First off… what is a Micro Site?

A micro site (or mini site, or weblet) is a small website property that is completely separate from a corporate or brand website. It’s usually succinct, contained site of just a few pages, with a separate domain name whose URL and content are focused on a singular product, property, event, service, or experience. In short, it’s for promoting something very specific to help it stand out much more than just another subpage on your main website.

What are the main benefits?

The main benefits of having these separate entities out on the Internet are:

- Search Engine Optimization: The more websites that exist apart from and link directly to your main site helps to add relevance to your brand with search engines.

• URLs: By having your brand name and valuable keywords in your micro site address, it helps to organically grow your search rankings.
• Links: A micro site with strategically placed and worded links back to your corporate site also will add relevance and value to your corporate site via search engine spiders. This is along the same lines as “link-trading,” whereby links to your URL existing on other websites
• Keyword-Rich Content: By having select keywords on a micro site, you can piggyback their SEO relevance back your main site’s organic ranking.

- Simplicity: It’s simpler to reference (and easier to remember) a URL like www.SixDigitBlogCreator.com rather than http://sixdigitmedia.com/our-products/blogs/theblogcreatosoftware

- Value: These sites can quickly be cloned and repurposed, easily and affordably. One small site is created as a de-facto template, and then another version can be copied for a new property in about a day and just a few hundred dollars. The change in content is minimal, making the turnaround time also minimal.

- Perception: Smaller companies can benefit from the perception that their company is larger by having a network of micro sites. This is not only so for search engines, but also for prospective investors! The idea of something having its own website still registers as a value-perceiving aspect among consumers. So, this can help not only SEO, but also actual Member registration.

- Flexibility: Since each micro site focuses on one specific entity, the tone of the entire site can be geared toward one audience segment. It’s not necessary to have content that speaks to a broad audience, which weakens effectiveness.

- Focus: A micro site is dedicated to one main thing or idea, making its content succinct and driving toward one goal. It also has very little in the way of distractions or variable drivers or calls-to-action. Essentially, you funnel the visitor into doing just one or two actions (i.e. “Get more information here” or “Call us today at 1-800-…).

- Awareness: Most businesses, when they come out with a new product, flavor, line extension, or event, create a micro site to promote awareness. Small businesses, having relatively little name awareness in the public domain, should do everything possible to have as many relevant entities bearing their company name on them.

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TJ Swing is the Owner of Six Digit Media. He has actively been involved in web development and design since 1998. He specializes in online marketing, web development and technical strategies for companies involved in online business. TJ has experience as a Technical Systems Analyst for Bridge Worldwide and a Web Content & Email Campaign Consultant for Epsilon, working with clients like P&G, Best Buy, US Bank, Fidelity, and more.