Q) Links From Other Sites
Simply submit your website to appropriate sites, asking that
they link to your site as a reference because it will benefit
their visitors. Don't spend too much time on this, if your
content is good and original, they will find you and link to you
naturally. Remember that Linking is Queen
(http://www.redcarpetweb.com/promotion/0409.html#feature).
Stay away from reciprocal linking, links farms, link scams, and
any other unnatural links. They may not necessarily hurt you,
but Google tracks when you get a link, how long you have had a
link, who links to the site that links to you, where you live,
what you had for breakfast, and more (not really... but kind
of).
R) Statistics
Make sure your server has a good statistics program. Use it! If
you don't have access to a good program, then pay for one.
Without the knowledge of who is coming to your site, from where,
and how often, you will be missing out on some essential tools
to improve your site.
S) Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
Sign up for Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing. Spend
money getting people to your site. Use it for branding too. This
will create a steady flow of visitors to your site, and will
make your site more accessible to your potential clients. You
don't have to be #1, you don't even have to be #5... just make
sure you are on the first page of search results for most of
your keyphrases, when the cost is right.
T) Look Ahead
Stay informed of what is coming up in your market. If a new
product will be out next season, write about it now. Take
advantage of being a first mover. The search engines, and
linkers, will reward you.
U) Articles
Write an article once every week and get it published in as many
online publications as you can (with a link back to your site).
Include the article on your site. Not only will this create many
links to your site, but it will also get people to click to your
site, and most importantly you will become an expert in the eyes
of your visitors. They may even begin looking for your site by
querying your name!
V) Study Your Traffic
After 30 to 90 days you will have enough results to analyze in
your statistics program. Go over them with a fine tooth comb.
Get the answers to these questions:
- Where are your visitors coming from?
- Which search engines do they use?
- What queries do they type in?
- What pages on your site do they visit the most?
- What are the entry pages on your site?
- What are the exit pages?
- What path do they follow when they browse your site?
Use this information to tweak your site.
- Use the most popular page to encourage the visitors to make you money.
- Adjust the paths they use to send them where you want them.
- Figure out why they leave from the exit pages.
Also, see what search terms people use to find you, and fine
tune your keyphrases. If you targeted "green widgets", but your
visitors are finding you with the query "green leather widgets",
then start creating content about "leather widgets"!
W) Verify Your Submissions
After 3-4 months, check that you got into Dmoz.org and all of
the other directories that you submitted to. If you have not
been included, then submit again, or better yet, write a polite
email to the editor and ask why. Also, find any new directories
that would be worthy of your submittal time and submit to them.
X) RSS Feeds
RSS (Real Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is becoming a
powerful tool for Internet marketers. You can quickly and easily
add fresh content to your website. Article feeds are updated
frequently, so you can give your visitors (and the search
engines) what they want - fresh content! You can use RSS to
promote any new content, such as new pages, articles, blogs,
press releases, and more!
Y) Press Releases
A press release is a written communication that you submit to
journalists in the media (newspapers, radio, television,
magazines) which are used to make announcements that are
newsworthy. Create press releases announcing publication of any
new articles or new company information or products. If it is
interesting/original enough, a journalist may pick it up and
write an article about it. Before you know it, your website
address may get published in the NY Times.
Z) Keep Your Content Fresh
Remember to write a new page every 2-3 days. I only mentioned it
briefly, but it is probably the most important point in this
article. Keep writing! Without fresh content, your site will
gradually drop in the search engine results. To stay on top,
your content has to be the most up-to-date, freshest, and most
interesting and original content in your field.
Follow these 26 simple steps and I assure you that within one
year you will call your site a success. You will bring in a
massive amount of traffic from within your industry and watch as
your business grows!
So start writing, and write yourself to the top!
About The Author
Shawn Campbell is an enthusiastic player in the ecommerce marketplace, and co-founded Red
Carpet Web Promotion, Inc.. He has been researching and developing marketing strategies to achieve more prominent listings in
search engine results since 1998. Shawn is one of the earliest pioneers in the search
engine optimization field.
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