NEW! Niche Marketing E-book

Setting Up a Web Site

Before you decide to put your business on the internet, it is wise to evaluate your competitors. How many are there? If there are very few, you need to ask yourself, "Is there a market for my product or service?" If you have many competitors, you will need to determine how you are going to distinguish yourself in the market.

You can learn much from your competitors. Do their web pages have eye appeal? Do they load quickly? Do they hold your interest? What keeps you at the site? Did it have a high listing in the search engine when you looked for sites offering service or information? After evaluating 10 or more of your competitors, select the one that has greatest appeal. If you have cable, DSL or T1 internet connections, you may not realize that a web page loaded with pictures will aggravate a potential customer using a dial-up connection. Most people do not have rapid access to the internet. Remembering that, you will want to keep your pages "lean." In other words, limit the graphics.

Viewing the source code of your favorite sites will reveal key words and information about site design. This code provides you with illustrations of what works well (see your favorite site) and what does not work well (see the site that took longest to load or was number 1500 in the search engine ranking).

Here is a basic outline for setting up a web site.

I. Preparing to set up a web site

A. Evaluate competitors: their number, market & differentiation.

B. Learning by viewing the source code. Right click on the page & highlight "View source."

C. Select key words for your site.

D. Test your key words, making sure they bring up "hits" for businesses or services similar to yours.

II. Doing the brain-work

A. Develop a 10-15 word healine using key words & emotional words.

B. Develop a 25 word opening statement including key words and free offers. Everyone wants something free, you know.

C. Write the text. Develop the "feel" of the site; establish credibility; list & answer questions; disclose your mission; describe your product or service; include valuable free information or something fun if appropriate.

III. Designing your site

A. Select a background (Remember that black text on white background is the easiest to read.)

B. Choose your graphics. Limit these, especially on your front page as they cause your page to load more slowly. If you want to include some graphics-rich pages, put them on the "back end" of the site.

C. Develop efficient navigation of your site.

IV. Promoting your site

A. Use reciprocal links. Contact businesses that offer services or products online that could enhance the value of your site. Express your appreciation for their site & your desire to link to their site. Request a reciprocal link. Both of you will enjoy increased traffic.)

B. Use sponsorship links. You will pay for these. Yahoo and many other directories & search engines now charge for site listings.

C. Use one-way links. Take advantage of all the browsers & directories that still offer free listings.

D. Be sure to include your web site address on all your printed business materials.

E. Tell people about your site.

F. Prepare a news release for area newspapers. Offer something free to the 1st 100 visitors or to those who attend your "open house" online.

G. Use your site whenever possible to make your sales or offer your services. People will learn to look for the valuable information you offer on your site.

VI. Setting up meta tages.

A. Use a title tag in the page head of your html. It should be 64 characters or less (including any spaces) and should use some of your key words. Be sure it does not sound "tacky." <title>Your Page Title<title>

B. Set up your key words meta tag. <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="Your keywords, 100 characters maximum, separated by commas or spaces and listed in order of importance">

C. Set up your description meta tag. <META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Your description. Must be 200 characters or less. Place most important key words or facts at the beginning.">

For more information click on these links.

Web Developer

Submit Express