As we come the new millenium, more and more businesses are deciding to go along with building what is called sites on the world wide web, better known as a web-site. It seems as though these days to many people is that all you have to do is build a web site and you are set to go. Being as upfront as possible there is an extreme downside to this method. Just building the web site will not bring anybody to the web site. To get people to visit a web site certain processes have to be taken to promote the web site. There are numerous ways out there to promote a web site (searh Engine optimization - SEO) Russian SEO
One very common and successful way to bring visitors to a web site is to send out direct electronic mail or commonly known as email. This is a very simple process in general. It simply consists of sending out emails at random or premeditated if you have the time. The emails need to contain a short paragraph describing a little about your web site and what it has to offer to those who visit the web site. Remember that with this method it is wise to not be too wordy otherwise this process can develop to be very time consuming and irritating to the sender and the receiver of the email. However it is possible to email well over 10,000 emails in just under an hour. This process can only be done if everything has been thought out thoroughly and ready to go before the process has even begun. Another possible advantage to this method is that the recipient of the email may enjoy the site and forward the same email to people that they know. Emails also cost nothing if there is already access to the World Wide Web through an ISP (Internet Service Provider). This method is the most commonly used and it can and does work ("7 Ways").
A very similar way but much less direct method is simply to attach a signature to the end of outgoing emails. Most email providers offer this option. It simply means that at the end of outgoing email that is sent out there will be a message of individual choice at the bottom of the email where a signature would normally be on a hand written letter, thus giving it the name signature. What the message says is entirely up to the sender of the email. It is recommended that more than one signature be provided to pertain to different types of people that are emailed. The message should include your web site name, address, and a short catchy little phrase to catch the eye.
Another method of promoting a web site is to enter the site in a search engine. A few examples of search engines are Yahoo, Alta Vista, Excite, Lycos, Infoseek, and Webcrawler. The whole process in itself is very easy but it takes time and patience. An application is provided for individuals by the search engine. The application requests name, web site name, web site address, a description of the web site, what kind of site it is, a list of key words, and what category would be desired for placement of the web site ("7 Ways"). Always double check to see what the search engine did with what they were given. Check to see where the site was placed and to see if the site was placed at all. "Perhaps as many as 50 percent of all submissions are rejected" (Kent 320). If for some reason or another the site wasn't posted simply keep reapplying. Be persistent and keep registering but each time use different key words. Eventually the site will be posted (Kent 320).
An approach to promoting your site that does work quite well on a regular basis is to advertise by using banners and ads that link to the web site that is being promoted. The downside to this method is that it does get expensive. It is simple though. Simply come up with a banner design that is catchy and convince other web sites to carry the banner. Usually they will not do it for free so it is best to offer them a sum of money to carry the banner for a certain amount of time. Then negotiate down to what meets both web site's needs ("7 Ways"). Many sites will offer a chance to place an ad on their web site if in return the person desiring the ad placement will apply the web sites ad on their web site. This works well if it has the opportunity to have this setup with multiple web sites (Kent 325).
There is another way and that is to apply to what is known as a link page. This is a web site that consists of only links to other web pages. Usually all the web pages have something in common with each other. Convincing the link page to accept the offer to contain the web site link to the site that is currently being promoted is easy although sometimes there is a small fee ("7 Ways").
The internet provides many news services that contain what is known as a message board. This is where there are always discussions on certain topics. This is a good place to sneak in an ad from time to time as long as it is respectfully done and doesn't disrupt the conversation. The best way to do this is by disguising the ad as a perfectly acceptable response to a conversation (Kent 326-329). "Go to where the people you want hang out." (Kent 334). Do not get carried away because the promoter of the site can end up with a bad reputation that gives the site a bad reputation for what is called "spamming". Knowing how to post good messages is a way to promote the we site in itself. Show ads that interest people and do not use short flashy ads. Short flashy advertisment irritate people. It is bast to use long indirect informal ads that make it seem like a sensible conversation and not an ad. It is best to only post messages from time to time (Kent 326-329).
There are many software programs for SEO out there that will do most of this stuff extremely fast and efficient. The price of the software varies. The software will do in minutes what the average person could do in hours saving valuable time and effort. And all the information is saved making it even faster to redo the process again and again (Software).
