Although there are millions and millions of web sites on the internet today, of course you want your site to be found when a potential customer searches for the products or services that you offer. After all, isn't that one of the reasons you got a web site in the first place?

But what are you doing to make sure that your web site isn't lost in cyberspace? Can your site be found by people who are looking for what you have to offer? If the answer is no, here are some tips you can use to improve your web site's chances of being found by the search engines:

Use Meta Data - Meta data is used behind the scenes, in the html code of your web pages. Most search engines use at least some types of meta data, especially meta titles and descriptions. Make sure that your web pages have the appropriate meta data included, and try to write unique meta tag information for each page of your web site. Add a Robots.txt file - a Robots.txt file is a special file on a web site that acts like an invitation to the search engine spiders that visit your site. In this file, you can specify the pages of your site that you want the spiders to crawl, and also specify the areas of your site that should be kept private, such as employee areas, non-public directories, or areas with duplicate content that could hurt your rankings or get your site banned altogether. Create Site Maps - One of the newer technologies available to business web sites is XML sitemaps, used by Google and other search engines to provide additional information about your web pages and to help control the discovery of the web pages and links on your site. XML sitemaps can be created using the Google Sitemap Generator tool, a third-party tool, or can be created manually. Submit to Online Directories - Submitting your web site to a variety of quality online directories is a good way to promote your business and also build inbound links to your web site. You can submit your site to both paid and free directories, but make sure that they are either related to your industry or your location. Avoid the FFA (Free-for-All) directories that are too general, since these are considered "link farms" by most search engines and can get your site banned completely. Optimize for Search Engines - Of course, there is no substitute for complete search engine optimization of your web site, which incorporates keywords and keyword phrases (among other things) to help your site get better search engine positioning. This can be a more expensive option, but is ultimately the most successful and productive strategy for making sure your site can be found by users searching for what you have to offer. Build High-Quality Inbound Links - One of the best ways to be found in the search engines is to have plenty of high-quality inbound links that point to your web site. Sending out press releases (using free web outlets to help keep costs down), syndicating your original articles on the web, and submitting your site to online directories are all great ways to build inbound links to your web site. You've probably invested a lot of time and/or money in building a web site for your business, so protect your investment. Make sure you're doing everything you can to prevent your site from becoming lost in cyberspace!

About the Author

Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter and the Five Sparrows Marketing Blog from Five Sparrows, LLC. Read the most recent Five Sparrows articles on small business websites and marketing or subscribe at www.fivesparrows.com/biztalk. Copyright 2007