Features
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Web Positioning - Does it matter?
So you've designed and built a web site. Now what?
Many companies' first assumption about being on the web is more like the "Field of Dreams" line, "if we build it, they will come." Not so. You have just joined the more than 500 million pages of indexable content on the web and now wonder, "how can I stand out among the throng of competitors in my industry?" You need positioning.
Web positioning includes some of the following terminology: Search Engine Optimization, FREE/Paid Site Submissions, Reciprocal Linking, Web Positioning, Paid Includsion and Link Popularity. These are among the top avenues to gain targeted traffic to your site. However, never underestimate the use of print media as well. Once you've developed your site, plaster your web address on anything that is available to the public eye.
With many of the large corporations, there are devoted staff and resources to manage their companies standings and positioning on the web, so that would tell you that it's a heady task to say the least, but not unattainable for small business. It just requires some planning, diligence and consistency.
So, now you ask, "does all of this positioning really matter?" Well, current estimates put the Web at about 1.2 to 1.5 billion pages. Both Inktomi and AltaVista have claimed that they've spidered most of these documents, but have been forced to cull their indexes to cope with duplicates and spam. Inktomi puts the size of the distilled Web at about 500 million pages; AltaVista at about 350 million. If you're company is not interested in being found among this massive list of web pages, then you have no worry. However, if you would like your targeted industry to be able to efficiently find you, or would be interested in obtaining potential customers through web traffic, then by all means look into positioning your company's site to its betterment.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Web Positioning is much like the print world. You have to tell people where you're at and what you do before they will notice you. How you do this is through several avenues of communication. Here is a very brief description of just a few:
Search Engine Optimization/Web Positioning:
This includes, meta tags, alt tags, appropriate and relevant content, doorway/gateway pages, keywords, descriptions and both free and paid site submissions. Search Engines have been rightly termed "web-crawlers" because that's a good description of what they do. They crawl on "linked" lines to find web pages. For more information on what types of search engines are out there, read the article on Search Engines. Who's Who?
Empire can work with you to effectively filter your content and site information so that indexing search engines have access to your site. We also offer our clients a FREE web site positioning report that will allow you to see your company's statistics on major search engines. We can assist your staff in an appropriate mix of free and paid submissions to generate the targeted traffic to your site.
Paid Inclusion:
Many of the major search engine listings from sites like Google, Overture and FindWhat have gone entirely to paid inclusion. Meaning, the listings that come up on keyword searches are paid listings. They work a lot like an auction does, bidding for "pay-per-clicks" to beat out their competition.
Reciprocal Linking/Link Popularity:
The internet is termed "web" for this reason. On a web, there are many connecting lines that allow you to get to other sites. Reciprocal linking/Link Popularity is having many other sites link to you and you to them as well as linking from other pages on your site. The more the better. Remember, customers may enter through your back door, so make sure your navigation is such that they can move around your site with ease. Many people mistakenly believe that everyone will arrive at their site through the home page. However, do a focused search on Google, AltaVista, or another major engine. You'll almost always find matches that are not home pages.
Contact Empire to learn how we can assist your marketing department in better positioning your company's web site.
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