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I Have My Own Website.
Now What?

By Jennifer Mengel and Coleen Byrne Excite, Inc. · www.excite.com

Your web site is launched and now you want visitors but don't have a Microsoft budget - What do you do?

The most important thing to determine is the online goals for the site.

Are you trying to build awareness?
Market your service?
Recruit new consultants?

There are many ways that you can build an online presence without spending millions of dollars. Here are a few suggestions for the budget conscious.

1. Register your site on Directory sites, Portals, and Search Engines. Most sites feature a link on their home page that allows even the smallest mom or pop site to register. Commonly used links: "Add URL", "Add Your Site" - "Suggest a Site" that suggests that you register your site. Once your site is listed, it will come up when anyone does a search on a related term or an area that you designate as an appropriate topic.

2. Spread the word online through the use of Chat rooms and Communities. Chat rooms and Communities are found on all of the portals and many of the ISPs such as America Online and Prodigy. Chat room topics range from Soap Opera gossip to heated debates on political issues. Chat rooms are open to everyone and are generally set up by the hosting site. A Community is an organized area that focuses on a particular topic or affiliation. Communities are easy to create and can be private, open only to people you invite, or public so that anyone interested in the topic may participate. Hosting a community allows you to have your name or company name identified with a particular issue or industry and may also give you more control over the type of information contained there.

3. Affiliate programs allow you to add value to your website both for your company and your visitors. Many companies will pay you a percentage on sales or leads that they get if you put their banner/link to their site. There are also some content and portal sites that will allow you to incorporate their content in return for a link to their site. This is also a way you can leverage getting your site listed on other sites.

4. Believe it or not, in this technology age the barter system still exists. Barter deals still happen on smaller sites, larger sites tend to only use barter in exchange for expensive services and equipment that is worth the exchange of their advertising inventory. Registering your site, utilizing chat and communities, negotiating barter agreements, and exploring affiliate programs will drive traffic to your site, but you should consider one other strategy.

5. On-line Advertising. Just like having a store on a major highway, you can't depend on drive by traffic alone to be successful. So, consider static or animated banners that link to your site and link place-ments to direct traffic. On-line advertising, with good rotation frequency and placement on pages that relate to your products, services or interests will become more of a necessity as electronic communication and commerce expands. It can be an inexpensive way for small companies and individuals to gain exposure and attract pre-qualified users to their sites. One caution though, remember the advertising axiom: A target market is a moving target. Plan, execute, review results and plan again. As Will Rogers said, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."