Free Attract Visitors to Your Site: The Mini Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald

Attract Visitors to Your Site: The Mini Missing Manual
    by Matthew MacDonald
    Copyright © 2010 O’Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
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    January 2010: First Edition.
    The Missing Manual is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The Missing Manual logo, and “The book that should have been in the box” are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media is aware of a trademark claim, the designations are capitalized.
    While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained in it.
    ISBN: 9781449382520

    Introduction

    A critical part of website success is attracting visitors. This Mini Missing Manual gives you the knowledge and tools you need to do that. It shows you how to build a community around your site and how to use the power of keywords and Web search engines to rise up in the rankings of search results.
    Once you do that, you’ll want to see how effective your efforts are. You’ll learn how to use a powerful—and free—service that tracks visitor activity on your site; Google Analytics lets you know where your visitors live, what browser they use, which of your Web pages they love, and—just as important—which pages don’t work for them. Using this information, you can fine-tune your site to keep the visitors coming.
    Tip: To learn more about building and improving your website, see Creating a Web Site: The Missing Manual .

Attract Visitors
To Your Site
    The best website in the world won’t do you much good if it’s sitting out there all by its lonesome self. For your site to flourish, you need to find the best way to attract visitors—and keep them flocking back for more. In this Mini Missing Manual, you’ll learn some valuable tricks for promoting your site. You’ll also see how search engines work, how to make sure they regularly index your site, and how to work your way up the rankings of search results. Lastly, you’ll learn to gauge the success of your site with visitor tracking, and you’ll use a powerful free service called Google Analytics to learn some of your visitors’ deepest secrets (like where they live, what browser they use, and which of your web pages they find absolutely unbearable). Before you know it, you’ll be more popular than chocolate ice cream.
    Your Website Promotion Plan
    Before you plunge into the world of website promotion, you need a plan. So grab a pencil and plenty of paper, and get ready to jot down your ideas for global website domination (fiendish cackling optional).
    Although all webmasters have their own tactics, it’s generally agreed that the best way to market a website is to follow these steps:
    1. Build a truly great website.
    If you start promoting your site before there’s anything to see, you’re wasting your effort (and probably burning a few
bridges). Nothing says “never come back” like an empty website with an “under construction” message.
    2. See step 1.
    If in doubt, keep polishing and perfecting your site. Fancy graphics aren’t the key concern here—the most important detail is whether you have some genuinely useful content. Ask yourself—if you were browsing the Web, would you stop to take a look at this site? Make sure you’ve taken the time to add the kinds of content that keep visitors coming back.
    3. Share links with friends and