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Papers & Articles > Web Site Promotion > Project Summary

...Web Site Promotion

PROJECT SUMMARY
It is too early to draw any extensive conclusions from the search engine submission tests yet (not included with this paper). The experimental sites will be run for at least three more months and monitored throughout.

Results so far indicate that a link building strategy should be a high priority for any web site promoter. One of the sites launched long after the primary site (but using externally linked doorway pages) was indexed by Google without even being submitted - yet the main site remains un-indexed. The increasing commercialisation of search engines suggests that the only way to make any real impact in the rankings battle is to pay for placement - paying for 'express submission' and bidding for keywords (e.g. GoTo), or contextual ad placements alongside query results (e.g. Google's WordAd).

The search engine ranking system is also very biased towards 'popular' sites, and it is apparent that a two tier structure has developed - those at the top of the lists are more visible that those below, and so receive a disproportionate number of 'hits' thereby boosting their position even further. Sites that are ranked low are virtually invisible, and even if they contain useful information, they have great difficulty in breaking through the barrier to the upper ranks. Paying for position will help such sites to achieve the exposure they need - an acceptable mechanism for commercial sites which sell products or services, but a loss to everyone for the poor visibility of non profit and educational organisations that may have valuable contributions to make.

The results of the online survey indicate that search engines are the most popular way for people to find new web sites; banner ads are the least favourite. People use a variety of routes to find sites, particularly 'word of mouth' recommendations by friends and colleagues, magazines, links from other web sites, and email news/mass-mailings. This suggests that any promotional plan should not be too dependent on one or two methods.

Connection speed is the most frustrating aspect for most Internet users, followed by badly organised and poor quality web sites. In general, businesses must improve usability of their web sites, navigation and content, before expending much effort on promotion - otherwise it will be wasted.

A small group of users with some marketing experience expressed widely differing opinions on the cost effectiveness of various promotional methods. This may be indicative that promotion on the WWW is much more specific than traditional means, and cannot be generalised very easily.

Success may depend to a large degree on matching promotional method with type of business and accurately targeted customers. The same group rated search engines, email, and links from other web sites as the most cost effective techniques on average.

In spite of the popularity of search engines, a lot of time is wasted on failed searches - a source of frustration with users, and a significant loss of time for business. Users reported that on average 40% of their searches online failed.

There are a multitude of promotional methods, all valid and effective means to drive traffic to web sites, if used in the right way and in the right circumstances. In the course of this project, it has become clear that there are no 'good' or 'bad' techniques - only inappropriate choices.

The metrics used to quantify the cost of promotion can be misleading. The focus on CPM exposure models and CTR for banner advertising conceals the most important data that people need to make informed decisions - the frequency or value of positive outcomes. We have the means to measure and analyse the wealth of data available from online media to make much more informed and rational decisions. Few people seem to be measuring and using this data.

Online promotion, by its very nature tends to be more personal and targeted than offline promotion. It is therefore not surprising to find that the selection and implementation of online promotion is more critically dependent on how well it is targeted and managed, and on the precise circumstances of an individual business. It is therefore impossible to prescribe a promotional plan or provide a 'blueprint' of procedures to follow, as originally conceived for this project. It is better to understand the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the principle methods and apply a rational method of evaluation.

A new conceptual model has also been developed to try and assist with the decision making process of selecting the most appropriate media channels. The model needs to be tested in a practical situation with a number of users, and if it has merit, will probably need further refinement or modification.

There is evidence that many SMEs, and particularly the smaller businesses, are not investing adequately in web site promotion. Many rely on online methods to publicise their web sites, and hope that search engines will deliver traffic for them. With the increasing commercialisation of online resources, such as search engines, and the ever growing volume of competition online, it is now imperative that businesses actively invest in promotion of their sites. Failure to promote will only waste the original investment in a web site.