Once you understand the medium, you will soon realize that Internet marketing is about communications and interaction. Try thinking of the Internet as a conversation between you and your potential customers. In other words, don't talk at them; talk with them. When you make information available, always provide a way for your readers to respond.

The interactivity of information presented on the Internet increases readers' perception of being in control. Anything you do to add to this perception increases a prospect's emotional involvement with your site. Look for opportunities wherever you can to provide your customers with opportunities for control and feedback. Ask for customer comments about your site. Ask them about your service. There are an infinite number of ways to use the Internet to increase your customers' involvement.

Below we suggest several steps you can take to make your site really work for you. Be aware that these are not all the "tricks" and techniques you can use. Here, your creativity is your only limitation.


• Get Listed
Search engines use automated software (known as robots or spiders) to follow web hyperlinks, harvesting information about sites as they go. When someone submits a query to a search engine, the engine returns a list of sites, ranking them on their relevance to the keywords used in the search. How search engines assess your site and determine the relevance of the words is difficult to predict, as it often depends on how the specific engine works. Some engines, such as Excite, use artificial intelligence to recognize concepts that frequently appear together. If you search for "animal health," for instance, Excite also returns sites devoted to "veterinary medicine." Other search engines, such as WebCrawler, first list more popular sites-those its database shows are more frequently linked.

You are encouraged to register your site to give your customers as much potential for finding you as they can! Registering with a search engine is quite easy; the hard part is deciding which ones to use first. Each typically falls into one of six categories: search engines, general directories, announcement sites, geographic sites, specific-interest sites, or selective sites.

Global Web has made it even easier to register your site with the SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION feature located under the "Pages" tab. Use this feature when your site is complete. Just choose that option and enter your email address for submission. You will receive a confirmation of the search engines that accepted your submission. It will take from a day to several weeks for the search engines to include your site in their database. It's best not to announce before your site is ready for publicity, as people who click to a site that is still under construction are unlikely to return.

There's no way to guarantee that your site will come up on top in a search or stand out in a directory (though it helps if your subject matter is obscure and uses a unique vocabulary). But try these tricks to make sure your site pops up in as many searches as possible.

•  Title your pages effectively: Make sure each of your pages has a descriptive title. Search engines usually give the most weight to the words between a page's title tags. You can use this to your advantage by adding a short, descriptive phrase in the title of each of your pages, which will make sure certain keywords get the attention they deserve. The MyZipBiz ^TM utility combines the page title with the document filename; therefore this feature is already in use. You only need to make sure your title reflects the page's contents. For example, the DeadlyGardens home page might include the following description in its title to emphasize its specialties: <TITLE>DeadlyGardens--The online area for man-eating plants and interesting landscape options</TITLE>.

Search engines return their results in the form of titles linked to each site, so descriptive titles draw people to your site. A page with just the name of the site in its title is less compelling than one with a description

•  Make the most of <META> tags: You can control how search engines catalog your site with two types of <META> tags. <META> tags are part of the HTML code that some search engines, such as AltaVista and Infoseek, look for but most visitors to your pages never see.

<META> description tags let you specify a short description that appears below the page's title on a search response (if a page doesn't have a <META> description, search engines usually list the page's first dozen or so words instead).

<META> keyword tags let you specify the keywords that a search robot should give precedence to when cataloging the page. <META> keywords are typically given less importance than words in the title, but more importance than words found in the page's body (MyZipBiz ^TM allows you to type both a document description and keywords to assist search engines and directories in categorizing the online file).

•  Don't repeat keywords: Repeating keywords-whether in the title tag, in the <META> keyword tag, or hidden against a colored background-has long been a popular ploy to convince search engines to list a site high on keyword searches. The tactic worked when search engines were unsophisticated and judged a word's relevance only by the number of times it appeared on a page. Now, most search engines are hip to the trick and count only the first few occurrences of a keyword or phrase. Thus, hundreds of repetitions of "shopping cart" on your web design page will probably have no greater effect on the search engines than would ten repetitions. Search engines also rely more on word density (frequency relative to the total size of the page) or distribution (how well the word is spread throughout the page) than on the number of occurrences when they judge relevance. Some search engines, even penalize your page (by placing it further down the list or not listing it at all) if they suspect you of repeating words to improve its ranking.

•  Put the important stuff first: Some search engines, such as Lycos, give precedence to text near the top of web pages. If some of your must-see content is located far down on a page, move it up, put it on a separate page, or make sure the appropriate keywords from the text are in your <META> keyword tag.


