When do you need a domain name?
Domain Names are names applied to a specific address on a web server. Most webservers
on the internet have a domain name, and many webservers support a number of domain names
mapped to specific user directories on the webserver. www.kingsnake.com is an example of a domain name.
Many websites reside under a parent servers domain name (www.kingsnake.com/cths) and
do not require their own domain name. While this may be suitable for low traffic websites,
some Internet Service Providers limit the capabilities of users who set up there websites like this, either purposely or due to technical restrictions. These restrictions may impact high traffic or e-commerce sites. Some of these limitations may include:
- No server logfile access
- No CGI-BIN or limited access
- No direct FTP access
- Bandwidth usage restrtictions
- Diskspace usage restrictions
- No e-commerce capability
- Forced banner advertising or page watermarks
Most of these limitations are not an issue once you setup your hosting with a domain name.
At kingsnake.com it is the only way to get raw log file access.
Your own domain name can be essential in maintaining an overall "image" ( i.e. having the
domain name www.bobclark.com assures Bob that people can find his business. This is especially important
for companys that have spent years and thousands of dollars building a buisness "image"
Getting your own domain name also
gives you the knowledge that wherever your webpage physically sits, the same web address can be mapped to it. This is a big factor when you are doing large quanities of expensive print advertising.
To see if a certain domain name is available CLICK HERE.
Search Engines and Meta Tags
Search engines have been around almost as long as the web. Engines such as Yahoo and Webcrawler
have been running for several years and have many, many sites indexed inside them. Unfortunately
with so many years of links, often pages are gone or moved long before their listing is removed
or changed. Yahoo still lists The Alterna Page at its original address from 5 years ago, and all attempts to get it updated have proven futile..
Still search engines are the modt effective way to draw outside traffic to your website.
Some search engines such as Yahoo and HerpSearch have their links added by hand, a tedious, time consuming chore. Other engines such as HotBot and Lycos periodically send out search "spiders" to drill down and index web sites by analysing the contents of the page and its "Meta Tags".
What Are Meta Tags
Meta tags are a series of hidden .html tags YOU can add to your webpage to make it easier for search engines
to analyse the content of your site and index it properly. The more complete and accurate your meta tags
the better and more often your site will be listed. Below is an example of meta tags used by a page at kingsnake.com.
<HEAD>
<TITLE>kingsnake.com classifieds</TITLE>
<META NAME="resource-type" VALUE="document">
<META NAME="author" VALUE=" your email address">
<META NAME="description" VALUE="reptile and amphibian classified ads">
<META NAME="keywords" VALUE="Reptiles, amphibians, classifieds, turtles, tortoises, snakes, boas, pythons, kingsnakes, milk snakes, frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, herpetology, herpetoculture, lizard, iguana, monitor,alligator, gecko, chameleon, for sale, wanted, trade">
</HEAD>
While pethobbyist.com does not submit its customers websites directly to search engines, most pages at pethobbyist.com will eventually be "spidered" by the major engines. To speed this process up you might want to spend an hour going to the search engines below and give your link to them to be spidered.
Look for an area to add your site or URL.
Classified Ads
PetHobbyist and other sites that offer classified advertising often allow you to include your web site link in your classified ad.
As many search engines determine a web sites rank in part based on the number of external sites or pages that link back to your site,
it is always a good idea to include your web site's link in your classified advertising. Make sure to follow the rules of the classified
system you are using to verify that they allow web site links and the context in which they are allowed.
Forum Posts
PetHobbyist and other sites that offer message boards often allow you to include your web site link in your message post.
As many search engines determine a web sites rank in part based on the number of external sites or pages that link back to your site,
it is always a good idea to include your web site's link in your classified advertising. Make sure to follow the rules of the classified
system you are using to verify that they allow web site links and the context in which they are allowed.
EMail
Using email to promote your site is problematic at best. Most ISP's prohibit their users from sending out unsolicited commercial email (UCE) and will terminate your service if caught. PetHobbyist does not allow the use of it's mail system and users caught are terminated.
The best methods for using email for promoting your site are to make sure to include your web site address in any email's you send in an area appended at the bottom referred to as a "Tag line". Additionally you can set up a mail list on your own web site, but make sure that any system you use uses a double verification system when subcribers join.
Banner Advertising
Banner advertising is an effective, if expensive, way to promote your web site. Banner advertising can include multimedia files such as video, moving graphics, and audio, depending on what the banner host provides. Banners are usually sold by the number of times they are viewed, referred to as CPM based banners, or they are sold based on the number of click throughs generated, called CPC based banners. Usually the sky is the limit in the amount of banners you can purchase, but on sites that have very significant traffic numbers, a banner advertising budget can be expended quickly. PetHobbyist offers banner advertising based on the CPM or per view method.
Static Links
Depending on the cost in most cases a static link, one that appears on a specific page for a fixed period of time regardless of the number of views or clicks can in most cases be a better marketing value than banners sold on a CPM or CPC basis. PetHobbyist offers 2 types of static links outright, the storefront page, and then image based sponsorships in our classifieds, forums, and photo galleries.
Tracking Your Hits
Most we hosts allow users to access their web sites raw "Traffic Log Files". These files containg the raw information regarding
who visited your web site, what pages they visited, when and from where. The from where, also called referrer data, is crititacl in determing how well your site promotion efforts are paying off. There are many programs available that allow you to analyse this raw log
data and turn it into usal reports, the most famous of which is WebTrends.
Other Tips
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