Webmaster Tips

Just a few tips to get you started with your website, and to help get your site listed in search engines...

Buying domain names

First, I'd start by saying DON'T use GoDaddy.com! For newbies and experienced users alike, GoDaddy is just about the most awkward and complex and fiddly system I've ever come across. Avoid.

I personally use directNIC. It's simple and easy, and the domains are about as cheap as they come at $15 for top level domains (less for certain other domains). If you buy a lot of domains then you can save even more money, but you probably need to be a webmaster to take advantage of that since the prices only drop when you buy hundreds. I've been using this company for a long time and, for the most part, have been very happy with them.

Click here to buy a domain name

Website Optimization

There is a wealth of information out there about how to optimize your website. Don't expect your site to miraculously appear at the top of the search engines; you have to do a bit of ground work first. A lot of the work is (hopefully) already done in the website creation process, but there's still a bit for the site owner to do too. You can find some really good information at sites like these:

• High Rankings Advisor - I got a lot of very helpful hints from these articles, and I still direct people to this site when I'm asked about page optimization. Read some or all of the Advisor Articles and you'll learn a lot.
• A Promotion Guide - This site offers a lot of very useful information, in both technical and marketing terms. It stands to reason that one of my customers doesn't need to know how to design a site; if he did he wouldn't need me to build it! Still, it helps to know why I've done things the way I have, and why I go on about using keywords and phrases in headings, and as page filenames, and so on.
• Google Webmaster Support - Check out the articles discussed under My Site and Google. Google isn't the only search engine around, but it's clearly a big one and if you can get to the top of Google's rankings then you're likely to be pretty well placed in other search engines too.

Reciprocal Links

One thing you might consider for your site is a small list of repricocal links. Link exchange is quite a nice way to get people linking to your site, although it doesn't always help you. Don't think that quantity is all you need; a fewer number of good quality links will work better than several hundred irrelevant links. The keywords between the linking sites need to correlate – so, for instance, I need to swap links with websites about "website design" and "web hosting" and so on. If "Joe's Pizza" links to me, that's fine, but pizza has nothing to do websites so that link is considered pretty worthless in terms of search engine rankings.

Of course, sometimes you need to get your name listed in a directory that has nothing in particular to do with your line of business. That's fine too; linking to seemingly "irrelevant" sites is harmless, and does mean you get that return link that you crave.

Here are a few reciprocal links for my site. Sometimes you have to use the code and text these other sites provide, and other times you can write your own...

• Search Engine Optimization Software offers Top Rankings with the Web's Leading SEO Software Product! This is a must for website owners.
• AreaConnect Chattanooga Yellow Pages and More offers listings for the entire Chattanooga area and surrounding cities.
• Marketingtool.com is a great source for web designers across the country. We're a featured listing under Chickamauga, Georgia.
• Professional SEO Services from professional search engine optimization and web site promotion company Promodo.