• Get Linked
There are two types of links: one-way links to your Web Site, and two-way links where you provide a return link to the other Web Site. Usually, it is not specified where the reciprocal link must be located so you could place all reciprocal links on a separate page or at the bottom of your home page.

There are many ways in which to find sites that will place links to your site. First, you should seek out partners for trading links including vendors, suppliers and providers of complimentary products. For example, let's say you're a free-lance graphic artist. You could search the Internet to find Web Sites for related services, such as photography, copyrighting, advertising services, etc. After visiting the sites that looks interesting e-mail the owners and ask if they would be interested in working out a deal to "refer" potential clients to each other through the use of links. Even if you see no links on that page, it is a good idea to ask anyway.

Generally, your direct competitors will not want to make links for you, but others will usually be more than happy, especially if your site offers something interesting. Then, when someone who needs a graphic artist to create a brochure is searching through the web pages of a copywriter, he or she might see the link to your site, click on it, and become your client, too. And because you have a link to that copywriter on your page, the process could go in the opposite direction, too.

Another place to look for are business malls. Many require a fee to become a member, but many do not. These malls are sites set up that house many different businesses in one location enabling the user a one stop shopping site.

Some communities have sites set up by local colleges, businesses, or the chamber of commerce which link all sites within the community. Check all available sites in your area for these.


• Place Ads At Other Internet Sites
A very popular but expensive method of promoting your site is through billboard ads. These are the little rectangular graphics that you see near the top or bottom of some popular pages urging you to click on them in order to transport you to their site. You mostly see larger companies doing this type of advertising, but if you have the money, they can pay for themselves several times over. The price of a billboard ad generally will depend upon the size you want and which site is offering the ad. Some sites, such as CNN get very high volumes of traffic and a billboard ad will be costly for the average businessperson.

Even though billboard ads are expensive, they are worth the money. It is the most graphical way to promote your site. It will be seen by thousands of people, depending upon which site you have it on. With billboard ads, you are going to attract many people that are interested in your site, but probably never thought to search for it via keyword searches.

Billboard ads are generally small, so you have only a limited space in which to convince a reader to visit your site. Your ad needs to be highly visible and to the point. A great way to do this now is to use an animated billboard ad. In this technique, you create many different GIF images, each one a different frame in the animation. Then, using special shareware programs, you can combine all of these GIF images into a single GIF file. The resulting GIF file is then accessed as usual in a web document. This technique makes your billboard ad stand out, and is highly recommended. This is also a good way to get more text in the small ad space.

Just as you would not put an ad for tropical fish in a computer magazine, you need to determine which site you are actually going to purchase billboard ad space from. There are a few choices to be made even before this.

First, you must decide how much money you are willing to spend on billboard advertising. Up until now, everything you've done to promote your site has only cost you time, not actual money. Once you've decided how much you can afford to spend on advertising, you need to decide how long you want your ads to run. If you're not willing to pay for banner advertising, you can always join a banner exchange service.


• Participate In Banner Exchange Programs
Dozens of organizations, like those featured below,allow you to participate in their free banner exchange programs to bring additional customers to your site. Each program requires you to create a banner advertisement (at your cost) and place a reciprocal banner link on your page. Then every time their banner is advertised from your page, you get credits to have your banner shown on other pages all over the Internet. The best part is, it's FREE! Just a trade, no money changing hands. 

Don't know how to create your own banner? There are lots of services available on the Internet for help. We suggest you check out

• Instant Online Banner Creator
• MediaBuilder Animated Banner Maker
• The Banner Generator

If you have a new or cool product or service, you should apply to all places that you could find to get on their lists. These lists change often, but are read by large numbers of people. Even if your product or service is not new or cool, you should still apply. Maybe your home page just looks really great and are unique. This is enough to get you listed.

People who get their sites listed in the new or cool lists, often report high traffic at the times that they are on the list, so it is definitely worth your time to try and get on any specialized lists such as these.


• Name Recognition (URL)
It is true, that some people searching for larger companies such as IBM or Ford for the first time will type in what they think will be Ford Motor Company's site (www.ford.com). And, it will be easy to remember if they have just seen it on a television commercial.

The majority of people searching the web for sites and products are not always going to type in the actual address to a site they know or have heard of, but rather use various search engines to find what they need. Therefore, smaller businesses in America do not necessarily need to have a unique URL. If you have the money, it is nice. If you don't have the money, then don't feel like your page will be second class. You can still effectively market your site, no matter where it is located.



