Chapter 10: A SITE TO BE SEEN
Now that you've built it, make them come.

AT THE HEIGHT OF THE DOTCOM FRENZY, web entrepreneurs copped a phrase from the popular movie Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." And it worked. Today, however, you need to do more. Customers will come to your site - if they can find it. That's why you need to be highly visible on the various search engines people use to find things on the web. In fact, in its report titled "The State of Search Engine Safety," McAfee (a producer of anti-virus software) reveals that about 80 percent of all website visits originate from a search query. Search engines are the principle way to drive people to your site, and there are three main aspects of search engines that any business needs to be aware of: site submissions, search engine optimization and search engine marketing.

SITE SUBMISSIONS

Many web pages are discovered and crawled because other websites contain links to them. You want to make it as easy as possible for these crawlers to find your site. But don't expect immediate results. It can take a month or so for the major crawlers to index your pages. Getting listed is the easy part. Gaining a high position in the search engines is another story, but that's where the money gets made. It doesn't pay to be the 207th pet accessories retailer listed. No one is going to wade through 21 screens to find you. Most searchers look at only one or two pages of search results before clicking on one or abandoning the search.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Can you improve your search engine ranking? There are definitely things you can do to increase your chances of showing up higher. One of the best ways to score high in search engines is to have good, solid content on your site that is related to the terms you think people will be searching for. It's also important to continually add new content or modify your site's existing content. Keyword-rich domain names, title tags, and having a site map can also help. Be sure that every tactic you use is relevant to your business. Search engines will penalize sites that appear to be gaming the system by displaying tons of keywords and overstuffed meta tags. Hidden keywords (like white text hidden by a white background) are an absolute no-no. Don't overlook the importance of links. Having a number of links on other sites that point to your site can be crucial in determining your search engine ranking. But don't exchange links with just any old site. Search engines can take into account the popularity and relevance of the sites that link to yours. Look to exchange links with quality sites in related fields.

Here's where a little terminology comes in handy. When you're making your site search engine friendly, you're aiming to improve your ranking in the engine's "natural results." Natural results, sometimes called "organic results," are the sites that a search engine returns as the result of a query. Natural results are not the same as the "paid results" that pop up alongside as advertising. These ads should be part of your search engine marketing strategy. Some surfers prefer natural results to paid results, so it's important to make sure your site ranks as high as possible for relevant search terms. Maximizing the number of times your website comes up in a search result is an ongoing process. It takes patience to monitor the search engines by visiting them frequently and checking your ranking under various relevant search terms. If you operate a business that relies on local customers, be sure to check how high your site appears when including your home city in the search terms. Many web hosting providers offer easy-to-read traffic reports that can give you a lot of information about where your visitors are coming from. Study these reports to see which search engines and key phrases send you the most traffic. If you discover that you need to make changes to your site to leverage your keywords within your pages (particularly your homepage) in order to move up in the search engine rankings, do so as soon as possible.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING

You don't have to rely on the spiders to find your site. You can be more proactive. Search engine marketing is a good way to step up and take action to make your site more visible and help ensure you are discovered on the first few pages of the search results. Some advantages of this type of marketing are that it is easy to control the costs and you can target very specific searches. You can target the entire U.S. or specific geographies. You'll be able to judge the effectiveness of the advertising by viewing reports and keeping track of how many visitors are sent to you from the search ads. The next step is to experiment with keywords and phrases.

The copy you use in your keyword ads should be succinct and engaging. You should include your targeted keyword in your ad copy. Make sure your ad contains a compelling call to action wherever possible. The more specific you are, the better. General search phrases like "electronics," "video games" and "shoes" are already crowded, and it will be hard to differentiate your business from the pack. It can also be very expensive to run a marketing campaign around these sorts of terms. If you have a specialty or niche, reflect that with your keyword choices.

LOCAL MOTION

Local search is on the rise, and entrepreneurs can take advantage of the trend. Local businesses should try out phrases that include their town. For example, if you have a tree trimming business in Chicago, you might want to try out the phrases "Chicago arborist" or "tree trimming Chicago." Then, when surfers search for those terms, your advertisement will pop up alongside the natural search results. Local search is a booming area and can be a great way to bring customers to your website and, in turn, to your physical location. As with other aspects of working with search engines, it's important to keep your keyword campaigns relevant to your business. Don't be afraid to experiment with different keywords. Take advantage of the flexibility of search engine marketing programs to try out new keywords. A good search engine marketing program will provide you with easy-to-read reports that will help you judge the popularity and cost-effectiveness of each phrase or keyword.

Expect to have a period of adjustment before your marketing is firing on all cylinders. Continue to refine your keywords as you go along. Success takes a one-two punch. First, your search engine savviness will hopefully bring in the right prospects. Second, your website should motivate prospects to contact you to learn more and, if you have an e-commerce site, to actually buy your products. A website designed with search engines in mind, combined with an effective search engine marketing program, is a recipe for Internet success. A recent study from Nielsen/NetRatings showed that 70 percent of those surveyed would use the net to find a local service business, and 68 percent said they would then contact the business by phone.

by Entrepreneur Media Inc.