Are you truly using technology in your web business? Before
you answer yes, stop a moment and consider how many
promotion or marketing tasks take place at your website
without you lifting a finger.
Perhaps your site signs up new opt-in subscribers for you
while you sleep. If so, that's ONE automated task. Maybe
orders are accepted securely without your intervention.
That's TWO. But can you keep counting?
If you have a little trouble going beyond that, what follows
will help you.
As you probably already know, perhaps the most powerful of
all applications on the Internet is the CGI script. CGI
stands for the "Common Gateway Interface". It is a standard
for interfacing external applications with information
servers, such as HTTP or Web servers. If you have a website,
more than likely you already have cgi based software running
at your site. But your profits could probably benefit greatly
from a few more.
Now don't worry, I'm not going to go into a long, boring
explanation of how to install cgi scripts. I'll save that
for the techhies. Instead, I'll simply share a wide variety
of scripts that are ideal for small business owners
looking to grow website traffic and sales.
(Note: If you're not at all familiar with CGI,
http://www.cgi101.com/ is a great place to learn about how
it works. Remember, if it all seems too confusing, fear not.
Using CGI can be as simple as picking out a script and
having someone else set it up!)
Anyway, on with the scripts...
Automark
http://www.superscripts.com/scripts/automark.html
Automark is a cgi script that will automatically pop up a
"bookmark" suggestion box for first-time visitors to your
website. While this can be accomplished using straight
javacode, this script will not annoy regular visitors by
popping up the window every time they return. The first time
a new visitor hits your "target page" the bookmark window
pops up, but never again. This is a great way to get your
site bookmarked by more visitors.
MailNow
http://www.mailnow.co.uk/
MailNow allows you to provide web-based email to your users.
Its web-based email product provides unlimited addresses for
multiple domains. A free email account is a great giveaway
that ensures constant repeat visitors to your site.
Master Subscriber Pro
http://willmaster.com/master/subscriberpro/index.shtml
This program automates joint ventures with other ezine
publishers. Using this script your visitors can subscribe to
an unlimited number of ezines without leaving your website
to do so. Locate a few ezine publishers with traffic
comparable to yours and you'll all increase your new
subscriber signups!
Protect It
http://www.cgi-world.com/protect_it.html
This script offers a simple way to setup .htaccess or
.nsconfig type user authentication to your web directories
using username / password. It is a solid solution for
managing private site signups. This script features auto-
creation and expiration of accounts, account edit features,
a customizable email template, and many other configurable
settings.
Master Reciprocal Links
http://willmaster.com/master/rlinks/index.shtml
Most search engines favor sites with links from other
similar sites. But growing and maintaining a list of links
can be a lot of work. Here's a free script that will
automate these tasks for you. Not only does the program make
it easy to maintain a links page, it also finds out who the
cheats are!
Your Own Associate Program
http://www.palis.com/new/yoap16/index.htm
Leverage the efforts of hundreds or even thousands of other
webmasters by opening up an affiliate program at your site.
This script by Paul Galloway runs my program automatically
and is used by many high-profile marketers.
Master Syndicator
http://willmaster.com/master/syndicator/index.shtml
Do you offer articles, images or other content to
webmasters, to use on their own sites? Here's a way to
automate the process -- for you AND them! This script lets
webmasters add two lines of JavaScript code on their page at
the location where your content is to appear. Then, all you
do is paste your column into your own Syndicator form and
with one click you can automatically update every
syndication websites' pages, all at once. Pretty slick eh?
CDomain Pro
http://www.cdomain.com
This script contains a domain lookup which helps your
visitors find existing domains and it also includes a
powerful domain name wizard. The wizard combines descriptive
words that your visitors enter and presents them with a list
of related domain names that are available. If you are a
domain name reseller, this lightning-fast, user friendly
script is ideal, as it can take your visitors right to your
domain name registration service. I liked this one so much I
had it installed at my site! You can demo it at:
http://www.bizweb2000.com/wizard.htm
If you feel that any of these scripts would enhance your
website, visit the URL and learn more. Or, if you have an
idea for your site and would like to automate the process,
you can search for a script at <www.cgi-resources.com>.
And remember, don't pass up a script because of limited
knowledge of cgi. While you can install cgi scripts on your
server yourself, you can also hire someone else to do it.
The key is to never stop transforming your site into a
powerful lead and sale generator - and these scripts do just
that!
About the Author
Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing Company. Jim's free
lessons will increase your website traffic. Visit
http://www.bizweb2000.com/articles.htm or opt-in to his
famous BizWeb eGazette. It's free forever...
mailto:optin@bizweb2000.com
