in 2004 and research shows that eCommerce totals in 2005 are likely to surpass USD 133 billion.
Businesses of today need an internet presence to show they are legitimate - tomorrow businesses will need internet presence to survive.
With a website the world is your oyster and the future is yours.
Is your website an integral part of making money in your business? Then you need to Create the image you need to attract the customers you want. Pamela Jacob, owner of Artista Design, can help you do just that. She specializes in all types of visual mediums and has been in the new media industry for over a decade. To gain more valuable insights from Pamela Jacob visit: http://www.artistadesign.com
Selecting your domain name
Selecting a domain name can be a very frustrating process as a lot of domains have been sold already. With 30.000+ domain names being sold each day it can be a challenge to find the appropriate domain name for your company. So what do you do? Your business name might not be available or be too long. If you did think about doing business on the Web when you started, your name might not be appropriate for the web. What if your domain name is available for the country code extension but not .COM? Should you buy the .CA anyway? How long is too long?
Create a short list of domain names and variances. Talk with people that you trust and opinion you value or ask your regular customers. However, don't wait too long about as 30.000 Domain Names are being sold a day now. Below you will find a few pointers or things you should have in mind when selecting your Domain Name.
Using your business name
Using your business name as your domain name could be a great idea. However if your business name is really long or very complicated you might want to consider searching for an abbreviation or an alternative.
Recognizable
You want it to reflect what you do ... that makes it easier for people to remember your address and will increase the chance of people guessing your web address right without having to search for it.
Uniqueness
Choosing a Domain name that is unique can avoid that you loose business to your competitors as it cannot be confused with other domain names. You still have to consider if the Domain name is easy to type and not too complicated. Most unique Domain Names for .COM are gone and a lot have been bought to re-sell a lot more expensive. If you have a look on eBay you will see a lot of Domain names for sale.
A person had already registered the Domain name for Pope Benedict XVI before they announced the new Pontiffs name and had put it for sale on eBay immediately after the announcement. He sold it for $200.000+. Think carefully about buying your domain name from another person. First of all you would have to pay a lot more than registering a new name. Second, you might not have full ownership of it. Maybe find alternatives as the one for sale by a person might never be sold and then end up being available through a Domain Registrar a couple of years down the road.
Easy to type
You should select a domain name that is easy to type so avoid complicated domain names. You would like people to be able to enter your Web Address very easily. Spelling errors might make them end up at the wrong site. Or if your domain name contains a hyphen "-" and your competitors domain name has none. They might end up there instead. One example could be (note that only one is a real site):
http://www.pc-world.com
http://www.pcworld.com
These could be very different web sites but the name is very easy to mistake.
Where in the World are your customers?
Should you choose a Country Code Domain like .CA or just buy a .COM? If you are a Real Estate agent and you only sell houses in your town should you then only buy your Country Code domain? Not necessarily. What about the potential clients that are trying to relocate? Are you a local landscaper? Then a Country Code domain might be the best solution. As the domains are selling very quickly now for the .COM then people start to use the Country Code domains more. Clients and potential customers are getting more computer/internet savvy and as businesses are starting to use the Country Code domains more, they will catch on to that quickly.
Multiple Domain names
If you are a business in Canada that expect to have clients all over the world you might want to consider selecting your domain with both .CA and .COM extension. How this would work is that your main web site could be your .COM address but if people type in your .CA address they are automatically forwarded to your .COM address. You have to ask for your .CA to be forwarded to the .COM address. It's that simple and with the low prices on domain names not a big expense.
Another advantage is that if you have a unique domain name you can avoid someone else reaping the benefits of your advertising. People still tries to enter Web Address with a .COM first so if you had bought the .CA address and someone buys the exact name using .COM they would open your competitors web site first.
Author Anette Petersen is Web Consultant with Create IT Simple a Web Design, Hosting and Domain Company based in Halifax, Canada. They offer Website Templates and Unique Webdesign. Their Web Site is http://www.createitsimple.com
For more information, email her apetersen@createitsimple.com
