Getting Your Site Listed In Search Engines:

Showing up in the "regular" listings of the search engines is no easy feat. The search engines change the criteria that they use in their algorithms regularly, however there are a few accepted principles that the experts agree you need to do in order to have a chance of appearing in the natural search engine listings.

• Submit Your Website to the search engines. Google, Yahoo, MSN, and AOL are the biggest search engines. They all have a section on their website where you can submit your website. You should submit to each of them one at a time. Never use a service that tells you they will submit your website to hundreds of search engines. The search engines do not like when people auto submit and they will not index you if you do it. Don't waste your time with every little search engine, the ones mentioned above are the biggest and cover most of the Internet.
  
  Search Engine Submission Links
  google.com/addurl.html
  search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
  dmoz.org/add.html
• Try to get other sites that are relevant and that already appear in the search engines to link to your website. You can do this by offering to exchange links.
• Customize your Meta tags. You can now do this in your control panel quickly and easily. More on meta tags below.
• You should try to use the keywords people search on to find a website like yours, in the content of your website. It is important to strike a balance between having important keywords and still making sense to the reader.

Even after you do all of the things above, there is no guarantee you will get listed on the first couple of pages of the search engines. Your chances of getting listed on the first page for certain keywords depends on many factors, such as how competitive your topic is, the quality and quantity of the links going to your website, how long your website has been live for and some factors that change all the time. You should at least show up under the title of your website though, which is important for most people.

There are ways to show up on the very first page of any search engine but you have to be willing to pay to do so. This method is known as "Pay Per Click" or "sponsored listings". You can read more about "sponsored listings" below.

Meta Tags:

Meta tags are invisible tags, or code, embedded in your web page which are read by the search engine robots to learn more about the content of your website. The jury is out on how beneficial they actually are, (some say not at all) but it certainly does not hurt, and probably helps a lot, to follow the proper protocol in order to help your website get listed.

We now allow you to control your own meta tags on your website ! Just login to your control panel and click on HELP and then click on META TAGS and fill in the forms. You can add content for the following meta tags.

Language: You can select the language of your website.

Author: Put the name of the author of the website (You).

Title: (Maximum of 16 words) This is the name that shows up in the title of the browser. You should put the name of your website and or a slogan relevant to your website.

Description: (Maximum of 300 characters) This is a description of your website, with important keywords that people search on.

Keywords: (Maximum of 20 words) These are important keywords that people search on to find a website like yours.

To alter the meta tags of your website, login to your control panel and click on Help and then click on Met tags and fill in the forms.

Natural Search VS Sponsored Listings:

Sponsored search is for serious Internet marketers only. We do not recommend it for people who intend to market their website through their traditional marketing methods, (other literature they have, word of mouth etc.). It is for people who want to get more traffic and are willing to pay for it. You need to know that you will get a return on your investment or be on so few keywords that the small amount you will pay is acceptable to you.

Most search engines do allow you to pay to appear on a page next to the natural listings (usually the right side of the page in little ad boxes to get your message across to people browsing the Internet). These listings usually referred to as sponsored listings cost you money every time someone clicks on them to get to your website. The good news is that you only pay when they click and not just for the ad appearing. This is commonly referred to as "pay per click" (PPC) advertising.

There two major players in PPC and they are Google and Yahoo. We do not recommend that you waste your time with any smaller players. Google and Yahoo cover most of the Internet because in addition to their own sponsored listings they syndicate to many other websites and search engines.

To learn more about how these PPC campaigns work click on these two links:
Google Ads
Yahoo Search Marketing

Website Ideas

There are many things that you can do on your website that will make potential customers want to do business with your company or association. We have listed several ideas below. You probably have already thought of some of these ideas, but it is surprising how many people forget to do what is very obvious when it comes to the way they market their business. Adding more relevant content on your website has the added benefit of making your website "search engine friendly". Are you using some or all of ideas below ?

MAKE A TESTIMONIALS PAGE

If you own a business website, it is a great idea to create a testimonials page and use real testimonials from satisfied clients who have experienced your products or services. If you can include a picture and name, it is even more effective, and obviously the more testimonials you have the better.

IMAGES VS. TEXT

Try to strike a balance between images and text on every page. People do not like to read huge amounts of text on the web, so never have a long block of text that goes all the way across the page. Sprinkle some images on every page to make it more interesting visually for your customers.

MAKE A NEWS PAGE

You should update your website regularly with things that are happening in your business or organization. The search engines like it, and it makes people want to come back regularly. You can also create and constantly update a LINKS page that you think will interest your clients.

MAKE AN FAQ PAGE

You should definitely have an FAQ on your website so that people can find answers to the most commonly asked questions. This may include things such as your hours of business, your address, directions to your business etc...

OFFER A GUARANTEE

Offering a money back guarantee to your customers for your products or services inspires confidence in potential buyers. It shows them that you have faith in your offering and that if they are not totally happy they can get their money back. Most people never actually ask for their money back, even if they are unsatisfied, but the offer makes people take you more seriously.

MAKE A CONTACT US PAGE

It may sound obvious but many people forget to make it easy for their clients to reach them. Make sure that your contact information is on your website and easy to find. A phone number on the home page is recommended and especially a toll free number. A phone number on the home page, (even if it is on the contact page) also shows customers you are there to answer questions if they need you. Make sure you have a professional sounding voice mail if you are not there to answer the phone yourself.

DON'T BE SHY

Have you won any awards or do you have any special certifications ? Be sure to put all this information on your website. It inspires confidence and shows that you are an expert in your field. You should also include any kind of associations that you belong to such as the Better Business Bureau or associations relevant to your business or organization.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

Do you have something that makes your product or service stand apart from your competitors ? Try and find what that is and tell your customers about it. All successful businesses have a unique selling proposition and your website is a great place to tell your customers all about it.

BROADCAST YOUR WEBSITE

Be sure to put your website address on everything. This includes your business cards, letterhead, literature. Even if people do not visit your website, having one in this day and age is a necessity and shows people you are a modern organization. If you have literature, you should also scan this content and put it on your website. This information can be quickly and easily updated when your products or services change unlike printed literature.

BUILD A CUSTOMER LIST

It is a good idea to get people's contact information through your website so that you can contact them at a later date to make special offers or tell them important things that have changed in your business or on your website. You can do this by asking people to fill out the Contact Us page.