Online Marketing

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A sucessful website is one that is listed well, one that if found on numerous searches.

Search engine

Search engines seek out information from the world wide web. If you enter a query or search into a search engine then you will be presented with a list of websites that are most likely to contain what you are looking for, you can then choose which site to look at.
In order for your web site to be found easily you could register with the major engines, this can take some time though, there are professionals who offer this service, you can pay a professional search engine submission firm to do the work for you.

Twot ypes of search engine - crawlers (or spiders) and directories.

• Google.co.uk and alltheweb.com are crawlers, they will seek out those pages that match a search term most closely. They sift through and present you with the best results that match your search. A crawler analyses a website partly by the number of links pointing to it. You can pay to be listed in a search engine. You can gain more links by agreeing to exchange links with other businesses, these links are known as reciprocal links).
  Some crawlers have a feature allowing you to submit your site to them for free - but this may not guarantee you a listing.
• Directories employ people to assess each individual submission. Yahoo.com. is a directory. In order to be found on a directory you would have to pay a fee.

Getting a good search engine ranking

It is a well known fact that if your site is on the first page as the result of a search then people are more likey to open your website and your traffic will be substancial. In other words it is better to be ranked high and preferably on the first page.

In order to improve your site exchange links with other sites, this means more links will be coming into your site. The content in your site is one of the most important factors when improving your ranking. Make sure your content includes the keywords which are relevant to your site. This maens that within your site you should use words that discribe and relate to your business, however don't simply repeat the same words over and over as many search engines simply filter out this type of content. Good web site content will help to sell your business.

Other factors search engines look for:

• title tags - the title appears at the top of an open window when you view a page in a web site, try to keep this title tag relevant to the site's content.
• meta tags - are key words and descriptions that tell search engines what the page is about

Think carefully about these tags, they are vital when it comes to searches. Try to use keywords and phrases which will be more specific to what you are offering, for example if you are selling a service state what that service is but also describe it, state where you can offer it, how etc. Give people more details about your business on your website as it will help your site to be found.

Web designers and agencies will be able to help you improve your search engine rankings.

Advertising on search engines

Advertising on search engines is a good way to get noticed. Avertisements (Key words) are paid for on a pay-per-click basis, so each time someone follows a link from the search engine to your site you pay a fee to the search engine. Your ranking in these adverts is determined through an 'auction'. Obviously the more you pay for particular key words the higher you will appear in the rankings. Only by bidding more than any other company will you be ranked fisrt.Essentially, the more you are willing to pay for a keyword the higher up your link will appear. So if a garage wants to appear highest up when someone searches for 'car repairs' they will have to bid more than any other company on the term.
Google, Yahoo and Mirago all use these types of ads.

Banner ads

As we have all seen banner ads are common on the internet. These simple images or flashing pictures are placed on other sites and can be linked to your site when somebody clicks them. These banner ads:

• can appear as part of a site - like an ad in a newspaper or magazine
• can pop up in a separate browser window, which can then be clicked on to find out more.
• can be animated
  

It is important to be considerate when choosing banners or if you design them yourself as they can appear imposing or annoying, try to keep them of resonable size and appealing. People will close a site down if they are constantly being bombarded with banner ads.

Banner ads are paid either by cost per thousand impressions (CPM) which is based on the number of times your ad will be seen by prospective customers, or paid for per click (CPC) where you pay a fee each time someone follows a link to your site from another.

Simple banners are easy to create, but a profesional designer can design an eyecatching ad for you. For guidelines on the size and shape of banner ads visit the Interactive Advertising Bureau UK website. Ads must comply with Advertising Standards Authority rules, they must be legal, decent, honest and truthful.

Exchanging links with other business websites

Exchanging links with other sites is known as reciprocal linking. They provide one of the most cost effective ways of attracting visitors as it is free, yet does a great deal towards getting your site out there and noticed. You simply put a link to a site on your page in exchange for them putting one on their site.

The site you choose to exchange links with should be something that is related to what you are offering as this will make sure you attract the right type of visitor. You could link to suppliers, other local businesses or sister companies.

While reciprical links are good, it is important to think about how you use these links, most sites have a 'links' page and this is ideal. Too obvious a link may actually lead customers away from your site and so you then loose the business.