I am a gamer by profession. I love playing games and have been updating my blog on latest games and reviews. Thanks to the blog, I had made a huge network of people in this field that helped me to become a freelance reviewer of games. One of my associates suggested that I should create a website so that people across the world can be informed about the latest happening in the world of gaming. I really liked the idea and I appointed a web designer who was also a web developer. Through her contacts, I also hired a professional writer for web content. When the site was ready to hit the web, I was desperately looking for ways to enhance the search engine placements of my website. The designer suggested that I should get in touch with a SEO service that would help me to increase the number of users clicking through to my website. When I availed of the service from one of the SEO firms, I could garner more readerships because they advertise about my website through well-written articles. I am happy with the link building service as well because the placement on search engines was easily available.

It amazes me, people still believe that all they have to do is “build it and they will come“.  I promise that is the only movie quote that I will use.  Having personally developed well over 100 websites since 1997 I am always stunned by people complaining that there website is a failure and blaming the person who built it.  Having a website is only half the battle! You must promote, promote, and then promote some more.  No matter how great your product is no one can buy it unless they know about it.

First let me say that having  someone develop a custom website for you is very important.  Go cheap and buy a prefab website is usually a prelude to failure.  Yes they are affordable and I know you are on a tight budget but never forget “You Get What You Pay For”.

Now to the point.  There is a simple formula for success.  Spend money = make money.   Sounds easy right?
First figure out what you can afford to pay a developer for your website, if you  have a product to sell you should be thinking in the $1000 range. Also  find a developer who believes in web standards, trust me this is important.

Next figure out a monthly advertising budget and spend it wisely.  This is by far the most import advice I can give.  Your website is not going to shoot to the top of the search engines or miraculously develop visitors all on its own.  While we are on the topic of search engines, keep in mind that a person on the web only has a 4% chance of winding up on your website through a search engine.  Most likely they will find your site while browsing on another website.  Your best bet, if you can afford it, is to hire a reputable firm to promote your website.  They will know what will work and what is a waste of money.   If you can not afford to hire a firm, do your do diligence before spending  your  money.  Only advertise on websites that are relevant to your product otherwise you are wasting your money.

This leads to our third point.  Believe in the power of link exchange.  I do not care what it will do for you in the search engines.  The more links you have out their the greater the likely hood that someone will click that link and wind up on your website.  If you are on a tight budget this is the best way to promote your website.

This article only covers the basics.  Keep an eye out for part two which will have more detail about internet promotion.

Searching for affordable domain hosting for your personal or business website needs could get confusing.  There are so many plans to choose from, and plans are offered from so many companies.  While it is often thought you need to pay more for quality hosting, this is not necessarily the case.  By knowing exactly which features you need for your website, you will find that using the cheaper providers will fulfill your needs for much less money.

Many companies will offer the same or similar packages for less, offering a more affordable domain hosting service.  When you pay more you probably are just paying for the name of the company.  While companies such as GoDaddy.com offer site hosting with 5GB of disk space for only $3.95 per month, other companies such as SBC Yahoo! are charging $11.95 per month for the same plan features.  Both remain affordable, though SBC Yahoo! is an established company and able to charge more for their services.  GoDaddy.com is a relatively new start-up venture, though their services are no less reliable.

For a small, personal website, cheaper is the way to go, as fewer features will be needed.  However, for a large-scale business site, spending a few extra dollars will provide you with the options you will need in the long term.  Just remember that when searching for an affordable domain hosting service, comparing plans is extremely important.  By knowing exactly what each plan offers you pay only for the services you need and avoid paying for features that you simply won’t use.