We're often asked this question:  What are meta tags and do I need them?

 Meta tags are HTML codes that are embeded into a web page.  These codes are not seen by the average human visitor - they exist to provide web crawlers (employed by search engines) more informaiton about the page they are looking at.  Meta tags usually contain the following:

1. Keywords - usually a comma separated list of terms and phrases that reflect what is on that page.
2. Description - a human readable sentence describing the information found on that page.

The general rule behind meta tags these days is this:  They can't hurt to have them, but nobody is all that certain how much they help.

That being said, I believe that using the same set of meta tags on every page can be a negative thing.  You're better off having different meta tags for each page.

A lot of people make the mistake of including keywords and descriptions that are general.  It's best to craft a set of meta tags that reflect the content on that page.  Each page has it's own set of meta tags.

As a priority, I'd put meta tags low on the list.  I'd first concentrate on generating good content on each page and finding before investing a boat load of time on making sure that every page and article has the worlds best meta tags.

Welcome to the new Anchor Wave website.  We're very proud to show you the new site.  Check back soon for an official press release.

 - http://www.smbtrendwire.com/2007/06/20/what-every-business-should-know-about-credit-cards/ 

1. Submit your website to the three search engines.

       
    a. Google
    http://www.google.com/addurl.html

    b. Yahoo (requires free yahoo account)
    http://submit.search.yahoo.com/free/request
   
    c. Open Directory Project
    http://dmoz.org/add.html

Another free tool that can aid you in submitting your website to many more search engines:

http://www.selfpromotion.com

2. Create An Email Signature:

Add your website address and contact information to the signature of your email.  A signature is a few lines in your email after your name to give information to the reader. You can include your e-mail address, website address, ICQ/AIM number, or anything you like.

    Example:

    Dan Carson
    323-4300 office
    906-6443 cell
    http://www.mywebsite.com

If you know of anyone who is looking to buy, sell or refinance a  home, please call me with their name and phone number.  I will be happy to follow -up with them, and will honor the fact that you put my name to yours-------Dan

A few things to remember about your signature:

• Don’t use all CAPITALS
• Don’t try to make pictures out of keyboard characters.  They won’t display correctly in all email programs
• Include http:// in front of your website address.  This will make your link clickable in most email programs
• Keep it short.

3. Ask people to link to your website

Increasing the number of links pointing at your website is a logical way of directing more traffic to your site.  In bound links are reported to help with search engine optimization as well.  In years past reciprocal linking (the act of exchanging links with other websites) worked well.  Today, these types of links do not work as well for improving search engine rankings.  So... when possible try to arrange a one way link.

 4.  Start A Newsletter/Mailing List

Allow your visitors to subscribe to your mailing list through your website.  In addition, ask every client/customer you encounter if they’d like to join your mailing list.  Many will agree, however offering an incentive can increase your success.  From then on, you can follow-up.

• Ask everyone for their address and email.
• Keeping track of other details (birthdays, purchase history, hobbies) can help you build a better understanding of your customers needs and interests.
• Contact your customers on a regular basis.
• Always honor requests to unsubscribe a member of your mailing list.

Ideally, mail something to your customers every three months, even it it’s just a postcard or email with a funny message.  Your business is probably one of the lowest priorities in your customers’ lives – they WILL forget about you if you don’t keep in contact.

Keeping track of your subscribers can be accomplished with programs such as Outlook or Excel.  Sending your newsletter through email is a cost effective solution.  When your email list grows to a larger size, consider using an email management tool such as Constant Contact .

5. Talk About Your Website

Probably the easiest and cheapest way to advertise your website is to tell people about it!  Surprisingly, this is something that many web owners forget to do.

• Incorporate your web address into your “elevator speech”
• Leave your web address on your voicemail
• Invite prospective customers to visit your website for more information.