Chapter 22

Publicizing Your Web Site


CONTENTS


In 1995, more than 150,000 Web servers were in use. This number is expected to be as high as around 2,000,000 by 1998. Your Web site is going to be just one of many other Web sites on the Internet. If you followed the tips presented in earlier chapters and incorporated various technologies into your Web site to make it easier and more interesting to navigate, you should now have an interesting and user-friendly Web site. However, the success of a Web site depends on how well it's publicized. Unlike other mediums of information distribution, such as television, you can't take information at a Web site to your customers; instead, they have to come in search of information and visit your Web site. The next few sections discuss how you can publicize a Web site on the Internet.

Depending on your success in publicizing your Web site, you might want to consult a commercial Web promoting service to promote your Web site. However, if you follow the suggestions and tips presented in this chapter, you should be able to significantly increase the number of hits served by your Web site. On the Internet, sometimes there is some confusion as to what exactly a Web site hit is. Because HTTP is a connectionless protocol, a new connection has to be made for every object on a Web page (image, background sound, Java applet, and so on), including the Web page itself. For example, if a Web page contains a background sound file, a background image file, and two other icons, this Web page will generate five hits each time a user accesses it. This is because a new connection has to be made for each object, and each object transmitted by the Web server is counted as a hit.

It's very important that you keep a pulse on your Web site by analyzing its access log file. The Web server access log file logs every HTTP request received by the server and how the request was handled (success, invalid URL, and so on). The success of your efforts in publicizing a Web site can be determined by analyzing the Web server's access log file. It's impossible to determine the effectiveness of various efforts to publicize a Web site without analyzing this file. Therefore, make sure that your Web server is configured to log Web server accesses and that you have necessary tools to analyze the Web server access log file. Refer to Chapter 24, "Utility Applications for Your Server," to find out about various Web server log analyzing programs.

Newsgroups

Internet newsgroups are read by thousands of users each day. Because a newsgroup has been set up for virtually every topic imaginable, you can use newsgroups to publicize your Web site. As shown in Figure 22.1, you can use a news reading program such as Netscape Navigator to browse newsgroups and post messages.

Figure 22.1: Internet newsgroups.

Before posting a message, you should first determine relevant newsgroups to post your message by using the search option of your news reading program. This can be done by using a dialog box similar to the one shown in Figure 22.2. If you are not using the Netscape news reading application, the dialog box you see will be different. After making a list of newsgroups to post your message, you should be aware of a few things before posting a message. Some Internet users don't welcome commercial announcements on public discussion forums. When posting a message, to avoid any undesired reactions to it, try to make the post as informative as you can.

Figure 22.2: You can use a news reading program to search for newsgroups.

Internet Mail Lists

You also can use Internet mail lists to publicize a Web site. However, depending on what your Web site is about, finding an Internet mail list might prove to be a rather challenging task. By using several Internet search engines, you should be able to find a few mail lists that discuss a topic covered at your Web site. Just as when posting to a newsgroup, when posting a message to a mail list to publicize your Web site, emphasize information at your Web site and how users can benefit from it.

Note
Some mail lists require users to join before messages can be posted.

Registering with Web Search Engines

Registering your Web site with Internet search engines is perhaps the most effective thing you can do to publicize your Web site. Millions of users use Internet search engines to locate information they need. After registering URLs at your Web site with various Web site cataloging databases, users will visit your Web site when they need information. A few Web site cataloging databases you can use to register URLs free of charge are listed in the following sections.

In addition to providing a brief overview of different Web site cataloging databases, the next few sections also include screen captures of them. The screen captures are meant to give you a better understanding of the Web site cataloging database being discussed and how they enable various URLs to be added by using a form.

When registering URLs with various Web site indexes, register all informative URLs at your Web site. However, avoid registering temporary URLs that will cease to exist after a certain time period. Keep in mind that most Web site cataloging databases take up to a few weeks to add a URL to its index. Therefore, Web site cataloging databases are not suitable for publicizing a temporary URL. Instead, use newsgroups and mail lists to publicize such URLs.

Alta Vista

The Alta Vista Web page shown in Figure 22.3 can be used to add URLs to its database. In order to add URLs to Alta Vista, simply type them in the space provided and press the Submit New URL button. It is not possible to delete or change URLs submitted to Alta Vista. However, inactive and invalid URLs will be deleted from Alta Vista's database.

Figure 22.3: Alta Vista URL submit service.

URL
The Alta Vista Web site cataloging database:
http://altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=addurl

BizWiz

You should submit only business-related URLs to the BizWiz Web site cataloging database. Unlike most search engines discussed in this chapter, BizWiz catalogs only business-related Web sites. You can add URLs to BizWiz by using a form similar to the one shown in Figure 22.4.

Figure 22.4: BizWiz URL submit service.

URL
The BizWiz Web site cataloging database:
http://www.bizwiz.com/bizwiz/

Galaxy

Galaxy is a searchable index of various kinds of Web sites. By visiting Galaxy's Web site, filling in a form similar to the one shown in Figure 22.5, and clicking on the Send to Galaxy button, you can add URLs to its database.

Figure 22.5: Galaxy URL submit service.

URL
The Galaxy Web site cataloging database:
http://galaxy.einet.net/cgi-bin/annotate?Other

InfoSeek

InfoSeek is a comprehensive Web site cataloging database that enables URLs to be added to it in two ways. If you're familiar with how Yahoo! and WebCrawler index URLs, InfoSeek is like a mix of them. Visit InfoSeek's Web page for more information about customizing various aspects of URLs added to its database.

