RE: How to promote a Web site?

[cchris -at- toptechwriter -dot- us]

Hi, Dan

Looking at statistics for my site, clients got hits on search strings like
"freelance graphic design maryland",  "graphic artist writer illustrator",
"designer online portfolio", "technical writer illustrator portfolio",
even "hardware resume and technical writer in maryland" shows up (also
some bizarre terms appear as responses to searches where the material that
was being searched came from PDFs in my portfolio, which was the first
clue I had that search engines were ignoring my commands not to scan
certain pages).

When I run those search strings myself on Google, some are specific enough
that my company appears on the first page, other are so general that the
searcher must have looked through a lot of pages before hitting mine. One
client told me he searched for hours before adding "portfolio" to his hunt
and finding my site. So it can be a bit hit-or-miss as to whether a client
finds you, sort of depends on how savvy the client is when choosing search
terms and how good a handle he has on his requirements.

Many of the terms I used in the intro text for my homepage were those I'd
searched on (online portfolio, isometric illustration, template design,
etc.) when looking to hire tech writers and artists in my day job as a
director of a marcom dept. Since I don't contract as a full-time gig and
have the luxury of being choosy as to the types of jobs I want to do, I
tailored the keywords on my site to emphasize my strengths and interests.
I mean, I'll write a software manual if that's the only job I can get, but
I'd much rather write marketing brochures or hardware installation
manuals.

If I were Steve, besides mentioning that he's a technical writer and where
he does business, I'd include some sample docs, the fact that he's a
freelancer, and I'd list the tech writing tools he uses (Interleaf,
FrameMaker, Quark, RoboHelp, etc.) but leave out the ones in common use
like MS Office tools. If he has unusual skills (illustrator, programmer,
editor, translator) mention those. The trick is to describe your
particular combination of skills so your company jumps to the top of the
list when a client searches.

--Chris

___________________________________________
TopTechWriter.US
http://www.toptechwriter.us
Award-winning technical writing and illustration services.

> Hi Chris,
> 
> Just out of idle curiosity, what are the "right search terms" that you do
> well with?
> 
> This of course is a crucial issue for Steve. If he promotes a keyword for an
> esoteric specialty, he might hope to score well on searches over time. But
> as a search engine novice with a limited budget, he will not score well for
> "technical writer."
> 
> Of course, the flip side of this is: How many people are searching for that
> esoteric keyword?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Dan

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