It does not matter if 509 Media has designed a new website for your or another company you need to make an active effort to promote your website..  One of the differences 509 Media offers is we educate our clients on what to do with their website after the new website goes live.  To the average person SEO (Search Engine Optimization) sounds like some type of computer web nerd voodoo magic.  Simply put yes there are things that your website designer needs to do to your website when laying out the design to provide the best possible chance of being found.  The design process should incorporate measures to maximize the ability to be indexed by search engines.  Google is and will remain the big kid search engine on the block.  Others like Yahoo, Bing, Ask, and so on need to be addressed as well.  OK, I know you are asking what you can do from your office or home to maximize the chances to have your website found on search engines.

Following are some simple things to do to help SEO of your website.  You should read and educate yourself on these topics but this overview will shed a little insight on the mysterious thing called SEO. Please keep in mind there are MANY more things to consider when discussing SEO.  This list contains things the average person can do with very little effort.

What can you do to help your website be found on the internet? 10 Things you can do to help your website:

1. Make sure you have relevant content on your website.  I know this is something some website designers will be responsible for, but as the owner of a website you should know to post keyword rich relevant content.  If you have a website built in the form of a content management system you may need to log in and start typing.  Here at 509 Media we design many websites based on WordPress.  WordPress allows the client (site owner) to constantly add content to their website without the need to contact a website designer.  Make sure you are adding content with keywords to drive search engine traffic to your website.  Keywords are specific to your business or service.  In other words on this website keywords include things like, graphic designer, website designer, stickers, banners, and Dothan.  I included Dothan because it is the city in Alabama where 509 Media is located.
2. Google Page Rank is Google’s means to measure other websites back linking to your website.  Google Page Rank is measured from 0 through 10.  10 is the highest.  Do not be upset if your website does not have a really high page rank.  Facebook is the number 2 most visited website on the net at the time of writing this post.  Facebook has a Google Page Rank 9.  Currently 509 Media has a Google Page Rank 3.  Everyday we look for places to gain back links to 509 Media to improve page rank.  Back links are not only important for page rank but they can also produce traffic from people clicking the links you have on other websites.  Some websites including forums have a little piece of code built into their websites called No Follow or Do Follow.  A No Follow site basically tells spiders from Google and other search engines to not follow the link.  If this is the case you do not get credit for the link. So make sure you are finding Do Follow websites to have your link added. If you would like to read more about Google Page Rank be sure to visit our Page Rank Page here on 509media.com. Comment Below if you would like to know how to tell is a website is a Do Follow site.
3. The following adds to the above step.  Backlinks are important to get, and should be taken serious by those wanting to build web traffic.  Your new website needs to get as many of them as possible.  Step three is get your website listed on website directories.  Directories are websites like DMOZ and Technorati.  There are many of these directories out there to get your website listed on.  When looking for website directories be sure to look for ones with high Google Page Ranks.  In order to get your page rank going vertical you need to have back links from higher page rank websites. I should mention not all directories are free.  If you would like to learn more about directories be sure to leave a comment below.
4. Assuming the content you are adding to your website has something to do with your products and/or services it will benefit you to become active on the various social media websites.  Sure when you think of Facebook or Myspace you think of a pimple face teenager kids, but the fact is there are more people on these websites than can be ignored.  Social Media is a great place to interact with your clients and future clients.  It shows that you are a real human and willing to interact and answer questions.  I think one of the biggest things is you will also be in front of people to handle issues if something should go wrong after a purchase is made from your company.  In short it adds a human element to your online presence.  Twitter is another good place to become active.  Every time we post something to Twitter we get people clicking the links and visiting our website.  Social Media is a strong advertising tool and should not be ignored.  After all it is free to use.
5. Online Forums are just as important as the popular social media websites.  Forums are online communities of like minded people.  Online forums cover topics of everything imaginable.  From sports forums to home improvement forums you can find many to drive traffic back to your website.  In some ways they are social media websites.  I did not mention them in the social media section above because they need to be viewed differently than social media websites.  Online forums can cost money to advertise on.  Depending on the number of people visiting the forum it may generate some revenue for your company.  If you decide to start posting on forums I recommend you getting involved in conversations and offer valuable content to the forum.  Do not be a salesman and spam the forum.  If you see people asking questions about a subject you are educated in be sure to answer the question and let the person know to ask you if they need to know more.  Offer a helping hand, and spend enough time on the forum to learn the ways of doing business on the forum. Each forum is different and the people react differently.  The last thing you want to be known for is a spammer.  Take your time.  Read the forum rules before posting.  If you would like to know more about forums and the proper way to use them for advertising be sure to post a comment below.
6. Posting on Craigslist.com can be a good thing if done correctly.  I have been posting on Craigslist for a while now.  I have seen some positive results from the effort.  If you decide to post on Craigslist be ready for the endless scam emails.  With a little effort and common sense you can weed through scam emails.  I would recommend using it to advertise locally and direct people into your store or provide a telephone number for people to call.  If you decide to use Craigslist make sure to stick with it for a couple months before deciding if it is generating results.
7. Post ads on eBay to advertise your products.  eBay rules state that you can not back link to your website if the item is posted for sale on your website.  You can add a back link on eBay if you are linking for additional information.  Learn the rules on eBay and how you can bend them to your benefit.  Don’t break the rules just learn how to use the rules to your benefit.  I view eBay as a source to advertise my product and to get the word out about what I have to offer.  This means of advertising is useful if you have a niche market item.  If you have a mainstream item that many people are offering eBay may not be a cheap place for you to advertise.  If you try this means of advertising you may find more people are calling you to order rather than using the eBay listing.  Ask people where they heard about you to measure if you are being effective with your eBay listing.  The other view of eBay is to actually look at it to sell your item. Many people look to eBay when looking for deal so be ready to sell your item at a bargain price.  Due diligence will determine your sale price so make sure to do your homework.
8. Post pictures on Flicker and use them on your website.  When posting pictures on Flicker make sure to add the proper information with each picture.  If you post up pictures with just the number your digital camera attached to them you are selling yourself short.  Google and other search engines will only index the pictures by the information you list with the image.  Having proper picture titles and meta descriptions will help your pictures rank better in search engine results.  In order to have a large number of pictures on Flicker you will have to pay for the service.
9. Video is a powerful thing.  Look at how large You Tube has grown over the years.  Posting product description videos on You Tube can offer another way for your product and/or services to be indexed and found.  We can suggest many different things to post on You Tube, but I think you can use your imagination.  Develop video for “How To” do things related to your products.  Do not stop with You Tube.  You can also use online video websites like Vimeo.  Vimeo allows you to put higher quality and longer videos.
10. Anytime you add new content to your website, Flicker, You Tube, or other source be sure to post it up on the forums you are posting in, on social media websites, and certainly talk about the new content on your website.  After all the point of all of this is to drive traffic back to your website.  If you are not getting found on the net it will be difficult to convert the website investment into deposits at the bank.

The 10 Things To Do After Going Live with your new website are some of the things you need to do.  There are more things you can do to better your chances of being found.  You can spend money on things like Adwords, but I wanted to keep the subject matter related to things that are free to do or minimal cost.  I will be posting an article on Google Adwords soon.

Be sure to comment if you have questions.