Having designed the site and put it up on the web, you then need to attract visitors. The web is just what it says, a complex network of links. Your site will therefore be regarded more highly by the search engines if it provides links away from itself as well as there being plenty of links to it: the web abhors a dead-end!

Although you may feel that providing links from your site is a bit like signposting your competitors just think about most High Streets in the UK; all the banks or estate agencies will be typically found clustered together in one street, thus making it easier for potential customers to find them. Similarly, there are many directory web sites now which list other web sites categorised by their content; some cover everything and others are specialised. It is well worth investigating these and joining them wherever you can.

The web is a dynamic entity. Pages are being added and removed at the rate of thousands per day. Once you have achieved a good ranking with the search engines, you cannot sit back and rest on those laurels: follow-up is critical. The following are some useful questions you may need to answer:

Which advertising is working well?

How are people finding my site?

What do they do once they have arrived? Where do they leave from?

People will offer you a service guaranteeing top rankings, but this is illusory.
The only way to keep your site ranking well is to analyze the log files and track your visitors.

Search engines have a duty to the surfing community: making it easy to find relevant sites. They constantly re-visit their strategies for ranking sites and only with knowledge of these changes can you continue to adapt the site to keep up the ranking.

Computer Solutions subscribes to several publications to provide up-to-date advice and is continually monitoring search engine strategy for several current clients. Whether you already have a site or would like to create a new one
this information is a critical part of the design and promotion processes,
without which your site is unlikely to rank well.


Personalising & Rapport
Whereas in a shop you have opportunities for rapport with your customers, a web site is far less personal. From my personal experience I have deduced that there are certain criteria that make me want to revisit particular sites. They are the ones that provide me with a sense of personality and service behind the screen, so to speak, and that make me feel that my needs are understood and catered for. This may be as simple as just ensuring that everything works quickly, is not interrupted by flashy animations, unnecessary imagery or requests for usernames and passwords, and that the way around the site is clearly signposted. It can also be taken further to include personalised messages, more information about the interests and passions of the owner and often includes links to other sites that are relevant and of interest to me. The maxim
always give the customer more than they expect
is very useful in this context and will give your site the edge over a competitor who provides basic content only.


Pricing
No two web sites are ever the same but, as a guideline, simple sites can cost from £250. Computer Solutions can provide any or all of the following services:

		a comprehensive design and coding service
		advice on improving an existing site
		search engine promotion campaigns with ongoing analysis of the logs
		domain name registration and hosting
		email configuration
		shopping baskets chosen or designed around your needs
		maintenance of and updates to your site
		templated sites that you can modify yourself
		Flash animation
		database design and programming