Website Promotion and Search Engine optimization Overview
It is absolutely a waste of time if you don't continually and consistently promote your website to your target market. It's the same as building a 5-star hotel behind 20 foot walls and then not even putting a sign at the gate! Not great for business!
Web site promotion is so vital and it is the last step that you or your webmaster should do when setting up your new website. It's absolutely a waste of time and money to just stop at the point where a website has been developed, installed on the host and then it just sits there doing nothing!
Web site promotion and search engine submission should be ongoing tasks performed by you or your webmaster. Depending on your products and services offered, you will want to aggressively "advertise your website" to the world. On the internet, the world starts with Search Engines.
Web Design and Development Tips
Off-the shelf, turnkey websites
The already made websites are a great way for a newbie to start but be careful of being talked into a hosting company that is included with the bundle -- you can almost be sure that the host service charges above average fees per month.
Customized website design and development
Make your website unique and something special that no-one has seen before. Web visitors are on the look out for something different - not just a template that looks like a thousand other sites.
Don't make things too technical and complicated - KISS principle
Start with basic functionality and information. Get your basic website up and working as soon as possible. Then start adding extra bits, piece by piece. This does, however, imply that your web developer did his or her business analysis and design thoroughly at the beginning -- based on your possible future requirements and has designed you a site that is flexible enough to accommodate the new additions.
Don't use fancy new technology just for the sake of using it
Use standard, reliable methods of development - make sure that your webmaster uses the appropriate webmastering methods (not just the latest and greatest fad). Is there a simpler way and more appropriate way of creating your website? Remember, the ultimate aim of any website must be that you can eventually maintain it virtually by yourself.
Text Content is King
Every website should contain static pages and dynamic (changing) pages. This is vital for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The more text that you have on your pages, the better. Search Engines ignore pictures and graphics for the most part i.e. they don't get you many points!
Optimize your images for fast web page loading time
It is a known fact the web visitors are an impatient lot. They will click away from your site if it has excessive pictures that take ages to load (not all your visitors have high-speed internet connections). Make sure that every picture or graphic is optimized to the smallest file size, without losing quality. I use a rule of never having a picture more than 50K in size.
How your website functionality and image can damage your sales
Nothing frustrates a web visitor more than a website that (a) doesn't work properly, (b) cant find anything amongst thousand of links (c) visually unappealing and cheesy / kitch!
How to Choose a Web Hosting Service
Choosing the wrong web host can cause untold problems with your website visitors, your mailing lists and your overall image of professionalism.
Things tend to get very technical and there are many hosting companies that can really take you for a ride with all sorts of extra and hidden costs. We have researched over 30 different hosting services. We looked at them from a point of a pure professional business web service and e-commerce as well as an affiliate-type website with blogs, autoresponders and mailing lists. These are the guys that came out streaks ahead of all the other services. Final selection was based on monthly costs, features offered, prompt support and technical functionality offered. We host with them!
HostGator is one of the world's top 10 largest web hosting companies with more than 1,000,000 hosted domains. They have over 150 employees to provide you around-the-clock superior support. We think they are the perfect choice whether you are looking for business, personal, or even Fortune 500 hosting.
They have hosting plans to suite all kinds of requirements (starting at a mere $4.95 per month), a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and a full 45 day money back guarantee by the owner himself. If you ever have a problem with normal support just ask that your support ticket be assigned to Brent and he will personally take the time to give you the VIP attention that you deserve. How is that for professional service? Click HERE to have a look for yourself ...