Webmaster Tips

Learn how to improve your search engine positions, increase your traffic, and how to keep the traffic once you get it. In no particular order, here are this month's webmaster tips:

1) Make it easy for your visitors to bookmark pages and to make your site their homepage.

Invite your visitors to bookmark pages by offering them an easy link to click. You may also want to create an icon to be shown on their favorites list. Having your own logo next to your bookmark makes your site stand out among your visitors' "Favorites" list in IE5 or higher.

To make your icon, you will need a special icon editor. There are several free downloadable icon editors available on the web. With the editor, create an icon measuring 16 by 16 pixels. When you are done, save the icon as favicon.ico. Upload the icon to the root directory of your web server. Internet Explorer 5 automatically looks for the icon when it visits your site.

Offer your visitors an easy way to make your site their default homepage, as well. Here are examples and the codes for the bookmark and homepage links:

<script language="javascript"> //This code is for IE v4 or better if (navigator.appName == "Microsoft Internet Explorer" && navigator.appVersion >= "4.0") {document.write("<span style='color:#0066cc;cursor:hand;' onClick='window.external.AddFavorite(location.href, document.title);'><u>click here to add this page to your favorites</u></span>")} //This code posts text if not else {document.write("Hit CTRL-D to bookmark this page")} </script>

click here to make this your homepage

<span style="cursor:hand;color:#0066cc;text-decoration:underline" onClick="this.style.behavior='url(#default#homepage)';this.setHomePage(window.location);">click here to make this your homepage</span>

(Be sure to put the code above on one line.)

2) Use unique titles and descriptions for each page of your site.

This will help distinguish the different pages of your site in both your visitors' bookmarks as well as in the search engines. Try to use keywords in your page titles to improve your search engine rankings.

Generate meta tags for your site with our free our meta tag generator.

3) Improve your load time.

It is important to have your pages load in a reasonably short period of time. Reduce your load time by trying some of the following suggestions:

4) Keep your visitors on your site.

It takes so much time and effort to generate traffic, don't send your visitors away intentionally! While we don't recommend opening new windows on every link, sometimes you may want to launch a new browser window so that your site remains open as well. (See our link to NetMechanic® above!)

5) Give away something for free.

If you want to bring targeted viewers to your site, give away something that is specific to your customer base. If any traffic is good traffic, then give away things that everybody could use. Have your visitors fill out a form to get the free item, so you can begin to build a database and a profile of your traffic.

Use our free meta tag generator.

6) Sponsor a sweepstakes or contest.

Sweepstakes and contests are extremely popular. Try to tie the promotion into your business, products, and services. Generate repeat traffic by allowing daily, weekly or monthly entry into the promotion. The Sweepstakes Wire would love to help you with your next contest. Click here to learn more about sponsoring a sweepstakes with us.

7) Get listed in the search engines.

Learn to use Google's webmaster tools and Google analytics and read up on best practices for SEO.

8) Let your visitors interact with your site.

Making your site interactive is a great way to keep visitors coming back. Below are a few suggestions on how to make your site interactive.

9) Make sure your site has content.

Your website should have a theme or reason for existing. Become an expert on your topic and provide lots of frequently updated content for your visitors to read.

10) Share your knowledge with others.

If you are an expert, or if you find something that works for you, let others in on your secret! Send us your webmaster tips, your name, and your URL and we would be happy to post them on our site! Please submit your tips to the editor: editor@NOSPAM.sweepstakes.bz (remove the "NOSPAM." before sending an email).