Internet resources for web site promotion and marketing strategy

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Internet Resources and Web site promotion

There are plenty of web sites dealing with web site promotion on the internet, we've listed a few of our favorite internet resources here that cover a broad range of issues from search engine optimization to web page design. 

Many web sites dealing with search engine optimization and internet marketing differ slightly in their approaches to web site promotion, yet they all share common principles.  Let's look at some of the basics:

• Domain name - depending on what search engine you are targeting the domain name you select varies in importance and may or may not contribute 'points' towards better search engine results.  For example, a simple search in Dmoz will produce results for a domain name which is part of the url even though it may not be present in the text of the page itself or any meta tags.
   

• Meta tags - some search engines take them into account and some don't when establishing criteria for how to rank your web page.  Google for example doesn't really care about meta tags with the exception of the TITLE tag - a universally accepted tag which plays a major role in ranking algorithms in nearly every search engine on the web.
   

• Content - obviously a very important factor in how search engines determine web page results, yet some place more importance on text than others.  As a general rule of thumb however it's always a good idea to have plenty of relevant content on your web pages so the spiders have something to index.  Many web designers make the mistake of using too many graphics which substitute for text, leaving our friendly spiders very hungry indeed!
   

• Links - good links that are relevant to your web site are very important to some search engines, but the keyword here is relevant.  Avoid link farms and linking to web sites that have nothing to do with your web site.  Two good links from well established sources with similar content to what you have on your web site is much better than a thousand links generated by link farms! 

A simple thought to keep in mind while optimizing your web site is to be as honest as possible without trying to 'fool' the search engine.  For every brilliant trick you can think of (it started back with invisible text) you can be sure there is someone working for a search engine who has already thought of the possibility, or if not, will soon, and you'll be sorely penalized for your 'spamming' the search engine.  It's much better to establish your credentials as a solid web site and example to all.

Here are some links to internet resources you will find very useful:

Newsgroups

• alt.internet.search-engines - a great newsgroup with lots of search engine optimization experts sharing web site promotion techniques and tips.

• alt.www.webmaster - another similar newsgroup but with a broader range of issues.

• webmasterworld - Brett Tabke heads this newsgroup full of search engine optimization experts sharing thoughts on how best to promote web sites on the web.  Lots of current news and the latest developments in the ever-changing world of search engines.

Web page design

• html goodies - one of the oldest and useful resources full of good advice for web site creation and useful tips on marketing strategy.

• dynamic drive - another great resource for web site design but one that focuses more on 'dynamic' web sites.  Lots of great scripts and useful information.

• web authoring faq - nearly any question you can think of regarding web page design can be found and answered here.

• any browser - an excellent resource for anyone interested in internet marketing and web site promotion.  Check out some of their webmaster tools like the site viewer to see how older browsers display your web site or screen size tester to get an idea how your web site looks at different resolutions.

Marketing tools

• marketleap visibility index - see how many web sites are linking to your web site and how you compare to others in link popularity.

• searchengines - one of the older and better established web sites dedicated to providing detailed analysis of search engines and how they rank web sites.  Lots of good tables and graphs with plenty of good search engine tips and advice for improving your search engine ranking.

• search engine guide - another great resource with lots of information on search engines and current articles detailing the latest strategies in search engine optimization.

• search engine watch - plenty of tips about search engines and search engine submission with lots of useful information and webmaster tools for improving your search engine rankings.

• search engine world - lots of good reading here at the site for webmasters by webmasters, subscribe to the quarterly and have the newsletter emailed to you.

• search term suggestion - overture's search term suggestion tool, it will give you a fairly good idea of what people are searching for and related searches.

• 7search - a bit slower than overture but shows you where the bidding is for keywords.

We also recommend having a look at Zeal, a web community which serves as the basis for Looksmart.  Read the guidelines and learn to think the way editors think at Looksmart, you'll be glad you did.

Sunstreams Research