SBTDC e-BRG market

How do I market my website?

Dispelling the myth: "If you build it, they will come"…

Once you've developed an effective website, you need to take action to drive your customers to it. Marketing your website is similar to any other type of marketing. It should be an integrated and comprehensive process. It is best to develop a plan which combines both online and offline strategies.

Offline strategies include simple things like including your web and email addresses on EVERY product that leaves your company including brochures, business cards, annual reports, letterhead, lobby signs, statements, statement stuffers, print advertising, radio ads, and television advertising. It is also a good idea to make sure that everyone that answers your main telephone line knows the address and what information can be found on your site. Also, add the address to your company's voice mail message. Send press releases to local newspapers and professional publications announcing your site or any major changes to it.

Online strategies include registering your site with search engines. This can be done by visiting the sites listed below:

Search engines: Yahoo!, Dogpile, Altavista, Excite, Google, HotBot, Lycos, Northern Light, Webcrawler, Search.com.

Search Engine Watch provides lots of information about search engines, including a listing of the major ones and tips for using them.

You may also choose to use a registration service. Registration services can be very useful tools if used correctly. There is a charge for this service. More information is available at the following websites:

SubmitIt

Register-It!

JimTools!

Other online strategies include:

Banner ads - These are those boxes that are linked ads at the top of web pages.

Links to and from other sites.

Affiliate programs - These are programs designed to mutually benefit you, the website owner, and the seller. For example, if your product is a book, you can provide a link to Amazon.com and sell it through them. This is a relatively hassle-free way of doing e-commerce. For more information on these programs, visit: http://www.affiliate-programs-directory.com/AffiliateProgramFAQs.htm.

Web Rings - This is a relatively new way of 'surfing' the web. A ring consists of homepages with some common thread and is created on a ring server. The ringmaster is responsible for maintaining the ring. Users of the web ring follow links on ring members' homepages to go to the next member in the ring. Website owners are free to join a web ring as long as they fulfil whatever criteria are necessary for membership of that particular ring.

Chat rooms/discussion groups.

Opt-in email - This is when people voluntarily request to receive emails from your company.