• Don’t Let Your Site Go Stale
Update your Internet site regularly-definitely any time the information changes significantly. Changes come quickly these days, and the Internet is a master quick-change artist. So don't let your site go stale with outdated information. Some sites are updated every day, or even several times a day (you likely won't have to update as frequently as that). Updated or new information works to lure people back again and again to your site.

Since Global Web allows you to modify your MyZipBiz web site as often as you desire with a touch of a button there is no reason why your documents should contain outdated material.


• Respond Quickly To Your E-Mail
People who frequently use the Internet are accustomed to speed. That's one of the beauties of cyberspace. It's fast. If you're serious about establishing a profitable presence on the Internet, get in the habit of checking your e-mail messages frequently, whether they are requests for information or actual orders. If you get lots, twice or even three times a day may be appropriate. But even if you get only an occasional e-mail message, always check at least once a day, and respond right away.

• Don't Forget Your Own Web Site
One often-overlooked place to promote your Web Site is the site itself. It's one thing to get the word out about your Web Site and attract first-time visitors. It's another thing to convince those visitors to come back again and again. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques you can use to entice visitors to return.

• Feedback and FAQs: Ask your visitors what they like and dislike about your site (be specific: mention content, layout, graphics, and navigation), and give them a place to respond (either a form or a mailto: link). If possible, reply to them personally, thanking them for their advice-and then use it. Try turning that dialog into a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list.
  
• Make them members: Don't just have visitors to your site; have members. By offering your readers a quick form to fill out, you can instantly learn about your audience and its demographics. You can tailor your site to fulfill their wishes, which will in turn bring them back. But while many people simply like to feel that they belong, others won't join anything without a concrete payoff. Offer members coupons or a free trial of your product. Sponsor a contest in which the prize is nothing but glory-for instance, hold a poetry-writing contest and post the winning poems on your site.
  
• Spread the news: When people become members of your site, give them the opportunity to sign up for your e-mail newsletter. Don't have a newsletter? Make one. Use it to tell your members about new features and happenings on your site. The newsletter is delivered right to your members' e-mail in-boxes, reminding them to stop by for another visit.
  
• Start a conversation: People will return to your site if they can count on it for useful or entertaining conversation. If you have the resources to build and maintain them, live chats or bulletin-board-style discussion groups give your site immediate interactivity.
  
  • Promote Your Web Site Outside The Internet
  Once your site is up and running, you should make up press releases specifying that your business is now on the Internet, and information about what you are offering. Don't forget to include the URL address in the press release. If you've never written a press release, then you can find information in your local library, and probably on the Internet.

Once written, send them out to all newspapers that you can afford to send it to, especially local ones. Local newspapers love to hear news of an exciting or unique product or service being offered through the Internet. Send them out to columnists who talk about computers or online happenings. Submit material to computer magazines, Internet magazines, and trade magazines. Today, it seems that if a story has the words "World Wide Web," or "Internet" in them, they are bound to be published.

Make sure you announce and advertise the existence of your site every chance you get. You should include your web site address and e-mail address on your business cards, letterhead, and invoices. These should also be announced in all your advertising efforts, including brochures, flyers, packaging, print ads, or media spots.

Don't forget to update your yellow page ad in your phone book with your URL address. This is by far still the most common way people search for businesses and services within their own community. This will set you apart from most other ads. If you are trying to target a specific area of the country, it would be beneficial to place an ad in that area's phone book as well.


• Integrate Your Site Into A Complete Marketing Effort
Although the advantages of the Internet can be real and substantial for your home business, don't make the mistake of limiting your marketing program to the medium of the Internet alone. Few businesses could do this successfully at this stage of the Internet's evolution. Instead, make the Internet one component of an integrated marketing strategy that might include print advertising, direct mail pieces, brochures, flyers, and so on. Take a synergistic approach to this integrated effort, using one marketing tool to build upon another. Here's an example: your newspaper ad mentions your Internet address, people hear the ad and visit your Internet site, your Internet site invites interested parties to e-mail you and request a brochure, which you send to clinch a sale. There are many ways to make your various advertising tools work together to make your business more profitable. Use your creativity to create a plan. Then follow it.


• It Won't Work Until You Turn It On
You can sit and stare at a computer all day, but until you turn it on, it won’t do you a bit of good. Similarly, you can read our publications over and over again, but until you take action, it won’t do a thing to help your business generate more profits. Besides the ideas already presented, we encourage you to consult additional resources and marketing tools. We wish the best into your endeavours and anything we can do help you, please let us know.