There are also promote web sites that are dedicated to promoting other web sites. It is their specialization and naturally there is a fee. They offer just mainly the ability to fill out one application and be entered into practically every search engine available to the public. Some even offer free statistics to see how the web site is progressing (PromoteYourWebSite.com.)
Also the more things that are offered on the web site the possibility for more people to visit the site increases dramatically. It will hook people in and keep them coming back. A very good example of this is to give away free gifts. Giving away gifts is the best way to get a web site up and running the way that is desired. It will bring in visitor and those visitors will recommend others to visit (SEO). It's a ongoing chain reaction that happens everyday on the web. Everybody loves the word free regardless of what is free. It could be something as simple as a download.
The web site promoters can also offer what is known as an affiliate program. This allows viewers of the web site a chance to carry a banner from the web site on their web site. In return offer a small commission for each person that visits the web site through the link applied on their web site.
As the days go bye more and more people will have their own web site. Along with more people having a web site comes more ways to promote a web site in due time. It is always a good idea to keep up with the modern ways of promotion.
Copyright (c) 2008 Pavel Nekrasov
Questions about spammers, together with the question of who actually uses their services, top the list of questions most frequently put to antispam professionals. However, although antispam companies are, as a rule, relatively transparent, the parallel world of the spammers is unsurprisingly veiled in secrecy. Because of this, given recent events (i.e. the introduction of a new law 'On Advertising' on 1st July 2006, which is a first step towards implementing legislative control over spam in Russia), Kaspersky Lab and Subscribe.Ru conducted some research into those who use spammers' services. The research was not designed to unmask illegal spammers. Rather, we were interested in finding out who is a typical client, and whether or not the new law will have any effect on them. We also asked the clients about why they choose to use a legally dubious method of advertising, and asked them to estimate how effective they thought such methods were. Participant selection A list of 500 companies was compiled using data from the Kaspersky Lab ant spam department. All the companies had used spam as an advertising tool during the period when the research was being designed. The number of companies active in particular areas was chosen according to the amount of spam being used to advertise these areas throughout Runet (the Russian segment of the Internet). Data from the Spam Lab shows that a large percentage of clients are companies working in the tourism and leisure industries (14%), renovation and removal companies (9.3%) and printing services (7%). Other, smaller categories were also taken into account.
Fig. 1: Company profile How the survey was conducted The aim of the survey was to get information directly from those who ordered the mailings which we had selected. We acted on the assumption that those who had ordered spam mailings would not wish to share the details with us, and this was confirmed. We therefore conducted an anonymous telephone survey. The questioner was purportedly an 'employee of a small company' who wanted to order a mass mailing, but who had decided to 'consult colleagues in the same market segment' before going ahead. All the survey data was analysed by Subscribe.ru analysts. Negative impact of spam on the company's image One important fact is that almost 60% (57.9%) of those who order spam mailings have heard rumours to the effect that it's not only their goods and services which are discussed, but also the fact that they used mass mailings to advertise the goods and services. They then became extremely defensive, and categorically denied using mass mailing as a form of advertising. This is a very telling fact, and shows that companies which do decide to advertise using spam are fully aware of the negative public reaction. However, this does not cause them to change their tactics. Many respondents mentioned the new law 'On advertising'. They specifically stated that the officially making spam an illegal form of advertising would influence them not to use this form of advertising. Only time will tell how honest these responses were. Client's position in the company One question which we wanted answered: exactly who is taking the decision to use mass mailings, and who contacts the spammers? According to the results of our telephone survey, in more than 80% of cases, it is an advertising manager. However, the directors of the company also participate actively in ordering mass mailings. 5.6% of the companies responding stated that directors didn't only initiate the process, but also establish the business relationship with the spammers. Of course, this doesn't indicate that the mass mailing is such an important matter that only a director can deal with it, but rather that the companies in questions are small businesses, with only a few (or a few dozen) employees.
Fig. 2: Position in the company Cost of a mass mailing The cost of one mass mailing varies between 1000 and 45000 roubles (approx. $37 - approx $1,660). 50% of respondents stated that they pay between 3001 and 6000 (approx $111 - approx $221) for a single mass mailing. This is undoubtedly an insignificant sum for any company, and far cheaper than any other type of legal advertising.
