Publish Online Class #7 - March 29, 2000 Homework Site Promotion Critiques Homework Proposals What is Content? What is the Difference Between Content and Data? What is the Difference Between Content and Advertising? Site Promotion Types of Directories Web Promotion EMail Promotion Stickiness Types of Directories Human-Based: Yahoo, Looksmart Selective: about, askjeeves Spidered: excite, lycos Commercial: goto MetaSearch: go2net RealNames Web Promotion Reciprocal Links Web Ring Link Exchange Usenet newsgroups Search Engine Registration Services Web Advertising Search Engine Registration Search Engine Optimization Title Content First 50 words Meta Tags Description, keywords Structure Alt Tags, Frames Email Promotion ‘Viral’ Marketing Email to a friend Send this page to a friend Press Releases Spam Newsletters Newsletters On Your Own Services Commercial Stickiness Reminders Community Regularly Updated Content Quality Information Speed Webified Writing 1/2 length Extra formatting bold, bullets Appropriate amount of related links User Feedback Your own site What counts as content Content analysis fiction referrence news weather identification if you're a dry cleaner, and you make a page with your address and phone number on it, is that content? What if you make an index/directory of all the dry cleaners in NYC, is that content? What about when the index is searchable, is it still content? When does it become data? is there a difference between content and just information? examples: legal info with analysis list of links list of links with analysis Most sites have some links to other resources, and with the links have some description of what's to come Yahoo is essentially a searchable list of links with descriptions. TYPES OF DIRECTORIES Yahoo is a human-based directory Other examples: dmoz.org, looksmart.com, snap.com dmoz is based on volunteers, is old (been around for several years), and is well-regarded by other search engines - some search engines include results from dmoz.org These all rely on users submitting requests to the site, which are then judged by a human being at the company It's basically impossible to be a complete directory of web sites. And yahoo employees can't be expected to be an expert in every topic covered. Enter the highly-edited directories Some directories are very particular about what they include, they only want the best sites about.com and askjeeves.com do not have normal submission systems, you an send them an email, though, requesting consideration about.com is like yahoo in that it has many 'top-level' categories, each with several sub-categories. At about.com, each subcategory is maintained by an editor, so the site as a whole is like a network of specialized personal pages This yields pretty good results, because they're so selective and expert in the category It's expensive, though to pay all these editors, it's cheaper to automate. Enter the spiders. These sites: altavista directhit excite hotbot infoseek lycos webcrawler Take your submission (similar to the one for Yahoo) and run a program that 'inspects' your site, counting words, pages, etc. The program is called a 'spider' because it 'travels the web' or a 'robot' because it is automated The results of these scans are organized automatically and put into a searchable database like Yahoo's The drawback is that sometimes the descriptions aren't useful, and sometimes one search might yield only pages from one site, instead of multiple sites Sone spiders simply scan the Web, following links. Like '6 degrees of Kevin Bacon', you can get to almost any site from any other site through links google.com, thunderstone.com, and northernlight.com follow the links, eventually getting to almost every page. go2net.com (aka metacrawler) works by scanning all the directories instead of keeping its own directory These are all free, there are some methods that aren't There is a little concern about company's sites not showing up even when their own name is searched for. For example, some sites put in the word 'pokemon' hoping to get better results - because they know many people search on that word. Nintendo, which owns the word, can't stop people from doing that, but they can try to be the top listing RealNames There is an organization that allows sites to associate their sites with particular keywords, say 'pokemon' Nintendo would pay RealNames for the association, and search engines could choose to use the RealNames directory. However, there is little point, since you can just type pokemon.com and get the official site If you are doing a search on 'pokemon' you are probably looking for something other than the official site. goto.com works by having sites bid on keywords, and the highest bid gets top listing example: You have a site about dancing, so you want people searching on 'dance' to get to your site You put a bid on 'dance' at goto.com at $0.01 per click That is not the highest bid, so you don't get the top spot, you only pay when someone clicks to visit your site, so you may only pay $1.00/day If you want more exposure, you can bid higher. Some terms, like 'Java' are very competitive, and to have the top spot you have to bid a lot. 'Dance', on the other hand, probably has a pretty cheap top bid. Other methods exist also, where a search on 'Java' at excite.com doesn't give you a targetted ad, but does give what amounts to a big ad for Sun Microsystems as the first link At what point does a paid link stop becoming content and start becoming an ad? Others: aol.com, dogpile.com, msn.com, 3apes, fastsearch, infind, netscape ------ PROMOTION Whether you make money from advertising, subscription, affiliate programs, or a combination - or even if you are just using the site to promote some other veture - you need traffic on your site. And to do that, you need to promote. Before we get into too many details, though, think about who you want to know about your site, and think about where they might be looking. I have a friend who wants to cash in on the pashmina craze and is planning on starting a pashmina import ecommerce site. He is planning on promoting the site on Nepal-interest news groups. However, even though the pashmin comes from Nepal, the people likely to buy the scarves, etc. probably don't look at Nepal newsgroups, or