In order for you to build traffic to your website, people need to be able to find your site and its address (called an URL). The most common way to do this is to use an Internet Search Engine such as Google, Yahoo or MSN.
[The other way is for constituents to come across your site address though local marketing within your community. This will be discussed in Phase 2].
In the past, organizations would submit their URL to these search engines as a way to get into their database. While you can still submit an address to them, they principally find and rank websites through the use of web crawlers which continuously search internet pages for links to other pages to ultimately build a vast search catalogue. NOW, THE KEY TO GETTING A STRONG LISTING WITHIN THESE SEARCH ENGINES IS TO ESTABLISH LINKS BETWEEN YOUR SITE AND OTHER SITES.
Here are our recommended PHASE 1 steps:
1. Add or confirm your correct website link on the Massachusetts Municipal Association listing of City & Town Websites.
2. Make sure your website link is included in your Community Profile on the Mass.Gov website.
3. Make sure your website link is listed on ALL OTHER municipal websites within your community. These will vary by community and may include:
- School District (Also Technical and Vocational School Links)
- Fire Department
- Police Department
- Library
- Water Department
- Light Deparment
- Water/Sewer Treatment Plant
- Any other individual dept sites (DPW, Community Planning, Assessor, etc).
4. Request a website listing with all significant community/nonprofit organizations within your area. (You may need to provide a reciprocal listing for them on your site, but it may be well worth it). These may include:
- Local Chamber of Commerce
- Economic Development Commission
- Regional Planning Commisssion
- Regional Transit Authorities
- Historical Societies
- League of Women Voters
- Rotary Clubs, etc.
The following links will provide additional background information on search engines.
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