Websites center around successful advertising. If you never try to get your site out there, how do you expect people to even know it exists? Everyone wants a lot of visitors, but how can you increase your hits from the hundreds to the thousands? And without paying a lot of money? This article intends to answer those questions and help you make your site professional and profitable, a rewarding hobby worth the money put into it.

A creative idea. First of all, figure out what is going to make your site different from all the rest. Why did you decide to make a site and what are your goals? People appreciate sites that are unique, different from the rest. For example, if you're going to make a horse site, what's the point if it's just going to be like everyone else's? Before you try to advertise and get visitors, make sure your site is a novelty. Something new, something fresh, something people will like.

A well-designed layout. Not everyone owns expensive photo-editing software like Photoshop, but you can design a nice layout. It's not required that you have the HTML knowledge of a Microsoft web manager, but if you have Notepad and Paint, both programs which come with any Windows computer, as well as an imagination, you can at least start to learn graphics design and later progress to a program like Paint Shop Pro (which costs about $80 from Amazon as of now) where you are capable of doing even more. If you go to the Jasc website, you can download a free trial version of PSP and see how you like it. Remember that a layout does not just consist of graphics. You will also need to learn your share of HTML. Check out the main tutorials page for graphics / HTML advice.

Content. A good site is not just a single page but multiple pages with substance. Is someone going to visit your site if there's nothing there? When you first get started, you may not have a whole lot of content, but always be interested in improving your site and adding more in the future.

Submitting to search engines. Now is when the advertising part kicks in. Once you have all of the above, you can begin to submit your site to search engines. Some popular ones are Google, AltaVista, Excite, Yahoo, Lycos, HotBot, and Northern Light. If you have a horse site, you'll want to submit to the HayNet, EquusConnect, HorseWeb, Aachenbreed, American Horse Network, MightySteed, and WebPony. There are others, but those are some of the most well known search engines. Fill out the information completely, and make sure you have keywords that relate to your site's content. If you have a horse site, and someone types in "horse," if that's one of your keywords, your site will turn up. Probably not first, since there are lots of other horse sites, but eventually you'll get your site ranked higher on the list.

Automatic Submitters. Without paying a penny, you can sign up at World Submitter and have your site submitted to hundreds of search engines and FFA (Free-For-All) link pages. There is also a paid version with extra features. Another way is through MegaSpinner. Before you sign up, you must visit the four sites listed on that page. (You cannot sign up without clicking on these websites. That's the whole point of the promotion program.) After you've become a member (yes, it's free), you'll get your own page just like that, with your banner at the top. If you advertise this page, as people sign up, they will have to click on your banner and will therefore see your site. The more people who sign up, the better. For example: Someone sees the link on your site, and signs up. Then people who sign up from that person's site will also see your banner! It really works!

Getting linked. There are plenty of other sites, not specifically search engines, that have a links page. Submit your site to as many of these as possible, but be sure to read the instructions. Some sites (like ours) require a return link before you submit your site. Try to get your site noticed by large sites that will probably have more traffic, so that more people will see your link. Design a banner to advertise your site with, and exchange banners with other sites which have similar content. Joining webrings and cliques will also boost your hits, but know what's involved before you get involved. Read the rules and follow them.

Signing guestbooks. Here's a place where many people make mistakes. Although signing other sites' guestbooks is another way of getting your site out there, it's both rude and unacceptable to sign a guestbook with a message like, "Nice site! Visit mine!" First of all, your entry will probably be deleted, and secondly, the purpose of having a guestbook is to get feedback on your site, so when signing another person's guestbook, offer comments or suggestions for their site. Unless you say something hurtful or critical, your entry will be appreciated. If you sign a guestbook, don't look at it as an advertisement for your site, but rather as a way of getting to know other webmasters. If you write a really nice note, people will click to see your website.

Finishing up. Basically, once you've submitted your site to as many search engines as possible and gotten your link on sites with similar subjects, it may take a while before your hits increase. Search engines may take up to several months reviewing, processing and adding your link. But all the while, you can be improving your content and web design skills. A good site will be noticed.

— AE