I’ve found the product (or service) I want to market. How do I build a successful site?
Unfortunately, there is no secret sauce in building web sites. However, there are a few suggestions I can lend to at least point you in the right direction.
First, you’ll want to know what type of site you want to build (e-commerce, blog, news, social, community, etc.). I would recommend going the open source (or free) route first. You can always upgrade to professional customized scripts later in the game (of online web building). For blogs, you can checkout Blogger.com, WordPress, or Movable Type. For e-commerce, OSCommerce is a good customizable setup. For free (and paid) pre-designed scripts for the other types of sites, a script portal called HotScripts.com is a great source to search from.
I got the service (or script) I want to use. How do I mold it to my needs?
Most scripts have read me files within the zip or tar file you’ve downloaded. They are usually K-I-S-S (keep it simple stupid) formatted for easy setup and installation. For the script you will need
1) A web site address (Go to Godaddy.com to find a site address for your script)
2) Get a host. There are free hosts like Blogspot.com, WordPress, Geocities, OneSite, etc. For a professional look and feel, it is always a good option to get your own host. Its only a few bucks a month and well worth it. Some decent hosts (I hear) are HostGator, Go Daddy Hosting, and Yahoo Web Hosting.
3) Once your site is setup and you have hosting up and running, you just need to build your web site. Most scripts have a default style, which you can use, but, your site will look very cookie-cutter like. Not very original. It is recommended to try and design a site that is a little more unique. This would help you stand out from the crowd; at least in terms of design. If you are unable to design your site yourself, there are plenty of sites to go which would either help you in your design or you can hire a private designer / developer. Check out Sitepoint, WebHostingTalk, and DigitalPoint for this guidance or assistance.
Marketing 1o1
Marketing your site or service is very tricky. It is sometimes just hit or miss. It takes time to start seeing results if you do not already have a high traffic site. Until you become good with this, I would recommend staying AWAY from PPCs. You can loose your money fast if you do not know what you are doing. The best and probably least expensive way of doing business is via old fashioned SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You can check the forums (listed above), as well as WebMasterWorld for some really useful tricks on how to get things started in SEO. It does take time, but it does really pay of the best if done correctly.
Other types of marketing also help. These go with building links with directories and like minded sites that have the same interests are your product or service. When you join a forum, consider (if allowed in the forums TOS) to add your link to your signature. You’ll be surprised to see how that helps the search engines find you as well as other potential clients. For SEO, it is important to register your site to be crawled. The ones important for this is Google, Yahoo, and MSN Live. The others will find you via these three main search arteries.
I will discuss other tips and ideas on building traffic to your site in future posts. This one will get you started in setting something up. I do not mean to sound like a broken record, but it takes time in building a successful site on many different levels. Setting up a site and wishing for the best with no interaction may had worked in 1995, but it does not work in 2007. Much more competition and much smarter people (usually).
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