Promoting A Website
It is estimated that the number of Internet users world wide is over 200 million.
So, how does someone find your web site among this mass of info and users already
on the net? In a recent survey internet surfers were asked what method led them to most of
the Web sites they visited. 71% used search engines; 9.8% asked friends and relatives;
8.5% used newspapers and magazines; 8.1% arrived from browsing or surfing around; 3.6%
used TV and 3.3% used printed Internet directories.
I believe that the promotion of your website is actually more important then the actual
website itself.
There are alot of really nice websites on the net but many of them don't get the
recognition that they deserve or the visits they need to move up in the search
engine directory.
I view my clients as part of a big family and we promote each other.
I strive to find new ways to help my internet family get more visits to their site.
Let's take a look at some of these traditional and non traditional ways of getting traffic
to your web site.
Search Engines:
This is the most commonly asked question I get by my web client. "How do I move up on
the search Engine - ie Google.
There is only one way to do this.
You have to get more hits on your site.
The more visitors that hit your site, will move your site farther up in the search engine
listings.
There are several ways I find that helps increase your traffic, with simple things like
making sure that you have the URL to your web site in your signature file for your e-mail.
Also include the name of your farm or some short line indicating you have Horses. If you
are on any mailing lists besides your breeds, many people become curious and go visit you
site. I myself often visit sites out of curiosity from a link on another email or post at
a forum.
If you don't belong to any forums, news groups, or mailing lists I would suggest joining
one where you have an interest or hobby, to get additional exposure from a new group of
people.
Linking to Other Websites.
I believe that it is important to have our sites linked to other equine sites. This gives
all of us additional exposure to people that have an interest in our breed. It also gives
us the opportunity to visit other equine related web sites and get to know other horsy
people on the Internet. Always visit a site and if you want to link, write to the site
owner and tell them you would like reciprocal links. After all, if you are going to have a
link to their site, you want a link back to your site. Why advertise somebody else if they
are not willing to support you in return?
Lets not stop with just equine related sites but broaden our audience buy branching out
with links to other types of sites also. The idea again is Exposure. Here are some ideas
as to the types of sites or groups you can have reciprocal links with:
Cattle Ranches
Horse Product Suppliers
Horse Tack or Western Wear
Educational sites
Children sites
People love anything that is free. You could offer a free information packet about your
breed or perhaps a monthly/quarterly (e-mail or snail mail) news letter with educational
canine or equine information. Turn your imagination loose and see what types of giveaways
you can think up. I find that contests are the cats pajamas for getting people to visit
your site on a consistent basis. Its fun and competitive and people love to win! Try a
contest - You could send the winner a breed cap or t-shirt and then maybe some small items
for other winners. A contest can be run monthly, quarterly or just about any time frame
you desire. You can e-mail people notification that they won or you could post it on your
web site which would require return visits to see if they had won. This tactic could be
useful if you are updating the animals on your site on a regular basis.
Make sure to have your e-mail and web site address on all of your printed material such as
business cards, stationary, flyers and in your printed advertising (such as magazines).
With the large numbers of horses currently on the market, people are looking for new ways
to attract a new market for their animals. Traditionally most people hand out business
cards & brochures at shows, auctions and functions that are related to their breed.
But what about those people that don't have the slightest idea what your breed is or that
they are affordable?
The most recent idea I am experimenting with is a horse banner exchange program. I really
like it (so far) as people don't seem to mind pop up websites that are of interest - ie
other horse web sites. I continually look for new ideas to help my clients get more visits
to their websites. If you would like to join the Whoa Horse Family with a brand new web
design of your own or perhaps move your existing site to Whoa Horse please feel free to to
email me at any time if you have any questions or comments.
weezy@whoahorse.com
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