1. Web Site Creation and Promotion Nancy Soreide NOAA/PMEL Nancy.N.Soreide@noaa.gov

2. Vision A NOAA Web consisting of focused, world-class web sites explaining NOAA’s work in terms easily understood by a wide range of users.

3. Method Create a world class web site Good design Good, scientifically validated content Promote the web site Effective advertisement Register with search engines Request links to your site

4. Create a world class web site Use good design principles Good design, organization, navigation http://usability.gov/guides/ Accessible – Section 508 http://www.doc.gov/webresources/Standard6.html Assure that the content is of the very highest quality!!!

5. Submit to the search engines Over 85% of web users use a Search Engine to find information. So your effort here really pays off! There are MANY search engines: Google, HotBot, Excite, AltaVista, Lycos, Inktomi, and many many more Prepare a succinct description of your web site Sometimes you can use only a phrase, or sometimes up to a few sentences.

6. Use the Submit It! utility Submit It! submits to many search engines http://submitit.bcentral.com/ Click on “sign up now” Look for free option (I have never paid) It will lead you through the submission to many search engines

7. Submit directly Submit your site directly to the popular search engines Look for “submit your URL” or “suggest a site” Keep looking! Be persistent, and register with ALL search engines! Every time you find a new search engine, REGISTER WITH IT.

8. Register with Yahoo Go to www.yahoo.com Find the right Yahoo category for your site This is time consuming, but necessary! From this category, click on “suggest a site” at the bottom of the page Read and follow the directions

9. Request others to link to you Search the web for sites that you wish were linking to you. Note where on the site your URL should go Look for the webmaster email address Be a detective. Go back to their home page, and keep looking. It will be somewhere. Be persistent! Send their webmaster an email Politely offer your site as a candidate for them to link to Send up to 100 of these emails! Persist! Each time you find an appropriate site, request a link!

10. Asking for a link… Examples NOAA Home Page, NSF pages, Smithsonian pages, USA Today, Scientific American, educational sites, etc. But be certain it is really appropriate for your web page!!! Send their webmaster an email politely offering your site as a candidate for them to link to: Request the link Suggest where their site might link to you (by URL) Describe your site Present your site’s credentials Provide contact information

11. Please consider linking to NOAA's Arctic Theme Page, which links Arctic related data from widely distributed national and international research institutes, to form a rich and comprehensive resource web site focused on the Arctic: http://www.arctic.noaa.gov Our site might be appropriate under the Arctic Sciences Section of the Office of Polar Programs "Related links" at http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/wwwsites.htm#arctic. Continued on next page… Example email: (This is an email that I sent to the webmaster at NSF) Request the link… Suggest where their site might link to you… Include your URL…

12. Included in the NOAA Arctic theme page are: Essays on key Arctic issues by respected Arctic scientists Frequently Asked Questions About the Arctic Current status of the Arctic environment Central access to widely-distributed data and information related to the Arctic from research institutions world-wide Color graphics and animations of Arctic related data Educational links, including topics such as Northern Lights, Arctic pollution, animals, maps, Arctic exploration, Native Peoples, and more. Continued on next page… Continued from preceding page… Describe your site…

13. The Arctic Theme page is sponsored by NOAA's Arctic Research Office at http://aro.oar.noaa.gov/, and has been favorably reviewed by Science Magazine, Scientific American, Yahoo, USA Today, etc. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me or webmaster@arctic.noaa.gov. Regards, Nancy Soreide ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nancy N. Soreide Internet: nns@pmel.noaa.gov Associate Director for Information Technology NOAA/PMEL/OD Phone: 206-526-6728 7600 Sand Point Way NE FAX: 206-526-6815 Seattle, WA 98115 http://www.pmel.noaa.gov ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Continued from preceding page… Present credentials and provide contact info…

14. The Payoff If your site has value Great content, good design and navigation And you are persistent They will link to you Others will find their links to you Your web traffic will grow You will get rave reviews http://www.epic.noaa.gov/talks/nns/outreach2002