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Learn More About the Web  The Basics of Internet Marketing By Greg Trinidad Northstar Hosting and Internet Services http://www.northstarhosting.com What is the
Internet? They are
connected by Internet Service Providers
like Quest, Compuserve, MCIWorldcom, etc. Those service providers in turn
sell distribution to companies that we buy our Internet Connection from, i.e.
Time Warner, Cox, Earthlink.net, etc.
Any
computer can be connected to the Internet that has the proper hardware (Ethernet card or a Modem) and software that comes with the
hardware. Some
computers, that are connected to the Internet and that store information for
others to see, are called Servers. Servers are high powered computers that are
designed to allow people to share information in a secure
way. If your
computer is connected to the Internet you are called a User.
In order to surf the web from server to server your need to have a piece
of software on the computer called a Browser. A browser is a software program on your
computer that allows you to see websites on servers through your Internet
Connection. What is a Website and how much do
they cost? Websites
are differentiated on the Internet by Names (Domains or URLs) and by Numbers (IP Addresses). Since
computers do not care about names and work better with numbers, your computer is
identified by other computers by a number that your Internet Service Provider
gives you when you connect to the Internet.
That number is called an IP Address. Every computer connected to the
Internet has its own IP Address. Since
humans do not work well with numbers, computers have names called Domains or
URLs (Uniform Resource Locator). A URL is the www.company.com that you see on everyone’s
business cards. These are unique and
since they are unique, they are very valuable. There are
companies that manage URLs called Registrars. These are companies like Godaddy.com, Network
Solutions, Registrar.com, etc. You can
go to their websites for a fee, and register a URL for your website.
Godaddy.com is the best in
the industry and averages about $9 per domain name per year.
Once you
have your URL you will need a website.
There are several ways to acquire a website. You can design one if you know how, you can
find a service that provides them through software, or you can have someone
build one for you. If you are using a website for fun then have some fun and
build it yourself. However, if you do
not have time or are going to use it for business it is a good idea to leave it
up to a professional company dedicated to building business related
websites. Website design and programming can cost anywhere from $500
on up to $100,000 and more depending on what you are looking for out of the
website. These fees consist of designing
the graphics and layout for your website, putting in the content that you
provide, building the functionality of your website, and making sure everything
looks and functions properly. Most of
you will be looking in the range of $1000 to $5000 for design and programming
costs. You will
also have to pay for changes and updates called maintenance. A professional company that is fast and
efficient will charge between $100 - $200 / hour. One man shops will charge between $50 - $100
/ hour. There are
often other fees related to the website that you will have to pay and those are
hosting fees. Hosting Fees are costs for storing your
website on someone’s Server that is connected to the Internet 24/7. You will usually pay a set up fee and about
$50/month for business level web hosting from a service that is reputable and
reliable. *Remember when choosing your
providers there are a million scams out there.
You will here things that are really cheap, and if it is to good to be
true, then it probably is. How can a website help me? A website is used to market your business. It provides potential customers a place to obtain information about your business, products, and practices. The
important things that your website must
do are present your business in a professional way, the website has to work
(from a programming and reliability stand point), and it has to do everything you need it to do
for your business. To accommodate these needs whoever designs your website should have been in business for a number of years, they should have done quite a few websites that look professional and get the job done. You should go with a group of people over a one man shop for reliability reasons. You should have everything in your name and have access to all information. Whoever you have design your website should design it in such a way that things are easy to update and maintain so that you do not get hit with high costs down the line. I have a website, what now? Once you have a website you need to get it in front of people. Users that come through your website are called web traffic. Web traffic is often referred to Hits and Sessions. Hits are how many times a web page in your website is viewed. Sessions are how many times individual Users come to your website. Once you have a website you want to bring in a lot of web traffic. An important thing to remember is that you do not just want any traffic, you want traffic that is going to buy into you business. Whether you bring traffic to your website from offline or online resources, you want Relevant Traffic. Offline marketing is marketing your website through
means other then the Internet, i.e. flyers, business cards, billboards,
etc. Online Marketing is marketing your website through
the Internet, i.e. Search Engines, Search Directories, Banner Ads and Articles
on websites, etc. All of this costs money and the more traffic you want, the more it costs. What is a Search Engine? A Search Engine is a website that allows people to search the search engine’s database of websites. Generally, people go on to a Search Engine and type in a phrase that relates to what they are interested in getting information on. These phrases are called keywords. What is a Search Directory? A Search Directory is similar to a Search Engine. It is a website that allows people to search the search directory’s database of websites. Generally, people go on to a Search Directory and type in keywords that relate to what they are interested in getting information on. What is the difference between a Search Engine and a Search Directory? The difference between Search Engines and Search Directories is very subtle. Both Search Engines and Search Directories add websites to their database of websites that people can search. This is called indexing web pages. The difference is that Search Engines use computer programs to add pages to the database of websites. A Search Directory has humans to add pages to the database of websites. This causes differences in the search results that are returned from searches and can help or hurt you, depending on what you are to find. Some Search Engines and Search Directories are better at indexing pages than others. What are keywords and how do I find mine? Keywords are a word or group of words that people type into a search engine or search directory to get search results of websites to find more information about the information they are trying to find. There are tools available to you on the Internet to access statistics on recently searched keywords. These can usually be found on the search engine or search directory websites. You can use these tools to tell what keywords are going to be able to bring you the most relevant traffic associated with yo What is Paid Inclusion? Paid Inclusion is paying to be ranked well in the search result, which are returned when your keywords are typed into a search. This can cost anywhere from $0.10 to $20.00 per click depending on how competitive the keywords are in which you want the rankings. The major search engines that you can get Paid Inclusion through are Google, Overture, and Looksmart.com. This is complicated processes that can be expensive for the keywords, and to manage the process. A reputable web design company will help customers get set up and have them manage the process on their own to minimize costs. What is Natural Ranking? Natural Ranking is having a website that is designed to get ranking on the search engines or search directories without paying the engines directly. This is very valuable in the long term. There are many factors that go into this: website layout, content on the website, the way the code is programmed, the websites that link to your website, the activity you show to the search engines, etc. How can a Search Engine Specialist help me get rankings? Since there are so many factors, this makes the process is very complicated and unless you are a Search Engine Specialist. If search engine ranking is important to you, then you should hire one to help you. Here is a list of some of the services that they will provide: · Keyword Targeting – Helping you find your relevant keywords. ·
Website Architecture Search Engine
Optimization –
Designing and Programming your website layout to be search engine
friendly. ·
Website Search Engine
Optimization –
Designing the code that search engines see so that they rank you toward the top
of search results. ·
Website Submission – Submitting your website to search
engines so that they will index your website before other
websites. ·
Website Reporting – Monthly reports of where your
website is ranked on the search engines. ·
Pay Per Click Management
– Management of
your Pay Per Click budget to make sure you are yielding the most traffic
possible from the budget your are spending with the search
engines. ·
Strategic Positioning
– Getting you
website advertised on other websites that have users that are potential
customers and building links from websites that will increase your ranking on
the search engines. This can
cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands and thousand of dollars
dependent on how much time and money is
going into optimizing your website. A
full service optimization package from a reputable company costs about $2500 for
setup and $30 per URL per Month. This
does not include Pay Per Click Management or Strategic
Positioning. If you
have any questions in regard to this information, you can email Greg Trinidad at
gregt@northstarhosting.com. Author Contact Info: Greg Trinidad |
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