OK, so you’ve got a new web site. How are you going to get people to come to the site?

Search engine optimization (SEO) used to be the main method of web site promotion. But Web 2.0 has arrived, and now you’ve got a number of tools to use from the driver’s seat of your web site.

Here are some ideas for consideration:

1. Have a blog? Claim your blog on Technorati and get feedback on the popularity of your blog.

“Getting Started with Technorati”

2. Generate compelling blog content that relates to your web site business. Find an educational mission and write about it.

3. Use Facebook. Create a business fan page and post engaging, relevant content on your page. We post information that corresponds to our educational mission (helping people promote their web sites) on our fan page.

Keep your audience in mind–don’t post spam; post information that can really be of use, and interact sincerely with people who are in your networking group.

Social media resources

4. Post your blog entries on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Related articles

• Six Reasons SEOs Love Blogs (searchengineguide.com)
• Three Blogging Tips (best-tutorial.net)
• Build Your Brand Through Social Media (lazerpromotions.com)

Sometimes it is hard to figure out how to reach someone in a company, according to marketing manager Laura Freeman. Make sure your contact information is clearly visible. Put contact information on every page, traditionally in the footer (bottom of the page). Or, have a “Contact Us” page. Preferably do both.

Resize your photographs before you put them on the Internet rather than relying on your browser to resize them, says developer Corey Green. Large photos dramatically increase the time it takes for a site to load. Also, the photos look jagged.

Organization is important, especially for larger sites, according to developer Kathy Smith. “I’ve gotten totally lost on sites that don’t have links presented in logical ways. A site should be easy to navigate, and easily expandable without compromising the navigation.”

She added that making a Web site as informative as possible is the best thing one can do. “Put resources online. Give your customers a reason to visit, bookmark, and come back.“

It’s important to not overwhelm your visitors with needlessly long pages or over-elaborate navigation systems, says developer Alex Roys. The more concise you can be, the more effective in getting your point across–rather than burying the visitor under a mountain of information that they can’t use.

Keep these suggestions in mind, and half the battle is won in giving your company or organization an attractive and useful presence on the Internet.

But there’s one element that never changes: Writing words that sell.

“Words That Sell: A Thesaurus to Help Promote Your Products, Services, and Ideas” is a classic marketing book available on Amazon.com, published in 1984 and reprinted in 2006. Words That Sell has come to our rescue many times in creating vibrant copy that persuades and informs powerfully.

If you get stuck for just the right word, most regular dictionaries and thesauri can leave you cold. You need words that grab ya.

Does your company “pride itself on its reliability?” How dull. Add some zing with words like:

• High-performance
• Durable
• Built to last; ruggedly built.

Why not say that you have high standards, stringent standards, rigorous standards, or that it’s laboratory tested or precision engineered? Heck, why not say it will “last a lifetime” or “last for generations”?

Is your product powerful? Or is it dynamite, high-voltage, Herculean, titanic, Promethean, muscular or masterful?

Author Richard Bayan wrote that he rummaged through huge stacks of magazines, newspaper, brochures and catalogs, listened for compelling phrases on television and radio, and combed dictionaries to create “your personal magic kit.”

Words That Sell is a super tool for creating great copy. Hmmm . . . maybe we should reword that:

“At last! Now there’s an even better way to write mesmerizing copy! Words That Sell stirs the imagination and adds professional writing skills to your toolbox. You’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!”

Consider this when sprucing up your Web site for the season:

Make sure the style and design fits your company’s personality. Visitors should be able to recognize your Web site immediately by use of the same branding you use offline.

Organization and ease of navigation are key. If customers can’t find what they are looking for where they expect to find it, they’ll look elsewhere.

Be sure your site works well on all Web browsers. You should test this every time you change design and content.

Other things to check while spring cleaning your site include security/privacy, ease of online checkout, and contact info. Be sure to include all methods of communication such as e-mail, phone and an FAQ section. Make it easy to find out who is your company spokesperson along with their contact info.

Periodically check your search engine position report to see which keywords are working and which aren’t. Finally, monitor social media to see how your company and site are being talked about in blogs and forums.