any for that matter. He is probably better off spending a little money advertising in print. Or for my site, gotham2go, I rely on search engines for traffic. But evenb though the site shows up pretty well on searches for 'pizza delivery in new york' people aren't actually doing the searches. The barrier here is that people don't even think about delivery menus being online WEB Reciprocal Links Contact sites with similar content and agree to link to each others' sites Web Ring One step up from reciprocal links Join a Web Ring A Web ring is a circular linked list of related sites. Each participating site is linked to a site ahead and a site behind, with the whole group forming a hyperlinked ring. There are rings on thousands of topics. A centralized Web ring site maintains the rings, adding new members, removing dead links, and establishing new rings; go there to get started. http://www.webring.org/ http://www.bomis.com/ Link Exchange There are lots of programs (hyperbanner, linkexchange) that get your ads displayed in exchange for your displaying others It's a good way to ease into the advertising world (get a sense of your ad's CTR) and your site will actually look more professional with an ad at the top. However, the ads in these services are usually poorly designed and it may reflect poorly on your site. Also, their ad servers tend to be pretty slow. matchstick.com/pokemon Usenet newsgroups Promote on Usenet Newsgroups - Find the right newsgroup There are over 15,000 newsgroups in the Usenet system, and the huge message traffic makes it a great place to get exposure. Because there are so many groups it can be difficult to target appropriate ones. Use one of the newsgroup search engines. You can also subscribe to newsgroups with a newsreader such as Free Agent. Your ISP will generally give you access to them, or you can use the newsgroup search engines. Don't post to a newsgroup without reading a selection of previously posted messages. Look for a FAQ list to find out what is kosher for the group and what's not. EXAMPLE: http://www.dejanews.com/ - Be clear and concise When posting your site's announcement message, use a descriptive subject field. Help people decide whether they're interested in the message without having to download it. A mysterious title will annoy more people than it draws. Get to the point. Explain what your Web site is about in a sentence or two, list the URL, and be done with it. People read newsgroups for pithy information, not long-winded sales pitches. - Don't spam Resist the temptation to post to multiple newsgroups. Nothing makes Usenet enemies faster than posting indiscriminately and to inappropriate forums - Don't make it sound like an ad. You've found a targetted audience who is interested in your subject, and who's used to seeing spam-style ads. You could pretend to be unbiased, "hey, there's a great site I just found" but that's very transparent. Try being honest, say who you are, what you are doing. Do-it-yourself vs. services promotion /registration services Don't bother They say they'll get you into 2,000 search engines, but who cares about any of the little ones? All the search engines other than the top 20 won't even add up to 1% of your search engine traffic Plus, some use methods equivalent to spamming the search engines, the engines then ban you from their directory Advertising using web banners We went into this last time, remember that it can be expensive, you want to make sure you're spending less per visitor than your cost per visitor calculation Honestly though, those methods won't bring you the same sort of traffic as you'll get from search engines Search Engine Registration Optimize Your Pages for Search Engines - title One of the simplest things is to use the tag. Search engines and bookmarks use it. - content If some of your must-see content is located far down on a page, move it up. Many search engines use "relevance ranking" in their searches… (pages that match a search criteria better are listed first) - meta tagging Make the most of meta tags They are tags that contain information that describes your site, used mainly by search engines. Example: http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pctech/content/18/08/tu1808.001.html Most HTML editors will help you fashion meta tags. don't repeat keywords / don't add huge lists of keywords Many search engines will penalize you for repeating the same keyword over and over. On the other hand, they look for words that appear in the title and the meta tags and the content One old trick is to put lots of keywords on a page in the same color as the background, it may help you get on some engines, but others will penalize you for that. - alt text in images Many sites are starting to index images as well. -problems with frames Only one URL for entire site. Individual "no-content" pages may be indexed as well. You can't control how someone gets into your site. Example: http://www.littleelmjournal.com/ Add javascript to your child pages to help them find their parents. Prepping your site for search engines: EMAIL Email to a Friend Tell me when this page changes The Amazon Books web site offers the "Eyes" service, which notifies visitors via e-mail of new books that meet specified criteria. The Online Travel web site notifies subscribers via e-mail every time the discount travel fares between Europe and the United States change. 