Is having your own web site enough? Probably not…
Being the owner of small piece of the internet is something almost all businesses need nowadays. But to succeed and maximise the Return on Investment, web site owners require visitors. And not just any old traffic, but the right traffic that we can reasonably expect a sporting chance of converting into a paying customer.
Web site promotion is therefore the name of the game. Or rather, a vital final ingredient after we have served up some tempting online fare in the shape of a web site that is attractive to look at, easy to navigate and which has content that is relevant, informative and gets our marketing messages across in a cogent and logical fashion.
How we go about promoting our site can be classified as either direct or indirect. Direct promotion consists of submitting our site to search engines and directories, updating our site maps and all manner of tweaks and fine tunings to our keywords, description, page names and content in order to achieve the best possible ranking in search results. Collectively, this latter is better known as search engine optimisation (SEO).
Indirect promotion also covers a range of activities, both online and off. Of the two types of web site promotion, arguably indirect promotion is the poor relation, to whom we devote least time. This is a mistake. For indirect promotion, while not generating as high a volume of web site traffic, can often provide site visitors who are already predisposed to being converted into customers.
Since site traffic emanating from indirect promotion has not usually arrived on your site via a search engine, visitors have already displayed a slightly higher level of interest in your goods and services by the fact they journeyed by another route. It can be argued that site traffic created by indirect promotion is more likely to be hooked than a visitor who clicked through to your site from several screens’ worth of search engine results.
Whatever the merits of the argument concerning the type of site promotion, the one certainty is that it has to be done on a regular and ongoing basis. The real issue for web site owners is the avoidance of being too mechanical or narrow in their site promotion. Be imaginative; don’t miss an opportunity to plug your site. And that includes getting your site listed and linked on other sites. For instance, on sites that list suppliers or contractors, trade directories and sites that are dedicated to your field of commercial operations.
A recent example is the new Artists Directory that is being developed on the web site of Stornoway arts centre, An Lanntair. Doubtless, many of those who are listing in the directory will already have sites of their own but are taking the opportunity of exposing their talents on a larger site with much higher traffic volumes than their own. An Lanntair's directory will act as a bright beacon to potential customers from all over the world who might otherwise never land on the artists’ web sites. Outer Hebridean artists can add their own listing, contact details and examples of their work by visiting www.lanntair.com
Despite what natural history TV might imply with shots of predators stalking the young or infirm as an easy meal, being part of an online herd can sometimes be advantageous.
