How to Promote Your Awards

by Jim Docherty, Webmaster
Red Stag Awards (award program closed)
2 October 2001

You think nothing of hours spent at the keyboard fine-tuning a JavaScript that will open a windowless popup for your criteria. The birds are sound asleep while you add just one more shadow effect on your award graphics. Months creep by as you recruit and train the judges who will ensure a standard by which you can be proud. Yet, now that the program is "complete," how much time or effort is budgeted for the promotion of your awards?

Over 29 million active Web sites currently on the Internet provide ample competition for the hearts and minds of users. If no one knows that your program even exists, will it ever justify your efforts?

There are hundreds of options at your disposal to let the public know about your awards. Of course, if money is no option, you could spend literally millions of dollars advertising your site with the likes of Amazon.com, but none are more valuable than those that only cost "sweat equity" — with no out-of-pocket cost to you. Simply set aside a few minutes each day to expand your audience. Here's how ...

Indexing Your Program

Nothing draws people to a product more efficiently than quality, and in the world of Web awards, that quality is best revealed by the recognition of peers with a rating by one or more of the popular indices. If you haven't already, begin the promotion process by reading and following the directions carefully to submit your site. You can even use the process as a learning experience.

The most advantageous byproduct of a rating is the resulting listing on that rating service. Keep in mind that serious award seekers will often apply to these sites first, and when your award is listed, applications to your program will follow. Check the listing periodically and be sure to notify the rating service of any changes. After an evolution of your awards (and the time prescribed by the rating rules), resubmit to ensure your listing is fresh, accurate and, of course, more highly rated. Here are a few of the most recognized and highly prized rating programs:

Don't stop at the rating services. Submit your program to other sites that exist solely for promoting awards. Select only one to start, and determine whether the index will generate an adequate stream of qualified applicants. If not, apply for another. Give it time, but expect your first responses within 4-6 weeks. These are a few of the more productive indices:

Optimizing The Search

One of the more daunting promotional tools actually began as a simple and quick way for sites to be found: search engines. However, because of the sheer number of sites on the Internet seeking recognition, the process of being found by a search engine has become a time-intensive procedure.

Each search engine uses a different method for finding sites, so it is important to do a bit of research on each to determine an optimal strategy. Ultimately it is up to you to remove the random responses that may appear before you are listed. Your goal is visibility. A higher ranking on a search engine will always deliver more visitors to your site.

Start by optimizing your own site. Include Meta text that will assist many search engines in determining the validity of your content and ultimately its value as a site for users. At the very least, include keywords and descriptions that will aid the searching robots and spiders. Keep your underlying structure for this accurate, short and focused. There are a number of excellent resources to help you improve this aspect of your site, including:

Submit, Submit, Submit!

The second step is fairly straightforward and usually takes only two or three minutes each. Visit each of the search engines and submit your site to be indexed.

Here's where it gets a bit tricky. Be sure to follow the directions given for each — to the word. Most search engines are automated and will spider your site within a few days or weeks, but some are still indexed either by employees or volunteers.

Since the volume of submissions grows at a disproportionate level to the number of employees (or reviewers), your entry might go unnoticed for quite some time. Don't despair ... stay focused. After 6-8 weeks, return to each engine and simply type your own URL in a search. If your site has been indexed, it will most likely appear as the first or second listing. If not, submit your program's site again. Eventually, your success with some search engines will actually generate cross-promoted responses in others.

Your very first submission should be The Open Directory Project. This is a volunteer organization and actually provides a critical service for dozens of search engines by hand categorizing and listing millions of sites. With a single submission to the ODP, you will appear on all participating search engines like Yahoo and AltaVista within weeks.

You may be aware of the most popular engines — Yahoo, Northern Light, Ask Jeeves and Lycos, for example — and have a preference among them, but there are literally hundreds of others that can supply a rich stream of qualified applicants. While by no means complete, a site called Top Search Engines (site closed) will provide easy access to about 39 of the search engines that reach almost all users and make the process at least somewhat simpler.

Award Applications

When you are first starting the promotion process, it's easy to forget that other awards programs provide a generous resource. Apply to as many other award programs as time permits and as appropriate to your site. Aside from improving the overall quality of your own site by example and experience, you will benefit directly by having your site publicly listed (if you win, of course).

A peripheral advantage lies in the fact that many search engines rely on external links to your site to validate its results. In other words, the more sites that link to your site (after all, a listing is a link), the better the chances of being recognized by many of the search engines.

As with any promotional venture, it is important to track your results. Not only should you follow up on award applications (if appropriate), but also on the links themselves. Make sure that if you are listed, the link to your site is accurate. A simple and courteous email can usually repair an errant address.

Each of these will generate an additional opportunity for someone to visit your site, and ultimately, search engines will index these results too. Each search engine has a different mechanism for checking links, however, there are a number of free sites that will take the guesswork out of your efforts. For example, to check whether MSN, AltaVista, Lycos and HotBot have recognized links to your site, simply visit Link Popularity Check (site closed) and enter your program's main URL.

Public Forums

A very effective way of directly promoting your program is participation in any number of public forums. Whenever appropriate, simply mention your award and be sure to include your URL. These types of public forums include message boards, guest books and even in chat sessions. Remember that if HTML may be used in a forum, your entry represents yet another link in your growing arsenal.

If possible, be sure to tag your signature with your program's address on all emails. This little detail adds credibility to your efforts and provides one-click access.

Your Own Backyard

Chances are good that if you have an award program, you also have another unrelated site. Since users may access that site from many different points, make sure each page has a small promotional mention of your award program — even if only a text link. It is sometimes surprising to visit a primary site and find little or no mention of the author's awards program.

Like all other promotion, treat this like a sale. Since many users don't notice small text links, add a graphic or two with an invitation to apply. You might even consider mentioning the award program within some of your other content. A quick glance at your user logs may reveal an overlooked, and perhaps unexpected, resource for your promotional efforts.

In some areas, you may also have an opportunity to freely promote your program with local media. Newspaper, radio and television sites often feature links to local personal Web sites. These listings are also free and, even if not available directly to your award program, may provide an indirect source as potential applicants visit your primary site.

Commitment

In the final analysis, your results will be in direct relation to the attention you pay to promotion. A daily or weekly dose of ongoing effort and maintenance will yield a disproportionately higher return. Unfortunately, Web sites are not like Hollywood's Field of Dreams — build it and they still might never come. But promote it, and they can't stay away!