So you've created a website for yourself. You've secured excellent positions with all of
the major search engines, and you have a plum spot in
the Yahoo web directory. You've even signed up to swap
banner advertisements with link exchange
members. However, chances are good that you still aren't getting the traffic you were
anticipating. You're now left wondering, "What else can I do to increase the
popularity of my site?"
Jim and Maureen Palmer, owners of Deputy Dawg Kennels, were in this exact situation. The
Palmers breed and sell purebred Bloodhounds as show dogs, tracking dogs, and lovable pets.
They registered the domain gotbloodhounds.com,
and had a nice site created by R2 Web Design. But
with a litter of pups on the way, they had very little site traffic, and no buyers.
But Deputy Dawg Kennels is a little different than most kennels. The Palmers are unique in
that they offer unrestricted registration on their dogs. This means that when you purchase
an AKC certified pup from the Palmers, you can breed your dog, and you can enter your pup
as a show dog in any major bloodhound event. Almost all breeders sell their dogs
with restricted registrations designed to discourage competition with the breeder. A
restricted registration means that you cannot breed the dog you buy, and you cannot
compete against the breeder's dog in a Show Dog event.
Another breeder noticed the Palmers' new site in a search engine and decided to browse
the site. The breeder noticed a brief statement indicating that the dogs would be sold
with an unrestricted registration, and became irate. The breeder happened to be a member
of a Bloodhound e-mail group, so he promptly e-mailed the other members in the group to
let them know about the site.
Needless to say, word about the site spread rapidly through the members of this e-mail
group and beyond. Almost overnight, the Palmer website began to receive
thousands of hits (visits) per day, and the Palmers were flooded with e-mail. Most of the
messages they received were from angry breeders, who accused the Palmers of operating a
'puppy mill' and degrading the value of the breed. Jim and Maureen responded politely to
each angry missive, denying the accusations. In fact, the Palmers live on a thousand-acre
ranch, where their dogs have plenty of room to run, play, and explore. Their dogs
are family pets, and probably think of themselves as being more human than dog.
The Palmers didn't understand the furror. After all, they reasoned, if
someone is willing to buy our dog, shouldn't they be able to show it or breed it as they
wish? Nonetheless, the Palmers wisely saw the unexpected controversy as a valuable way
to generate hits, and they asked their site designer to feature the words registration
will be unrestricted more prominently on the site.
For days, it seemed as if everybody on the Internet was upset with Deputy Dawg Kennels.
Still, the Palmers read and responded promptly to each and every e-mail message that
arrived. Slowly but surely, some positive e-mail started getting through. People started
inquiring about the puppies, and many people even e-mailed to say that they agreed with
the Palmers' registration philosophy.
The Palmers, who live in California, receive daily inquiries on the pups from around
the world. They have already received several deposits, including one for 'pick of
the litter.' They are even negotiating to provide an Alabama Police Department with
Bloodhound pups to help track down missing persons and drugs.
So what's the point of this story? Any publicity is good publicity. If your
business challenges conventions and does things a little differently, don't be afraid to
say so! Controversy generates word of mouth, word of mouth turns to visits, and visits
eventually translate to sales. You don't have to wait for someone else to tell people
about your site. If you're struggling to get traffic to your site, BE BOLD! The
Internet is full of e-mail groups and newsgroups on just about every subject, idea, person,
place, animal, and event imaginable. Use these groups to your advantage. Offer
something that nobody else offers, and let people know about it. It's not a good idea to
blatantly advertise in newsgroups, but there's no harm in being helpful, answering
questions, and giving yourself a subtle plug at the same time. It only takes one visitor
to make a huge difference!
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Any Publicity is Good Publicity by Robert Viers