Beyond the Sig ~ Site Promotion Made Easy

Now that you've built your first site, you will need to promote it. There are many easy methods to get more people to visit your site. Some methods require as little as "copy-and-paste the code"; others require a bit more work. Still, there are very easy ways to get the word out, "My site needs visitors!"

• Visit other sites and sign their guestbooks. Read their blogs and post comments. Compliment the webmaster, and don't forget to include your site's URL. Most likely, the webmaster will read your guestbook entry and/or blog comments then visit your site. Maybe, he/she will recommend it to friends and family.
• Join a webring. This is probably one of the easiest ways to drive more traffic to your site. Find a ring that fits your site's category. You will have to copy & paste the ring navigation code onto your page. That way, when someone is visiting a site, they might click "Next" or "Previous" on the ring navbar. That's how I stumbled upon all those Disney fan fiction sites...By clicking "Next". Imagine, one click started all my site-building...and got more people to visit my sites.
• Post to newsgroups, discussion forums. Include your site URL.
• Join a mailing list, e.g., Yahoo Groups or Google Groups. When you're with people who have similar interests, you open your site to more visitors. They, in turn, may help spread the word. "Have you visited X's site? It's fantastic!"
• Put a link to your site on your email sig. I've gotten many visits via sig links.
• Banner exchange? It may work, but I've found that some banner exchanges might cost you visitors. I don't use banner exchanges anymore, but this is your call.
• Network with other webmasters. You can get positive, constructive feedback on your site, perhaps pick up tips on improving your HTML skills.
• Add some interactive features: Polls, feedback forms, quizzes, site search, games, blogs, discussion forums. Some visitors like sites – I know I do – that lets them be part of the action.
• If other sites have a FFAL (Free for All Links) page, post to it!
• Join a "Site Fights" or "Top Sites". Have people vote for your site. The more visitors you get, the higher your site in the rankings. Usually I visit these "Top Sites" and will click whatever is in the Top 20.
• Get a counter...Better yet, a counter with web stats. That way you can see who's visiting and from where. Are they finding your site via a search engine, webring, link on another site?
• Speaking of search engines: Make sure you have those meta tags in place. Most search engines, e.g., Google, find and index your pages according to meta tags. Keywords and description are the most important. By "keywords", that is those words that are frequently used on your site. Such as: "images, graphics, slide shows, HTML help, webtv users, etc..."
• Spread the word to your family and friends. Word of mouth is often the best way to drive more traffic to your site.

Go to Part 6 ~ Resources for Webmasters