Marketing Yourself on the Web
By
Greg Trinidad
Northstar Hosting and Internet Services
http://www.northstarhosting.com
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a giant group of computers
all connected to each other.
They are
connected by Internet Service Providers like
Quest, Compuserve, MCIWorldcom, etc. Those service providers in turn sell
distribution to companies that we buy our Internet Connection from, i.e. Time
Warner, Cox, Earthlink.net, etc.
Any
computer can be connected to the Internet that has the proper hardware (Ethernet card or a Modem) and software that comes with the hardware.
Some
computers, that are connected to the Internet and that store information for
others to see, are called Servers. Servers are high powered computers that are
designed to allow people to share information in a secure way.
If your
computer is connected to the Internet you are called a User. In order to surf the
web from server to server your need to have a piece of software on the computer
called a Browser. A browser is a software program on your
computer that allows you to see websites on servers through your Internet
Connection.
What is a Website and how much do they
cost?
A website is a set of files (web pages) that is stored on a Server
that is connected to the Internet.
Generally a website stores information that you want to share with other
people in the form of Images, Text, Video or Music.
Websites
are differentiated on the Internet by Names (Domains or URLs) and by
Numbers (IP Addresses).
Since
computers do not care about names and work better with numbers, your computer
is identified by other computers by a number that your Internet Service
Provider gives you when you connect to the Internet. That number is called an IP Address. Every computer
connected to the Internet has its own IP Address.
Since
humans do not work well with numbers, computers have names called Domains or
URLs (Uniform
Resource Locator). A URL is
the www.company.com that you see on
everyone’s business cards. These are unique
and since they are unique, they are very valuable.
There are
companies that manage URLs called Registrars. These are companies like Godaddy.com, Network
Solutions, Registrar.com, etc. You can
go to their websites for a fee, and register a URL for your website.
Godaddy.com is the best in
the industry and averages about $9 per domain name per year.
Once you
have your URL you will need a website.
There are several ways to acquire a website. You can design one if you know how, you can
find a service that provides them through software, or you can have someone
build one for you. If you are using a website for fun then have some fun and
build it yourself. However, if you do
not have time or are going to use it for business it is a good idea to leave it
up to a professional company dedicated to building business related
websites.
Website design and programming can cost anywhere from $500 on up to $100,000 and more
depending on what you are looking for out of the website. These fees consist of designing the graphics
and layout for your website, putting in the content that you provide, building
the functionality of your website, and making sure everything looks and
functions properly. Most of you will be looking
in the range of $1000 to $5000 for design and programming costs.
You will
also have to pay for changes and updates called maintenance. A professional
company that is fast and efficient will charge between $100 - $200 / hour. One man shops will charge between $50 - $100
/ hour.
There are
often other fees related to the website that you will have to pay and those are
hosting fees. Hosting Fees are costs for storing your website on someone’s Server
that is connected to the Internet 24/7.
You will usually pay a set up fee and about $50/month for business level
web hosting from a service that is reputable and reliable.
*Remember when
choosing your providers there are a million scams out there. You will here things that are really cheap,
and if it is to good to be true, then it probably is.
How can a website help me?
A website
is used to market your business. It
provides potential customers a place to obtain information about your business,
products, and practices.
The
important things that your website must
do are present your business in a professional way, the website has to work
(from a programming and reliability stand point), and it has to do everything you need it to do
for your business.
To
accommodate these needs whoever designs your website should have been in
business for a number of years, they should have done quite a few websites that
look professional and get the job done.
You should go with a group of people over a one man shop for reliability
reasons. You should have everything in
your name and have access to all information.
Whoever you have design your website should
design it in such a way that things are easy to update and maintain so that you
do not get hit with high costs down the line.
I have a website, what now?
Once you
have a website you need to get it in front of people. Users that come through your website are
called web traffic. Web traffic is
often referred to Hits and Sessions. Hits are how many times a web page in your
website is viewed. Sessions are how many
times individual Users come to your website.
