Best Mac Solutions Guide to Web Marketing - After Publishing Your Site

• So, you've created your Web site and it's ready to be published on the Internet. Feel like the hard work is over? Ready to sit back and wait for the multitudes to start hitting your page? Think again!
• The hardest part of successful Web marketing is about to begin. Now that you have your page, how do you let your target audience know it's out there? Sure - some will find it through listings on search engines. But, how do you target your audience directly? This requires a fully integrated promotional effort, encompassing several other marketing vehicles.
• Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Register your new Web site with Search Engines and directories

• You can register your site with hundreds of search engines and directors - from general listings to regional or geographic listings.  There are many announcement services that will even do the registration for you - or you can do it yourself depending on how many listings you wish to generate.

Exchange links with other Web sites

• Its easy to add links to other sites - but finding sites to link to you is another story.  Generally, another site will link to you if it benefits them - perhaps you are a reseller of their products, or you have relevant information.  Another way to get links is to join a link exchange service.  If you are a member of a club or business organization, they may provide links to members' web sites.

Purchase Banner Advertising

• There are many sites where you can purchase Banner Advertising.  The important thing is to find sites which are complimentary to your own site so visitors will want to click.  If you join one of the on-line city guides, make sure your Banner Ad gets noticed - is your ad on a prominent page or inside page, is your ad lost among too many flashing banners? Its also important to measure the results of your advertising to see which are the most effective.

Issue a Press Release

• A press release allows you to reach a large audience at hardly any cost.  While there is no guarantee that a publication will print your release, there are a few things you can do to improve the odds!  Learn how in What Is a Press Release (a.k.a. "news release")?

Incorporate your new Web site into your Traditional Marketing

• * Make sure your web address is on every piece of literature that goes out your door. That means business cards, letterhead, fax cover sheets, advertisements, brochures and more. * When deciding on how to promote your web site, think about the types of promotional vehicles that make sense for your audience. For instance, if you have a product that's marketed toward the elderly, you probably wouldn't use billboard advertising, since many in your audience don't drive. TV or radio may make more sense. * Be creative when choosing your promotional vehicles. Many companies out there are promoting their web sites. Use a message and promotional vehicles that are unique and demand attention.

Gather Information about your visitors

• Once you are promoting the web site and visitors are hitting your page, don't forget to capture their information online. A web page is an excellent source of gathering marketing research information about your target audience. This information can then be used to further refine every aspect of your company's marketing plan.
• Using the statistics provided by your Web Host you can determine the number of visitors and if the numbers are growing, where they originated, which pages were visited.  You can use this information to start fine-tuning your site.