Once you've built your organization's Web site, the next task is to make sure you've publicized your site as widely as possible. There are two key audiences to which you need to publicize your site- people you already communicate with, and people you don't. Each audience is important, but the methods you'll use to reach them are different.
Publicizing Your Site To People with whom you already communicate:
Your URL
Add your Web address (the URL, or "Uniform Resource Locator") to every piece of communication that comes from your organization. Your Web address should be listed everywhere that your phone/fax number and mailing address is, including:
- Business cards
- Letterhead
- Newsletters
- Brochures
- Press Releases
- Fax cover sheets
- Action Alerts
Email messages
List your Web address at the bottom of every email message sent by the people in your organization (including board members, volunteers, etc.). Email messages are often forwarded widely, and it helps if your Web address travels with your email message.
Tell the media
Consider sending a formal press release about your site to local newspapers, television stations and other media sources with whom you have relationships. Your site can become a routine information resource for these media outlets, and can provide them with easy access to the information you want them to have.
Tell your membership
If you have a database of members or others who take an active interest in your work, be sure to tell your members about your Web site (in your newsletter, in correspondence, at events, etc.). With your membership, position the site as another way they can keep up-to-date with the issues, and also a way they can interact with your organization. A newsletter article about your site can also be a great opportunity to ask your membership for technical volunteers, or for donated equipment.
Cross-link with "friends"
Contact groups that are located in your community, and with whom you routinely work or share interests. Cross-linking from one Web site to another is technically very easy to do, and can be a powerful way to market your site. Be careful about how much time you spend on this task, though. It's easy to get carried away with building "definitive" lists of online resources, only to find that they quickly go out of date, and add little value or traffic to your site.
Know your Web site
The people familiar with your organization are often the best marketers of your Web site. Everyone associated with your organization must be familiar with the content of your Web site, and kept up-to-date with major additions and changes. This is particularly true for the executive director, those who most often answer routine inquiries about the organization, and anyone who has routine contact with the media or the general public.
Publicizing Your Site To People You Don't Know: Using Search Engines
Because there are now so many Web sites on the Internet, it is getting harder and harder to find the specific information you need. Several companies have developed no-cost Web sites that do nothing but help you find other Web sites, based on search criteria your provide. These Web sites are commonly referred to as "search engines," and they have become the principle way that many "Web surfers" find sites that contain the information in which they are interested.
Search engines (and the companies that produce them) constantly seek out information about new sites that have been launched on the Web; the more comprehensive their listing of Web sites, the more people will use their search engine to find information, and the more these companies can charge for advertising on their site. All search engines therefore have created an easy way for you to add your Web site to their listing; you only need to visit their Web site and follow instructions.
The following are the principal Web search engines you should visit to register your Web site. Each site has specific instructions for adding your Web site URL to their search engine; be sure to read them:
- AltaVista
- FAST search
- Yahoo
- OpenDirectory : Also requires you to identify an appropriate category. Data used by a number of sites, including AOL Search, AltaVista, HotBot, Google, Lycos, Netscape Search
- LookSmart : Powers a number of major search engines, including Excite, MSN, iWon. Charges a $79, but waives it for nonprofits.
For more reference information on search engines, we recommend Search Engine Watch.
There is a lot of advice on the Web about how to "optimize" your listings on various search engines. We strongly recommend that you not become obsessed with this; it's a waste of time. Do be sure to give your homepage a descriptive title that includes your organization's name, and make sure that your mission statement or other keywords describing your work appear near the top of your home page in plain text. These simple steps will help ensure that your site is correctly indexed in most search engines.
About the Author:
ONE/Northwest is a nonprofit supporting grassroots organizations and the environment.
Copyright © 2001 ONE/Northwest. This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
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