The Day I Visited Every Web Site in the World

Did I ever tell you about the day I visited every Web site in the world?

It was at the end of 1995, when I was working in the U.K. on contract. I had no immediate work to do that day, but my boss needed me to hang around in case something came up. So he told me to "surf the Web" while waiting.

I didn't know much about the Web at that time, even though I'd been using other things on the Internet for 8 years. I found Yahoo!, which was the world's only search engine at the time. It was just one big long page of links. There were only 168 of them, so I clicked them all ... and visited every Web site in the world!

Of course, that was back in 1995!

In November 2006, a report estimated there were 100 million Web sites (Too many to visit in a day ). And of course, the numbers have gone up even more since then.

Somewhere between 168 Web sites and 100,000,000 Web sites, something changed. And it changed the face of Internet marketing.

Here's the key ...

Just a few years ago, when somebody wanted to find out about you, they would go to your Web site. But now they don't have the time to do that. Oh, sure, if it's important they'll take the time to visit your site. And if they're serious about doing business with you, they'll eventually get there.

But it's no longer their first port of call.

And that's important!

Because it means you have to convince people you're an expert BEFORE they ever visit your Web site.

How do you do that?

Glad you asked .

You do it by blogging.
And podcasting.
And participating in forums.
And updating pages on Wikipedia.
And putting little video clips on YouTube.
Or even commenting on other people's videos on YouTube.
And writing an e-book that you freely pass on to others.
And publishing an e-mail newsletter.
And writing articles and submitting them to article directories.

In other words: Participate.

It's no longer enough to build a tiny little Web site in one corner of the Web and hope people will come streaming by. Don't be an on-line hermit - it doesn't work any more.

So how do you get started?

Take part in on-line conversations that matter.

I'm not suggesting you visit every Web site in the world, as I did in 1995 . But I am suggesting you find some on-line communities relevant to your area of expertise.

Find a forum, a bulletin board, a chat room or a discussion board. And start participating. Not to sell, promote, advertise or spruike your services. But to be an active member of an on-line community.

"Doesn't this take time and effort?" (I hear you cry)

Yep! But it's better than spending your time and effort in things that don't work as well any more (Google advertising, for example).

Key words: Internet Marketing, forums, Web 2.0

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Gihan Perera is the author of "Get Active: Web Sites for Speakers, Trainers, Coaches and Consultants" and "Fast, Flat and Free: What You Need to Know to Stay Ahead in a Connected World". Visit http://GihanPerera.com and get your complimentary copies now.

I would also appreciate receiving a copy of the issue in which it appears, if that is convenient.