Getting Noticed on the Internet

Part I:
Marketing
Basics
4 Ps
Markets
Consumer Decisions
Diffusion
Marketing Mix
Relationship Marketing
Hunters & Browsers
USP
Push vs. Pull
Reach & Frequency

Part II:
Should your
Business
be Online?
Customers Online?
Competitors Online?
Cost?
Benefits?
Risks?

Part III:
Marketing
Blunders
to Avoid
Netiquette
Legal Blunders
Distribution and Pricing
Graphics and Design
10 Blunders to Avoid

Part IV:
How to
Do It
Bare Bones Marketing
Getting Noticed
Call to Action
Repeat Traffic

Getting Noticed
on the Internet Advertise your advertising. There are hundreds of thousands of sites on the Internet, and you are all clammering for the same visitors. People need to find you before they can visit.

You should include your World Wide Web address (URL, or Universal Resource Locator) in all of your traditional advertising and sales promotion materials. Ads. Business cards. Stationery. Slip a notice in with the packing slip. Send out press releases announcing your site's opening. Follow Bill's example and paint your URL on your truck. Embroider it on your shirt. Most people still learn about WWW sites from friends, colleagues and media references so don't ignore this venue.

Get the word out on the Internet, too. Include your URL in your signature file so it gets transmitted with every e-mail message. Most importantly, get included on other sites. Some techniques are:

Make yourself searchable:

Customers turn to search engines, such as Yahoo, AltaVista and Lycos, to look for new sites. Different databases use varying techniques to scarf up new URLs. To get in Yahoo, you have to submit your own site. AltaVista has a "robot" that trolls the Internet cataloguing actual text. Other search engines use hidden "META" tags that are embedded in each page's code. Hints: Write a pithy 25 word or less description of your site and use it in all of your submissions. Don't try to wing it. 2. Make sure that the first 25 words in your website describe it accurately; many search engines will use this for their indexing.

Get included in directories:

Most product categories, profesions and cities have a list of master links maintained manually by some kind soul. If the list isn't being operated by a competitor you have a good chance of getting included. Such lists often include a link or form that you can use to submit your address. There are several San Antonio business lists. You will need to search for lists appropriate for your own business.

Co-promote with other sites:

The easiest form of co-promotion is by exchanging links. Drop a line to a site with similar interests and offer to include a link to their page in exchange for them linking to yours. Some may say no, some will ignore your request but some will say yes. A more sophisticated twist on this is a formal co-promotion. If you have a product that has a natural tie-in to another -- like tortilla chips and salsa -- find a business that complements yours and mutually promote each other via each other's web sites. A widely known example of this type of cooperative advertising are airlines and rental car or hotel chain. Hints: Be careful about putting links on your front page. They take people away from your site and many will never come back.

Banner Ads:

This is a relatively new form of promoting your website in which you pay someone to carry your ad on their page. Some sites charge a flat monthly rate while others charge a fee per thousand audited monthly click throughs (the number of times someone clicks on your ad.) This can seem expensive, but the results are apparently excellent and the cost per thousand (CPM) is competitive with the traditional media. If you select your venue carefully, this method can generate a lot of traffic for your ad.

Cyber Malls:

Internet malls operate on much the same principle as brick and mortar ones. By conventiently concentrating a group of businesses under one roof, traffic rises and economies of scale can be realized. The most effective malls tend to be grouped around common interests, for example, a craft mall.

Places to learn more about Promoting your Site:

Promote-It!
An all-in-one site that contains links to many sites that will index you. Also contains a list of newsgroups that accept press releases of new web sites.
4 Corners Effective Banners
Excellent comprehensive site on banner advertising.
How to Promote your Website on the Internet
A how-to article with links to many resources.
WebStep Top 100
Direct links to the top 100 promotional sites. Good marketing advice thrown in, too.

Next Section: A Call to Action

Susan Ives
Square 1 Internet
suives@texas.net
(210) 694-4582
FAX (210) 694-IVES

Bill McGaw
iWay Solutions
bill@iwaysolutions.com
phone: (210) 696-9800
FAX: (210 696-4900