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Advice to New Webmasters Page 3
Beware of traffic sites that tell you they will pay you every time someone leaves your site and joins theirs. If you set up your site and immediately link to a hundred different sites, the search engines will think you are a link farm and you will be penalized for it. Traffic sites do pay, but unless you have a site that attracts thousands of visitors per day, it's not worth your time. Also beware of these sites' content. If you see something on a site that makes you squeamish or that you know is probably not legal, don't link to it. It's probably been banned from the search engines. Google toolbar Along that line, download the Google toolbar. Figure it out. Understand page rank. Don't link to pages that have a page rank of 0. It means they've just started out or they've been banned from Google. When you link to banned sites, it hurts your ranking. In Google, search for page rank, SEO, and Google toolbar. Read all you can stand. Exchange links By all means exchange links, but be careful with whom you exchange links. Look for sites similar to yours. If you are a small business owner, look for other small business owners who are willing to exchange links. It's okay if their page rank is low at first. Just make sure they update their site regularly and that they are honest in how they promote their site. Sites will grow over time and page ranks will rise. Any time someone exchanges a link with you, ask what page your link will be on, and at least once a month, visit that page and make sure your link is still there. If it's not, politely ask why it's gone. Sometimes people change Webmasters and stuff gets thrown out. It's not always people being dishonest. DMOZ Get your site listed with the Open Directory Project. It will take up to six months or more for them to review your site and list it. List your site as soon as your site is complete. Read the instructions carefully. Make sure you list your site in the correct category. Getting the category wrong can cost you months of time. Why list? Google and dozens of other smaller search engines download data from DMOZ. Getting your site listed in DMOZ helps your site's ranking in search engines. Newsgroups Consider posting sample movies and pictures to newsgroups but beware: Don't post to more than one newsgroup in a single posting (don't cross- post in other words). Don't post to more than three newsgroups in a week. And remember, the most savvy people on the Web troll newsgroups. Some might join, some just might hack your site and steal your stuff. Get with your host provider and make sure you understand how to protect your site from people who steal and share passwords. Abusing newsgroups, cross-posting, posting excessively, can cause your ISP to discontinue your service. That ain't good, Sheriff. TGP galleries and movie galleries You may want to create picture galleries (TGP) and movie galleries that you can then list on other Web sites. This is time consuming and you'll be competing with top Webmasters who spend a lot of time figuring this stuff out. You may want to hire a specialist to set up these galleries for you and submit them, especially if you don't have a lot of time. A lot of the owners of the TGP's and movie galleries are Little Hitlers: They will ban you if you don't follow their rules. If you can find an honest Webmaster who will, for a reasonable price, take a couple dozen pictures and a dozen or so 10 second movies, set them up and get them listed in galleries, go for it. Just be careful. Choose your contractors with extreme prejudice. If they seem the least bit dishonest, don't use them. Get your site reviewed After you get your site completed and have it stocked with a couple hours of video, get your site reviewed. Google "Web site reviews." Submit your site for review. Be nice. Be prepared to give them a user name and password. Be prepared to wait a month or so for them to get back with you. If you query them about the delay, be polite. Keep in mind they get a hundred or so rude e-mails per day. A nice one sticks out. A rude one gets trashed. Be patient Keep in mind it will take a minimum of six months for your site to move up in search engine ranking. It usually takes 10 months to a year. Budget and borrow carefully. Don't quit your day job. Models are your business partners During this time remember: Your models are your friends, colloquially speaking of course. In reality, they are your business partners. They are the best promotion tool you have. Make them business cards with your Web site's name on them. Set them up with Webcams. Get them to form groups in Yahoo, to form clubs, to have parties. Get them to promote your site. A person who can meet a model or talk to her online is much more likely to join your site. Be cutting edge, not bleeding edge Keep up with trends, be hip, don't be stupid. It's okay to use Flash in sections of a page. But don't build your whole site in Flash; search engines don't like this. Want to use DRM (Digital Rights Management) to license your videos? By all means do, but keep in mind you'll be excluding a lot of users and that it's expensive. Be sure to make a standard Members area as well. People by nature are suspicious of the Web. Anything new, they don't trust, even if it's a better deal for them. I did not create a Members area for my site at first, now I'm having to create one. It's a pain. Start with a Members area. Use DRM section to entice people who don't want to join. What else?
That's it.
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