How can I attract customers to my website?

You've built your website, got your products ready, and sorted out your pricing plan. Now all you have to do is make sure the world knows where you are. In just the same way as you market your business offline, now you have to promote yourself online too...

The key to making sure potential customers find your business is to have a well thought out marketing strategy. This includes everything from registering with search engines to conducting email marketing. If you want to encourage visitors to your website you constantly have to remind them that you are there.

Using search engines

A search engine creates listings from the contents of web pages. Popular examples include:

• Google
• AltaVista
• Lycos
• Ask Jeeves.

Search engines use software called a spider to crawl over your site looking for keywords known as metatags or meta descriptions. These keywords are then used to create your webstore's listing. Using search engines well is essential to online promotion.

It’s worth spending between £50 and £100 with a specialist agency that will register your website as effectively as possible with all the best search engines and web directories. Just try typing 'registering my website' into a search engine to find more details.

Using web directories

A web directory uses people (editors) to review your site and they create their listings from descriptions submitted to the site editors by you. Examples of web directories are:

• iNeed
• Yahoo
• ShopSmart.
  
  

Create a banner ad

A banner ad is an advertisement on a web page for a website or product. It’s a box which may contain text or an animation. Surfers click on the box and are taken via a hyperlink to your website.

Used effectively it can be a useful tool to drive traffic to your site and raise brand awareness. Banner ads are relatively easy to create and inexpensive, however are now less popular than in the early days of the internet.

Email marketing

This a fairly new marketing tool used by businesses to promote themselves using the Internet. Email marketing has to be used with care as no one appreciates receiving “spam” - junk email with no relevance for the recipient. Email marketing has had tremendous results because it is so cost-effective and delivers an instant message. With the proper research email marketing can work wonders for your business.

Creating reciprocal links

Just as business networking is important in the real world, so it can be useful in the realm of e-business. Establishing links between your site and other business sites relevant to your customers, is a good way of increasing online exposure.

Offline promotional methods

Don’t just restrict yourself to online methods of promotion.  Conventional methods are still valid, such as advertising and sponsorship.  Maybe try sponsoring an event that’s appropriate to your line of work, making sure your web address is always clearly displayed.

The final step - tell everyone about your webstore

Your own network of contacts and customers are the best search engine of all. Word of mouth is a great way to persuade internet shoppers to surf their way to your site. Tell as many people as you can that your products are now available online; make sure your web address is on stationery, business cards and any advertising material you produce.

With more and more people shopping online, make sure that every one of them can find their way to your store.