URL
The InfoSeek Web site cataloging database:
http://guide.infoseek.com/AddUrl?pg=DCaddurl.html

As shown in Figure 22.6, URLs can be added to InfoSeek's index of Web pages. This index is not broken down into various categories. When a user initiates a search, URLs that match various search criteria are returned to the user.

Figure 22.6: InfoSeek index URL submit service.

InfoSeek Select Web pages are reviewed by InfoSeek staff and are placed in various categories. Web pages can be added to InfoSeek Select by using a form similar to the one in Figure 22.7.

Figure 22.7: InfoSeek Select URL submit service.

Lycos

Lycos is a widely used Web search index. URLs can be added or deleted from Lycos by using its URL registration page. Refer to Figure 22.8 for an example of how a URL can be added to Lycos.

Figure 22.8: Lycos URL submit service.

URL
The Lycos Web site cataloging database:
http://www.lycos.com/register.html

Nerd World Media

You can add Web pages to Nerd World Media by using a form similar to the one in Figure 22.9. Web sites added to Nerd World Media are categorized to make it easier for users to find Web sites they're interested in.

Figure 22.9: Nerd World Media URL submit service.

URL
The Nerd World Media Web site cataloging database:
http://www.nerdworld.com/nwadd.html

New Riders' World Wide Web Yellow Pages

You can add URLs to New Riders' World Wide Web Yellow Pages by filling in a form and submitting it, as shown in Figure 22.10. If your URL is selected, it will be added to the next edition of World Wide Web Yellow Pages published by Macmillan Publishing.

Figure 22.10: New Riders, WWW Yellow Pages URL submit service.

URL
New Riders' WWW Yellow Pages Web site cataloging database:
http://www.mcp.com/newriders/wwwyp/submit.html

WebCrawler

WebCrawler is a very comprehensive and widely used Web site cataloging database. You can add URLs to WebCrawler by using a form similar to the one shown in Figure 22.11.

Figure 22.11: WebCrawler URL submit service.

URL
The WebCrawler Web site cataloging database:
http://Webcrawler.com/WebCrawler/SubmitURLS.html

Yahoo!

Yahoo! is an extensively used Web search engine. Web sites in Yahoo!'s database are grouped into various categories. This makes it easier for users to navigate Yahoo!'s Web site and find Web sites they are interested in.

URL
Yahoo! Web site cataloging database:
http://add.Yahoo!.com/bin/add?

Before adding a URL to Yahoo!, a category has to be selected for it. This can be done by browsing Yahoo!'s Web site, as shown in Figure 22.12. After making a note of one or more categories for the URL you wish to add to Yahoo!, proceed to its URL registration page.

Figure 22.12: Various Yahoo! categories.

You can add a URL to Yahoo!'s Web site by using a form similar to the one in Figure 22.13. After a URL is submitted, it will be reviewed by Yahoo! staff and added to one or more Yahoo! categories.

Figure 22.13: Yahoo! URL submit Web page.

Submit It!

As shown in Figure 22.14, Scott Banister's Submit It! is an easy-to-use Web site indexing tool you can use to submit URLs to several Web cataloging databases at the same time. If you're short of time and don't want to individually visit the Web sites discussed earlier to submit URLs, use Submit It! However, due to the diversity of various Web cataloging databases, you might not be able to have access to various customization features offered by various Web cataloging databases when using Submit It!

Figure 22.14: Submit It! URL submit service.

URL
Submit It! URL submit service:
http://www.submit-it.com/all.html

Other Web Site Cataloging Databases

Listed next are several additional Web site cataloging databases you can use to promote your Web site. Register your Web site with as many Web site cataloging databases as possible to attract many users to your site.

URL
The Excite Web site cataloging database:
http://www.excite.com/cgi/comsubhelp.cgi?display=excite;path=/
query.html;b section=search;Suggest+Link=Suggest+Link
The Open Text Index Web site cataloging database:
http://www.opentext.com:8080/omw/xsubmit_c.html
The Magellan Web site cataloging database:
Magellan: http://www.mckinley.com/feature.cgi?add_bd

Other Ways of Publicizing a Web Site

You should be careful if you intend to announce a Web site's URL on the radio. Unless the URL is easy to pronounce, even seasoned Internet users will have trouble remembering a URL such as http://www.idyllmtn.com/. When announcing a URL on a medium such as radio, you may want to omit http:// from the name of the URL. Instead, let them know the address is a World Wide Web site.

Unlike the radio, printed advertisements are ideal for publicizing a Web site. After setting up your Web site, you should include its URL in all corporate documents and letterheads so that customers will be able to access your Web site for more information.

In addition to using newsgroups, mail lists, and Web site cataloging databases, by using traditional advertising mediums such as newsletters, radio, television, and so on, you will be able to effectively publicize your Web site and attract more users to it.

Summary

This chapter outlined various ways of publicizing a Web site on the Internet to attract more visitors to it. Before publicizing a Web site, the Web server should be set up to log Web server accesses to a log file so that Web server access information can be analyzed with a log analyzing program. In addition to traditional information distribution mediums such as newspapers, newsletters, television, and magazines, you can publish a Web site on the Internet by using newsgroups, mail lists, and Web site cataloging databases.

What's Next?

The next chapter discusses various design and maintenance issues related to hosting a Web site. After setting up a Web site and using it for some time, it needs to be maintained to make sure everything functions properly and at maximum efficiency. Tips provided in the next chapter will help you maintain an efficient Windows NT system on the Internet.