Once you have a website you want to bring in a lot of web traffic. An important thing to remember is that you do
not just want any traffic, you want traffic that is going to buy into you
business. Whether you bring traffic to
your website from offline or online resources, you want Relevant Traffic.
Offline marketing is marketing your website through
means other then the Internet, i.e. flyers, business cards, billboards, etc.
Online Marketing is marketing your website through
the Internet, i.e. Search Engines, Search Directories, Banner Ads and Articles
on websites, etc.
All of this
costs money and the more traffic you want, the more it costs.
What is a Search Engine?
A Search
Engine is a website that allows people to search the search engine’s database
of websites. Generally, people go on to
a Search Engine and type in a phrase that relates to what they are interested
in getting information on. These phrases
are called keywords.
What is a Search Directory?
A Search
Directory is similar to a Search Engine.
It is a website that allows people to search the search directory’s
database of websites. Generally, people go on to a Search Directory
and type in keywords that relate to what they are interested in getting
information on.
What is the difference between a Search Engine and a Search
Directory?
The
difference between Search Engines and Search Directories is very subtle. Both Search Engines and Search Directories
add websites to their database of websites that people can search. This is called indexing web pages. The
difference is that Search Engines use computer programs to add pages to the
database of websites. A Search Directory has humans to add pages to the
database of websites. This causes
differences in the search results that are returned from searches and can help
or hurt you, depending on what you are to find.
Some Search Engines and Search Directories are better at indexing pages
than others.
What are keywords and how do I find mine?
Keywords are a word or group of words that people type
into a search engine or search directory to get search results of websites to
find more information about the information they are trying to find. There are tools available to you on the
Internet to access statistics on recently searched keywords. These can usually
be found on the search engine or search directory websites. You can use these tools to tell what keywords
are going to be able to bring you the most relevant traffic associated with yo
What is Paid Inclusion?
Paid Inclusion is paying to be ranked well in the
search result, which are returned when your keywords are typed into a
search. This can cost anywhere from $0.10
to $20.00 per click depending on how competitive the keywords are in which you
want the rankings.
The major search
engines that you can get Paid Inclusion through are Google, Overture, and Looksmart.com. This is complicated processes that can be
expensive for the keywords, and to manage the process. A reputable web design company will help customers get set up and have them manage the
process on their own to minimize costs.
What is Natural Ranking?
Natural
Ranking is having a website that is designed to get ranking on the search
engines or search directories without paying the engines directly. This is very valuable in the long term. There are many factors that go into this:
website layout, content on the website, the way the code is programmed, the
websites that link to your website, the activity you show to the search engines,
etc.
How can a Search Engine Specialist help me get
rankings?
Since
there are so many factors, this makes the process is very complicated and
unless you are a Search Engine
Specialist. If search engine ranking is important to you, then you should
hire one to help you. Here is a list of
some of the services that they will provide:
·
Keyword Targeting – Helping you
find your relevant keywords.
·
Website Architecture Search Engine
Optimization –
Designing and Programming your website layout to be search engine friendly.
·
Website Search Engine Optimization – Designing the code that search
engines see so that they rank you toward the top of search results.
·
Website Submission – Submitting your website to search
engines so that they will index your website before other websites.
·
Website Reporting – Monthly reports of where your
website is ranked on the search engines.
·
Pay Per Click Management – Management of your Pay Per Click
budget to make sure you are yielding the most traffic possible from the budget
your are spending with the search engines.
·
Strategic Positioning – Getting you website advertised on
other websites that have users that are potential customers and building links
from websites that will increase your ranking on the search engines.
This can
cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands and thousand of dollars
dependent on how much time and money is
going into optimizing your website. A
full service optimization package from a reputable company costs about $2500
for setup and $30 per URL per Month.
This does not include Pay Per Click Management or Strategic Positioning.
If you
have any questions in regard to this information, you can email Greg Trinidad
at gregt@northstarhosting.com.
