How to Build a Content Website – Part 6

SPIDERS and ROBOTS and DIRECTORIES (oh my)

www.WHO?

So now you've got a website but no visitors.  How do they find out about you!?

Before you start inviting the world though, a note of caution... traffic is a double edged sword!  If you're adamant about having an advertising free, no membership fee website you may not want to be on every search engine out there -- you may want to consider limiting your traffic.  Why's that you ask?  Because traffic uses bandwidth and bandwidth costs money.  

It wasn't until I got a bandwidth bill for $5,000 one month that I even considered putting ads on the site.  My husband smiled - gently but firmly - and said something like, "I'm proud of you honey, but we can't afford to keep running the site this way."  I felt very bad (likely the worst I've felt in our entire marriage) for inadvertently spending that much of our family money on "my little hobby" and even worse since I didn't know what to do to stop it -- short of pulling the plug on the whole thing.  He helped (a lot) over the next few months and got me set up with some ad agencies to help cover the costs of the site.  

Anyways, read the bandwidth rules for your web host carefully to make sure you don't get any unpleasant surprises and plan ahead if it looks like you're approaching the limits where they'll start charging you variable bandwidth costs (er, I should heed my own advice).

SPIDERS and ROBOTS

Everyone calls everything a search engine, but they aren't all the same. Some are run by computer and some are run by people.  The ones run by computer are quicker to get onto.  These are called Spiders and Robots

Google is the biggest.  It's used by Yahoo, MSN and Netscape just to name a few. To add your site, just go to http://www.google.ca/addurl.html  and cross your fingers.  For them, you just add your main page (for me, that would be http://www.dltk-kids.com).  Their spider takes care of the rest and will index your entire site for you.

AltaVista is also a good bet.  http://addurl.altavista.com/sites/addurl/newurl   For them you have to add each page yourself.  After about 5,000 pages I gave up adding the individual crafts and now just add the indexes and sub indexes of the site.

DON'T resubmit and resubmit the same link if you don't get indexed right away.  If you don't get picked up, wait at least 8 weeks and try again.  Make sure you've added new content in that time.

DIRECTORIES

Directories are run by people.  They take longer because the people have to come out and review your site.

The biggest (of course) is Yahoo *sigh*.  It's a depressing word.  They've listed my Apple Pie recipe (which I didn't submit to them) but not my main site url (which I did submit).  I'll never understand what makes them list something and not something else.  But it's worth a try getting listed.  Just make sure you have a site you'd be proud to show someone before trying with them.  They might not look at you a second time if it isn't worthwhile the first.  http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/ 

Yahooligans is Yahoo for kids. If you're including material children would like, you can try them too http://add.yahoo.com/fast/add?+Kids 

DMOZ.org is something you've likely never heard of, but it's used by a LOT of search engines (including AOL) http://dmoz.org/add.html 

About.com is another fairly large directory. Poke around in there until you find an area that matches and then email that person and introduce yourself.

Again, don't keep submitting the same stuff over and over again.  Wait at least 8 weeks (or per their rules), make sure you've added new content and try again.

OTHER WEBSITES - RECIPROCAL LINKS:

If your site has to do with children or parenting, you can talk to me.  Anyone can write an article for DLTK's (my site) talking a bit about a topic that ties in and we'll link to the site that way.  We can also do reciprocal links (you link to me, I'll link to you) in appropriate areas of the site (I don't have one big links page, instead I have Bible Links, Educational Links, Summer Links, etc).  Just let me know through the Feedback section

You can send polite notes to all sorts of websites and get the same sort of reciprocal links. Just keep in mind that a website like mine gets about 200 emails per day.  So if you don't get an answer, don't get discouraged.  We tend to answer replies to our newsletters, etc quicker than just 'standard' notes to webmaster@.  We spend more time on our viewers than we do someone we think just looked us up on a search engine to try to get a link.  If you do want a link from a site, spend some time there and get to know them.  Then approach them.

You can even pay to have more prominent advertising on some of your favorite sites.  But the cost of this can add up quickly, so try your other options first and make sure you have a great site before you sink money into advertising it.

RANKING PROGRAMS:

There are programs for all different types of sites (there's even one for penguins!  *grin*).  Try typing MYTOPIC Topsites into a search engine and see if you can find a topsites program that relates to you.

WEBRINGS:

Webrings used to be great.  But then there were a bunch of purchases, new rings, corporate rules, etc. that messed things up a bit.  I was pretty big at the time so just bailed on the whole thing. But when I was a small site, it gave me a fair amount of traffic http://www.webring.org 

BANNER EXCHANGES:

Swapping unsold banners (those ads at the top of the screen) with other similar sites is another good way to get known. http://www.edubanners.com/  is a good choice for educational sites.  Again, type MYTOPIC banner exchange into a search engine to see what's available out there for you.

So... we have a site and a bit of traffic but still no money!
onto the next section