Business article Index >> Improve Your Web Site Traffic Okay, you're web site is ready to go. How in the World Wide Web will anyone find you? How will you reach your intended audience? Here are some practical suggestions to improve your web site's traffic. Start with a plan. Know your audience, evaluate their needs, determine what your "niche" is (if any) and prioritize the services or products you want to market. Too much commercial information can be a real turnoff to the casual visitor. Be generous. The World Wide Web was built on the spirit of free information exchange. Offer information without any strings attached. Provide free advice, or referrals to other sites that might of interest or use to your potential clients. Keep it simple. Surveys indicate web "surfers" won't wait for slow downloads. You don't want your potential guests hitting the "stop" button before your message is communicated. Keep the page lengths relatively short; or "screen-sized." Your viewer may not want to scroll through long pages of text or graphics. Stay current. If you provide links to other sites, make sure they're kept up-to-date. Any advice or information should be as current as possible. Updating information will encourage guests to come back again and again for more data. Get it right the first time. Make sure your site is working properly, all links are functioning, the graphics are clear and text is typo-free BEFORE you start advertising your new address. You may not get a second chance to impress your guest. Publish your site everywhere. Submit your site to every free listing service you can find. From Alta Vista, to Yahoo, list your site with every free seach engine you can find. And follow up to make sure your listing was added. Get help from a professional. If you're an expert in graphic design or electronic publishing - then you may be ready to design your own site. But if you aren't, get professional help. Just because you can do it yourself doesn't mean you should. If you want visitors to your site to take your business seriously, and regard you as a professional in your industry — you should LOOK like a professional. Be consistent. Incorporate the same graphics used in your printed materials (brochures, letterhead, business cards, signs, advertisements, etc.) Your company logo should be prominently displayed using the same (or very similar) look and color used in your printed materials. Put your site address on everything. Your business cards, letterhead, brochures—all your promotional materials should reference your site. Include your site address in your yellow page ad, membership directory (such as Chamber of Commerce or other business organization) or any other publication listing your company name, address and phone number. Use META tags. To optimize search engine response, embed meta-tag descriptions and keywords. Alta Vista and other search engines will index all words in your document (except for comments) and will use the first few words (e.g. 250 characters) as a short abstract to serve back when a viewer initiates a search. It is possible for your to control how your page is indexed by using META tags to specific additional keywords to index, and a short abstract. Effective use of META tags can significantly increase site traffic generated from robotic search engines. Keep your graphics small enough to download quickly. Compress your images whenever possible. Pay close attention to your page titles. Search engines give priority to the text placed in titles. Make sure you include appropriate keywords and subject descriptions to enhance your search engine response. Offer to link to other sites that appeal to a similar audience in exchange for links to your site. Make sure your navigational system (menu) makes sense to the visitor. Can they navigate your site easily? Will they have to "dig" through layers of pages to find the information they're looking for? Control the length of your pages. Long pages of text do not hold the average "surfer's" attention. Shorten your pages and create sub-menus to make it easier for the reader to "skim" through large text areas. Don't change the background, headings and menus for each and every page of your web site. In addition to providing continuity to the look of the site, previously used graphics remain in cache memory and will download more quickly on other pages. Don't forget to test print pages to make sure your finished page will print clearly. Don't add every piece of free clipart you can get your hands on to your web site. Flashing lights, scrolling text, blinking menu bars, etc. will make your page download slowly — and sends a clear signal to the visitor that your site was built by an amateur. Don't overlook your competition. What do their web sites look like? What kind of content are they providing? If you want to keep up with your competition, you need to check out their web sites regularly. http://www.onlinewbc.org Business article Index >> News I Health I Wellness I Exercise I Profiles I Business I Links I Women ROCK! Product Review I To the Point I Contact I Home Created by: Art Street Design Studio. © Concerning Women Communications, Inc. all rights reserved.