Fig. 3: Cost of a single mass mailing Number of addresses used in a mass mailing The number of addresses used in the mass mailings varied significantly depending on who was providing the mass mailing services. The smallest number of addresses used was 100, with the largest being 3700000. As can be seen from the graph, 32.5% of spammers' clients aim for maximum coverage, ordering mass mailings which are sent to more than a million addresses. Naturally, this means that there is no regard taken as to whether or not the audience has an interest in specific goods or services.
Fig. 4: Number of addresses used in a single mass mailing Cost of mass mailing/number of addresses in relation to location As the table below shows, the cost of a mass mailing varies according to the client's location: Town< 3000 roubles 3001-6000 roubles 6001-9000 roubles 9001-15000 roubles > 15000 roubles Moscow29.4%58.8%5.9%0.0%5.9% St. Petersburg50.0%25.0%25.0%0.0%0.0% Other towns0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%100% In Moscow, the majority of mass mailings cost between 3001 and 6000 roubles, whereas in St. Petersburg they cost up to 3000 roubles. In all other towns respondents reported that the cost of one mass mailing costs more than 15000 roubles. The number of addresses used in a single mass mailing varies according to location as follows: Town< 1000 addresses1001-5000 5001-1000010001-100000100001-500000500001-1000000> 1000000 addresses Moscow0.0%11.1%22.2%22.2%0.0%3.7%40.7% St. Petersburg22.2%22.2%11.1%22.2%0.0%11.1%11.1% Other towns25.0%0.0%25.0%25.0%0.0%0.0%25.0% Effectiveness of spam None of the respondents were prepared to estimate how effective mass mailings of advertising materials might be (i.e. the firms which order mass mailings did not have a clear idea of whether or not such mass mailings would have a positive effect). On average, the respondents estimated an approximate response rate of 0.01% - 0.05%. Many stated that it was difficult to determine the contribution made by spam when it is used in conjunction with other advertising methods. Spammers' clients, when asked to estimate the effectiveness of the services they used, expressed doubts as to whether, if they ordered a mass mailing to a million addresses, how many addresses it would actually be sent to. One respondent related how the first time the company had ordered a mass mailing would also be the last, as following the mail, the company's call centre had been flooded with calls from enraged users. The financial costs of mass mailing were analyzed by Subscribe.ru. The data is presented in the table below: MediaReachCost per 1,000 Click through rateCost per callOrdersCost per order Telemarketing1000$1200.007.00%$17.147.00%$244.88 Direct Mail1000$1000.0015.00%$6.6715.00%$44.44 ??1000$1.000.02%$5.005.00%$100.00 Press1000 $40.000.09%$44.4415.00%$296.30 Outdoor1000$15.000.05%$30.0040.00%$75.00 RichMedia1000$15.00100%$1.502.00%$75.00 Banner / HTML1000$7.000.20%$3.503.00%$116.67 E-Newsletter / E-Zine1000$30.007.00%$0.434.00%$10.71 Search Marketing1000$20,005.00%$0.405.00%$8.00 Spam1000$0.100.01%$1.005.00%$20.00 Opt-in1000$100.005.00%$2.005.00%$40.00 Conclusions The research data led to the following conclusions: 1.Those who use the services of spammers are fully aware that although they may receive some positive responses, other recipients of the mass mailing (thousands or millions of users) may be irritated or annoyed. As a rule, companies which use spam are very small; these makes them think that reputation is not a factor which they need to be concerned about. 2.Mass mailing does not cost much. However, none of the respondents were able to gauge the effect a mass mailing would have i.e. the negative effect. Those who use the services of spammers also do not consider their audient carefully. Mass mailings are commissioned on the principle of 'It's cheap, so we might as well use it'. 3.Some respondents were influenced by the ban on mass mailings, and this caused them to cease using spam. This is due to the potential legal consequences as well as the risk of damage to the company's reputation. However, it will be difficult to judge exactly what effect the new legislation has had on Runet spam until the law has been in force for at least six months. Source: Kaspersky Lab
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