“Build it and they will come”. How I will this was true, but unfortunately this is not the case. Putting a Web site on the World Wide Web does not automatically mean people will visit it.

This is where promotion comes in. To make our Web site successful we need to let people know about it. Easier said than done, there are many options available to us.

Search Engine Tips
An economical way of publicizing our Web site is to have it included in a search directory's database of Web sites. 

Using Search Engines
Search sites are similar to the yellow pages, wherein sites are grouped by categories and can be searched using keywords. Promoting your site through search engines is the cheapest but also the most difficult way. When you search for a specific site for example, the site will normally return a list of maybe the first 100 sites out of a million of possible matches. The key therefore is to hire the talent that can design your Web site so that it will rank high among search engines. 

Search Engine Tips

• Put relevant text in the <title> tag of your Web site
• Use <meta> tags for your Web site's description and keywords
• Put concise keywords and phrases in the body of your Web page
• Keep page design simple and easy to navigate
• Invest in a domain name (e.g. www.webphil.com)
• Use text links
• Submit to global search sites (e.g. yahoo.com, google.com)
• Submit to country specific search sites (e.g. yehey.com)

Put Relevant Text in the <title> Tag of Your Web site
The <title> tag is the text that displays on the upper left-hand corner of your Web browser. By default it will be the name of your Web browser, such as Internet Explorer.

The importance of the <title> is as important as a title is to a book cover. Will you publish a book without a title? With this in mind, do not forget to include a title in all your Web pages. You can also vary the title from one page to the next, as it applies to the content of the page. Example the home page might have the following title:

<title>Joel Mangilit – Internet Consultant.</title>

And the contact information page might have the following title:

<title>Joel Mangilit – Contact Information.</title>

Use <meta> Tags
Information within <meta> tags are not displayed on a Web page, but are used by search engines to gather information about your Web site. For example:

<meta name="description" content="Joel Mangilit’s Website.">
<meta name="keywords" content="Internet, consultant, Web design, Joel Mangilit">

Note that I put my name, Joel Mangilit, as one of the keywords. This helps me in finding out whether my Web site is in a search engine’s database or not. By simply typing Joel Mangilit on a search site, I can see whether it will display my Web site in the search result. 

Put Concise Keywords and Phrases in the Body of Your Web Page
Search engines normally scan the first few lines of text on your Web page, and use this information to index your Web site on their database. Therefore choose your wordings wisely to reflect the content of your Web site.

Invest in a Domain Name 
Domain names make it easier for viewers to find your Web site. Consider the following:

1. http://myweb.i-next.net/~rmjamias/windex.htm
2. http://www.webphil.com

The second name is much easier to remember than the first Web site address. Search engines also use the Web site address name to index a Web site. It is advisable to choose a short but descriptive domain name for your Web site. Try to keep the name short so that it will fit into your business card.

Submit to Global Search Sites
From my own Web site statistics, around 40% of the people who visit my Web site find it through Yahoo.com. Therefore make it your priority to get listed on Yahoo. Note that it is very hard to get listed on Yahoo and the best advice I can give is to strictly follow their instructions on how to submit Web sites for their directory listing. 

Another Web site that is worth submitting to is Google.com. Their search engine technology is very good, providing good search results within a couple of seconds. This is the reason why it is gaining in popularity.

Submit to Local Search Sites
Do not forget to submit your Web site to the popular local search sites in your country. It will also be a much easier process than trying to get listed on a global search site such as Yahoo.com. For example it is much easier to get listed on Yehey.com, a local search site in the Philippines, than Yahoo.com.