Website Promotion

In the bricks and mortar world it costs money to draw in visitors that aren't buyers. The same is true online. It costs money to handle traffic. But you don't need just traffic, you want potential buyers. We recognize the difference.

When potential buyers in the bricks and mortar world come into your business the language and clarity of explanations to the customer is what sells them your product. The same is true on your website. As optimizing for search engines often means changing language, it takes a skilled copywriter to merge the two goals. TxWorld has proven methods for creating the specific language for your business.

Many resources abound to describe in the tiniest detail all of the search engines, directories and other content providers that are the most frequent tools when a person is looking for something on the Internet. You will not find that here.

This page highlights the most important search engines, directory services and shows you how they fit together.

Definitions

Search engines are computer systems that are the equivalent of a library card catalog system - they help you find information on the web. A search directory is a categorical grouping of information, maintained by people, not by computers.

Search engines cross reference information from many different places when building the indices you will use in your searches. They pull from the search directories, from other search engines and also include paid advertisements.

How search engines work

Most search engines work in a similar manner, though some like Google, have advantages that make them more popular than others. When your site is submitted to a search engine, automated programs visit the web address you supplied. They "crawl" through all the pages you have created, indexing and relating the information based on complex and frequently changing criteria. 

Perhaps the most widely missed fact of search engines and site promotion is the following: search engines operate on all pages in your website. Not just the start page. This is very important because many web designers miss this point and consequently miss the opportunity to optimize each page for search engines. And this means a missed opportunity to the website owner.

Free submission of your site to major search engines is becoming a thing of the past, though it is still possible. Inclusion into search engines can take anywhere from six weeks to several months.

Paid Inclusions

Simply put, many pay-for-inclusion service companies present your name, website or advertisement in exchange for fees. Consumers search online for products and services, and if they keywords they type in match words you have selected to advertise with, they are directed to your website.

Pay-for-inclusion programs can let you jumpstart your website promotion because they are immediate - there is no waiting for your site to rise in the search engine ranks. The more you are willing to pay for select keywords, the higher your listings appear within search results and are presented to a greater number of potential customers.

Instant website ranking and listings

Avoid "guaranteed" or automated listing services offered by unethical search engine marketers. Rule of thumb: if it sounds too good to be true, it is. 

With rare exception, the gimmicks that these firms use do more harm than good. Instant programs never replace long-term success, and can get your website penalized or kicked out of search engines entirely.

Search engine providers such as Google and Inktomi offer solid guidelines for webmasters, including dos and don'ts for building your link popularity. TxWorld follows these simple guidelines to get your website listed - the right way. 

TxWorld promotional programs

Your business has unique characteristics. And the promotion of that business is no different - the plan should also be unique. 

You may need to have individual pages reworked in order to be indexed by a search engine. You might need to use pay-for-inclusion programs, or you might not. Maybe you would like to tie together a direct mailing and you website. We can help you with all of these efforts and much more.

TxWorld uses a variety of techniques to enable our client web sites to show up in search engines including optimization of your website content, individual page relevant metatags, paid search engine submission, pay-for-inclusion programs, and tools for tracking and analysis of your web traffic.

TxWorld will provide a free consultation to look at all the aspects of promoting your website. We work with you to suggest the right keywords, develop a workable budget and a practical plan that will put everything into action. All in plain simple English. 

We focus on the following search providers:

	The undisputed king of search engines in 2003. Many Internet firms claim that they can guaranty a top listing of your website on Google. Don't believe them. See what Google says to those claims...
	Recently acquired by Yahoo, Inktomi is one of the leading suppliers of listings to other search engines such as Looksmart, Hotbot, Excite, Overture and MSN. Their paid inclusion program has helped to expedite listing on most other search engines
	The Open Directory powers the core directory services for the Web's largest and most popular search engines and portals, including Netscape Search, AOL Search, Google, Lycos, HotBot, DirectHit, and hundreds of others. Inclusion decisions are made by humans, and is never guaranteed.
	Overture is the leading provider of pay- for-inclusion listings and advertisements in Yahoo, MSN, AltaVista, Excite, Lycos, Netscape, Infospace and many others.
	Alltheweb is a search engine that feeds several other popular search engines. More importantly, it is a subsidiary of Overture, the top pay-for-inclusion firm on the Internet.