18 January, 2008
No matter how well designed your site
is, you need to promote it
Our website looks
good but it doesn’t seem to be having the desired effect of attracting new
customers to the pub. What can I do to improve it?
Unfortunately, no matter how well designed your site may be, without some
work on your part to promote it, it will never
generate increased traffic in the pub. When people are using the internet to
find a pub in your area, your site needs to appear on the first page of search
results. To make this happen you should:
Ensure your ‘meta tags’ are appropriate.
Ensure other sites link to yours. Some search engines (including Google)
count the links to, not from, your site. Approach other sites, particularly
those with directories of attractions in your area, and ask them to include a
link to yours.
Ensure your site gets ranked higher than others offering the same services
by phrasing your content uniquely while keeping it relevant. For example,
instead of saying “We offer 10 real ales” say “Our cosy, friendly pub offers 10
of the finest real ales from renowned microbrewers located all over Cambridge”.
The second sentence is less generic, and stuffed with key words that search
engines will use to rank your site. And as a spin off, your
site will show up during more diverse searches.
Paul Boggia is a self-confessed ‘IT geek’ and licensee of the