'press release' internet news bureau unsolicited NO NO NO NO: unsolicited commercial e-mail. unethical It shifts the costs of advertising from the advertiser to the consumer, effectively making it a theft of Internet resources. a very bad example of marketing. It is also usually untargeted Presents a significant annoyance factor. Suggestions/descriptions of acceptable email marketing practices: http://www.searchz.com/clickz/041498.shtml HTML Mail. With HTML mail, you can send out a newsletter that has advertisements (banners, buttons, sponsorships, and so on) embedded directly in it. This is the strategy that this very publication is using. These daily articles are mailed directly to subscribers, who then have the option of clicking on the ads. So cheap that even if you get a 0.01% response rate, it may be worth it. Newsletters Start an Email Newsletter People usually check their email every single day. - should ALWAYS be opt-in Although you can buy mailing lists, it won't be as successful Don't sell your lists to anyone, and make sure readers know you won't - should have compelling content Give them a taste of what's on your site, but not just a tease. Whet their appetites, but not enough to satisfy them. Nor do you want to overwhelm them with content. Bottom Line: Email has to be worth opening, then has links to the good stuff. - format offer both TEXT or HTML use checkpoints - advertise within newsletters text ads are kind of blah, but you can sell them HTML newsletters give you the option of putting real banenrs, buttons, etc. - frequency is once a day too much? Monthly is not enough? It depends Regular vs. Occasional. - don't ever spam don't use your email list for anything else you'll have unsubscribers right away - costs - You can use an mailing service, such as InfoBeat or Interstep (cost = 5 mailings for 1 cent, or $20 per 10,000) - If you do it yourself, you'll need to be sure your ISP will allow it. (The emails get sent one at a time, can take a while) (You'll need a dedicated computer, a high-bandwith connection) (You'll need mailing list software with "MajorDomo" capabilities) - There are free mailing list services, such as http://www.OneList.com that put their own ads in. - good examples: Anchordesk (offers a precis of content aggregated from ZDNet) Poor Richard's (promises more resources, newsworthy items) Amazon ( "Eyes" service, which notifies visitors via e-mail of new books that meet specified criteria) Online Travel (notifies subscribers of discount travel fares) Send Email to a Rented List? It is tempting to buy a huge list of addresses, and send unsolicited email to them - bottom line: it is unethical - difference between paper junk mail and junk email shifts the costs of advertising from the advertiser to the consumer effectively making it a theft of Internet resources. - bad marketing usually untargeted, the lists are huge and have low success factor presents a significant annoyance factor, actually turn people away PAPER Standard advertising in print, broadcast, outdoor Some TV news shows are reporting fewer viewers as more people get news from the web, however many of these same shows are actually making more money So many internet companies want to advertise that many tv stations have increased their rates. Berst 1. Remind them. Email remains the best "push" technology yet created. Get their permission first, then ping your visitors with useful email. Here is what our 1.5 million AnchorDesk readers say works best: Give people a taste (not just a tease). Give them bite-sized pieces (so you don't overwhelm them). And never, ever spam them (or give their addresses to anyone else without permission). Ever. 2. Befriend them. With so many unknown entities on the Web, people appreciate getting information from a friend they can trust. Think Motley Fool. Not Generic Big Corporation.com. 3. Update them. Keep your pages fresh. Contrary to popular belief, the best Web sites are always under construction. Give your visitors a reason to check back by updating early and often. Try serving up the same amount of data -- more often in smaller pieces. 4. Inform them. And amuse them. First you must get them to the front page. Then you must make it easy to stay. With simple, consistent navigation. Hint: Always keep the "convenience paradox" in mind: People use the Web to save time. And to waste time. Make it easy for your visitors to do both. 5. And make it fast. Fat fancy sites are Web death (just look at MSN). Don't let poor design or infrastructure doom your site. Fact: 28.8 rules now. Fact: 28.8 will rule for the next 18 months. So take a lesson from the super-slim Yahoo search site and remember: Less is more. ------ STICKINESS Berst 1. Write right. Sun Microsystems' engineer Jakob Nielsen has conducted outstanding research about how people read on the Web. I think his ideas are spot-on: : Web-size your writing. : Make it short (roughly 50% shorter than a print version). : Make it easy to scan (use bold, bullets, subheads, italics to highlight key points). : Ditch the marketing-speak (Web users detest it). 2. Link right. Don't overwhelm your users with tons of somewhat-related links. Quality -- not quantity -- is important. Always help your readers find the best information fast. 3. Link wrong. You can enhance your site's credibility by occasionally linking to outside sources. Consider pointing visitors to white papers. Other company sites. Even a competitor's site (especially if you know your visitors are going to go there anyway). If your boss objects, explain that it ensures users will find everything they need at your site. And that they will come back. 4. Make it easy to be heard. When you bury your contact information, you toss away a key opportunity: the chance to forge a one-on-one relationship with a visitor. Always look for ways to make it easier for people to get in touch with you, to give you feedback, to ask for more information. 5. Listen up. Answer every letter. Even if it is only by automated response. This is called customer service and it is an important part of your business. Promote Through On-Site Activity - Feedback and FAQs Everyone likes to be asked for advice. You can get readers more personally involved in your site by asking them for feedback. You may even get good advice! - Make them members Another great way to get readers involved. By making them members, you need to offer them something useful in return. Perhaps a free newsletter, perhaps a discount on a product or free sample, entry in a contest, anything. You gain useful demographic information, and a useful email address. - Spread the news Create a newsletter for "members" or anyone who is willing to give their email address. Use it to tell your members about new features and happenings on your site. The newsletter is delivered right to your members' email in-boxes, reminding them to stop by for another visit. - Start a conversation Discussion areas help people feel like part of a community, and this is a great way to get them coming back. Sometimes discussions are boring, so be sure to seed it with provocative and interesting topics. And be there to answer questions.