So everyone wants to know what the quickest and easiest way is to get their site a high ranking on Google, Yahoo and MSN. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an extremely difficult science to master. I don’t know what the current stats are for sites being added to the web everyday, and there isn’t any consensus by internet reporting agencies about how many sites actually exist. I’ve read that Google has indexed in excess of 1.3 billion sites, but Google actually indexes pages, so who knows what 1.3 billion objects have been indexed. Even if we used only half of that number, the competition is tough.
In any event, people are under the misconception that if they launch a website, people will come. They have the latest and greatest product and everyone and their brother want to buy it. That may very well be true. Who’s going to tell these people about their product? How does anyone tell the public they have a product to sell? You might not even be selling something per se. You may have your own blog, a forum, or game or just about anything you can think of, that you want for people to know about.
First word that comes to mind is advertising. From men standing on boxes hawking the greatest new elixir to commercials every 10 minutes on television, advertising in one form or another is an effective means of promoting your product; in this case a website. Think again about the competition that’s out there. Think about any time you visit a page, more times than not, you’ll see a Google ad box somewhere on the page. And it’s not just personal or small business websites that display Google Ads and similar other ad boxes, like Pulse360: NYDailyNews.com has an ad box in their upper header. Quick and easy.
Different websites have different rates that they charge for advertising “real estate,” where an advertiser pays for a specific spot on a website. Other programs will offer to display an ad in a specific place x-amount of times per day (impressions). And still other programs like Google Adwords offers “pay-per-click” campaigns where an advertiser pays a certain amount every time their link is clicked on. Luckily, sites like CommissionJunction.com have similar “pay-per-click” programs, but when setting up the ad, the advertiser can elect to pay only if the clicker completes a transaction.
Advertising doesn’t even have to cost alot of money! In some cases, advertising can even be free. There are many forums and blogs that will allow you to add your link on their sites, sometimes in return for you adding their link to yours, but not always. These are just some quick and easy online advertising options. There are hundreds and probably even thousands of ways to advertise your site. I deliberately didn’t mention email blasts. I shudder when I think of all the junk mail I get everyday. And don’t forget about Facebook and Twitter! Through your social networking you will find that people who are able to see your FB or Tweets might be interested in your website.
This is not a tutorial on how to advertise your website. Think about what your website has to offer. This site is just a blog. It’s where I go to talk about anything that tickles my fancy on any given day at any given moment. I don’t expect alot of traffic and I don’t expect to make an income from this site. However, NewSovereignty.com, another of my domains, is a game site. I do expect traffic on that site and I do expect to make an income (other than the Google and AdBrite ads I have on there). Once the site is complete, I’ll be advertising it on different gaming sites like blogs and forums.
These are just a few links to help you get started researching online advertising:
Be sure to make note of any contact information these and other advertising sites provide. Some offer 24 hour support to help you get started and continue to support long after your account has already been established.
Launching a website and expecting great traffic and top-level page ranking takes alot of time and dedication. SEO is a huge business for a reason: SEO is a very difficult science to master. When I provide a bid for a web project, SEO is never included. I know enough to get in trouble, but not enough to really get a client anywhere on the web, except providing a site that’s been designed and developed according to the latest standards. I can offer advice, but you know what they say about opinions…
I wish you luck in your endeavor and remember, success doesn’t happen overnight. Blood, sweat and tears. Be diligent and mindful and up-to-date on tools and trends and you’ll be a master of your domain (pun intended) in no time!
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