3. Movement is distracting. Think about last time you visited a website with "magical stars" sprinkling down over words. Were you able to read and understand it? Mind weary web surfer; be kind to his eyes! You stand a much better chance of holding a customer's interest with words that aren't flying off page, but rather standing still in one spot, waiting quietly for someone to read them!

4. The mighty click is all-powerful. You know what it is to be that web hunter. The mouse is in your hand; you're in total control! Now think of that other person palming mouse, surfing YOUR site. If your website is a frenzy of color and confusion, all it takes is one CLICK and you're forgotten! Don't want them to click away? Here's how to make them stay. Keep it clean and simple!

5. Your empty promises are lost on skeptical consumer. Think about your own web-surfing experiences. Did you believe that guy who told you he'd make you a millionaire if you just SIGN UP TODAY? You're better off being honest and optimistic, than crazed and fanatical about what you can offer your customer.

6. Pop-ups are really annoying. Have you ever been so intrigued by a pop-up ad that you bought whatever they were raving about? My guess is no. Do you appreciate it when you're trying to get some work done on computer and fifteen pop-up ads crowd your screen and overload your hard drive? I certainly don't! If you don't like such rude interruptions, then don't impose them on somebody else. I don't care how many times that marketing guru tells you it will improve your search engine ranking. Search engine stats might give you exposure, but click rates mean nothing if customer's not buying.

7. No one reads really long sales letters. Ah, how brilliant of those copywriting experts to convince you that a six-page letter is going to bring in big bucks for your company. Especially if you're paying them by hour or word! A two-page letter will do same thing as a six-pager, and more. The 'more' being that it will hold your reader's interest whole way through. Brevity is key to great writing. If you can make a great argument in five words or less, you've got it all over next guy. Keep that in mind before you put Magna Carta on your web portal.

Want to design and write website content that attracts and captivates? Want to bring your visitors back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and ultimate purchase? Then keep above "distractors" to a minimum. Really try to put yourself in other person's shoes... one who is searching internet for what you have. Think about all of those things that prevent you from enjoying your web surfing experience, and then take care to remove them from your own company website! Offer tasteful, subtle design, eloquent headlines, and clear, informative copy. Be honest about what you sell and how it can make a difference for your potential customer. Speak softly, and watch sales roll in.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Now that you've identified your keyphrases and optimized your web pages for them, you need to make sure that your website is viewed as "popular" or "important" in eyes of search engines.

Just as with any other popularity contest you need people to stand up and say they like you. This is done through inbound hyperlinks to your website. These are essentially considered "votes" for your website.

Not all inbound links are created equal, of course. Here's a crash course:

• Link Direction If a website links to you and you don't link back, that's ideal. If you do link back to them, search engines may simply discount both links.
• Link Construction A text link is more valuable than an image, or banner link. And a text link that uses your keyphrases (from Step 1) as link text is ideal.
• Relevance of Linking Site Your web design company needs links from websites that have to do with web design. A link from a knitting website won't be as valuable as one from a hosting company.
• Importance of Linking Site A link from an important site is exponentially more valuable than a link from a site that gets no traffic. These types of links are difficult to get unless you pay for them - which you should do.
• Type of Linking Site A link from a news-related or media website is very valuable because it is seen as an "un-manipulatable" site and an impartial resource. Search engines assume that links from these types of sites are more valuable as they typically can't be coerced or purchased.

We've listed a resource for you below, but it is typically only good for link exchanging. Ideally this step should be done through a professional who can help purchase proper links for your website.

Resources:

• Arelis - 7/10

Questions?

If you have any further questions you'd like to ask about website promotion please contact us.