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Internet Promotion Services
Directory Submission Service
How to Build a Successful Site
Overview: Web Promotion 101
1. Identify Your Niche & Keywords
2. Optimize Your Site for Success!
3. Directory Submission Basics
4. Further Promotion Opportunities
Promote Yourself! for Free
Free Directory Submissions
Free Band & Musician Promotion
More Free Band Resources
More Website Tips
Choosing Your First Website
Writing Effectively for the Web
11 Common Website Mistakes
How Search Engines Work
Handy Web Tools
SEO Toolbox
Domain Name Tools
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Identify Your Niche & Targeted Keywords
Find your target and hit it
Sure, there's a lot of competition out there. But those folks don't offer exactly the same thing you do. And they're probably not
really savvy about web promotion or any of the things we're about to discuss.
You really can get your website found by the right people, and rise above most of your competition.
The secret
Most people think that success lies in getting large numbers of visitors to their site. 1,000 must be better than 100, right?
Nope.
It's better to get 100 visitors who are looking for a "Phoenix portrait painter" (if that's what you are) than 1,000 who are looking for "painter."
Those 100 visitors are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.
These are not the people who will hit the 'back' button right away. Rather, they're the folks who will likely stick around & explore your site, and check out your work. They are the ones most likely to become a fan, join the mailing list, go to a show, buy your merchandise, and spread the word about you. They are exactly the ones you want.
And they're the ones you'll get if you're well-ranked in Google (& other search engines) for search terms relevant to you.
It's not really hard to do.
Here's how to begin.
What's your niche? The value of keywords
What would someone looking for a website just like yours search for?
Even if you're a poet, they're probably not searching for just "poet." That's an awfully generic term. And you're not a generic "poet" anyway.
But perhaps they'd like to find a beat poet, goth poet, Oklahoma poet, inspirational poet, nature poet, erotic poet, experimental poet, Seattle poet, or a poetry workshop.
Which specific terms apply to you? Figuring this out is the key to successfully getting visitors to your site.
The goal is to be a big fish in a small(er) pond. Or, better, in several ponds (several keyword phrases).
A homegrown example
One of my specialties is designing websites for musicians. A Google search for "web design" returns 2,420,000,000 results. But the search, webdesign for musicians," returns only a fraction of that, and Quanta Webdesign is at the top of the list.
When you aim your website at a particular audience - those in search of a particular type of information - you most often hit your target.
Research your keywords
To pinpoint your target keywords, get out a pad of paper. Describe, with just a sentence, what your site is about. Use specific words & phrases to describe both your main theme and what's found on each page of your site.
Also consider variations. If someone were looking for a site like mine, they might be searching for "web design." But they might also search for "web designer, " "website design," etc. Write the variations down, too.
Then, check out your competition. What keywords & phrases do they use? Right click, choose "view source" and look at their META description tag (near the top). Would these keyphrases be helpful to you?
After you have your big list of keywords, try these tools to learn which are most frequently searched, and for additional suggestions.
After you've narrowed your list, do some searches on Google for the keyphrases you're considering using. Are the sites that come up similar to yours? If so, you're on the right track.
Using your keywords
Once you've identified your keywords, you'll use them in two ways: on your site, and in links to your site.
These are 2 primary ways Google (or any search engine) knows your site is relevant to these search words. It's how they decide how important your site is, and how highly to rank it in the search results.
And, just as crucial (or more), it's how your potential visitors will know your site is of interest to them.
1. Use keywords in text, title, meta tags & headings
You'll want to incorporate your keywords & phrases in a natural manner throughout the text on your site. Don't stuff your text with keywords, or make it sound spammy; those tactics are proven to repel search engines & people alike.
Complete details on this topic are found in the article, "Search Engine Optimization 101". (It's too important to sum up in a paragraph.)
2. Use keywords in links
Google & other SEs pay close attention to the link text (the words in the link you click on), as an indicator as to what the site is about.
Learn how to use keywords effectively in your links in the article, "Search Engine Optimization 101".
How NOT to use keywords
I'll say it again: don't stuff your text, title, meta tags or headings with too many keywords, or with keywords that don't relate to your site. This is both ineffective & unwise.
Some people think they can fool the search engines by "hiding" lists of keywords in the webpage; one common way is to use text the same color as the background. Human visitors won't (usually) notice this, but the search engines are smarter than you think. They can see this deception & may ban or penalize your website as a result. Don't do it!
Keyword density
Though it is important to get your keywords into the appropriate places on your webpages, it's possible to overdo it. If your text sounds spammy or repetitive, you've gone overboard. For maximum effectiveness with the search engines - and to avoid penalties - keep your keyword density to between 1% and 7% - this means that for every 100 words of text on your page, your keyword or phrase appears a maximum of 7 times.
I'll be honest here - I rarely pay attention to keyword density. I just make sure that the text is well-written & on-topic, and that I've paid attention to link text, titles, headings, etc. And I've had much success with that. You don't need to use formulas, just common sense & thoroughness.
What's next? Tune-up (optimize) your website
Using your keywords and some other strategies, you can build a new, optimized website, or optimize the one you've already got.
To maximize you chances of your site being easily found in a search, check out the article, "Search Engine Optimization 101."
Questions? Want help?
Good luck with your site! Please let me know if you'd like to use my services, or if you have any questions! I'm always glad to help & would love to hear from you.
best regards,
Denise
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