S i t e   P r o m o t i o n   F A Q

Q: Most professional web designers say that promoting a web site is just submitting it to a bunch of search engines and directories, right?

A: Not exactly. While the search engines are very important, there are other aspects of promoting a website that are often neglected or underutilized by most web sites.

Q: How exactly do the search engines work?

A: Each search engine has a different way of looking at your web site, and puts a different emphasis on different elements of your site. That is why you should use the services of a professional consultant such as TMG to help you get the most out of your Internet efforts.

Q: Can you guarantee that we'll get top rankings?

A: We don't make any guarantees as to the results you'll get with the standard set up of your web site. But many of our clients have achieved high rankings with just the standard set up. Companies that offer guarantees are using some specific techniques to achieve rankings, and we do that as well. However, that service is time-consuming and expensive, and is not part of your standard web site package. We do offer these additional services, but we recommend waiting 90 days after the site has been submitted to the search engines, to evaluate where we are before spending any more time and money.

Q: What about the search engine submission services that help with the submission process?

A: There are some legitimate search engine submission services, but all they do is facilitate the submission process. They don't do the optimization of your website for you, and don't forget that you still have to pay fees directly to many of the search engines to get in.

Q: Other companies say thay will submit our site to 100's or even 1000's of search engines and directories. Do you do that?

A: We submit your site to about 20 key search engines, which account for almost all the search engine activity on the Internet. Submitting your site to 100's or 1000's of search engines and directories is joke, if not a scam, and is utterly worthless. In fact, it often leads to a lot of spam (unwanted email). Stay away from any company that makes a claim like this to impress you.

Q: I've heard "hits" and "visitors" used a lot. What does these mean, and are they different?

A: "Hits" is actually a useless measure. Without explaining the technical reasons why, suffice it to say that counting hits does not give you a true indication of what is going on with your site. "Visitors," on the other hand, is a true representation of the number of unique visitors your are getting, and is very important and useful. Stay away from anyone who uses "hits" in referring to promotion opportunities or what they can do for your site.

Q: We already have a web site, but we're not doing very well. Why would that be?

A: There are plenty of reasons why this might be, but the most common is that your site is probably not properly set up for the search engines. Probably 80% of the sites we review are not properly set up, and without that you're really not getting the results you should.

Q: Can't we do the search engine stuff ourselves?

A: Sure, if you have the knowledge, experience and the time to research each search engine and how they work. Oh, and you'll also need a working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript. And be ready to spend time each month working on this.

Q: I've heard that all you have to do is just repeat the important words and phrases to get good rankings. Is that right?

A: What you're referring to is called "keyword spamming," and is strictly forbidden on most search engines today. In the past, this was a trick that worked on some search engines, but they are wise to it now, and if they catch you doing you risk being removed and even banned from the search engines that catch you.

Q: Do we have to pay to be included in the search engines?

A: In most cases, we do have to pay fees to be included in the search engines. In the past, they would include sites for free, but they have been going to paid submissions in the last few years, and we now recommend budgeting $800 - $1200 for search engine fees. This is over and above our fees, and is paid directly to the search engines.

Q: There's so much to know and do. How do we know what to do and what not to do?

A: As a TMG client, we will advise you and make recommendations for all your web site promotion activity. That is one of the things that differentiates TMG from most other web site designers.

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