Why would a software company ignore one of the simplest and fastest methods for online product promotion? If it weren't for the fact that I manage a shareware website and am always looking for new software to add to my site, this question would appear to be rhetorical. The issue is that I only have access to PAD files for half of the apps I wish to add to my database.
The data that a developer would typically enter into a web form on a software website is included in a straightforward XML file called a PAD file. Making a PAD file does not require any XML expertise. A free one is available at http://www.padgen.org.
The computer program is essentially self-explanatory. Simply complete the forms. To build a pad file and post it to your website, it simply takes around a half an hour. If you already have a website to advertise your product, it takes even less time. The information you already have can then be copied and pasted. Once your PAD file is finished, uploading it to shareware websites is as simple as copying and pasting the address.
Why, therefore, isn't PAD technology applied more frequently? Of course, ignorance is a possibility. Now, to be ignorant is not a bad thing.
It simply means that you are unaware of a technique that, depending on whose statistics you use, allows you to submit to anywhere between 300 and 700 software sites online in an hour and triples the number of downloads for your items.
The majority of sites that employ pad files don't even demand a membership. My own does not. Therefore, in the time it takes to copy and paste the address of your pad file into a single form, hit submit, and then select a category, you could submit your software to a single website. Next, you move on to the next location. Accept and move on.
You can download computer programs that will handle the submitting process for you if it still feels like too much labor. In the time it takes you to have lunch, it may complete your software submissions to hundreds of websites.
Or perhaps software marketers are simply unaware of the benefits of submitting their products to software review sites. In fact, people visit software websites to find software. That sounds like a ridiculous statement, but it isn't when you consider that, with the possible exception of DMOZ or Yahoo, most general directories are rarely used as search tools. They are now primarily used as SEO tools. Google, Yahoo, or MSN are the search engines people turn to when they need general information.However, when people search for software, they frequently get on a shareware website and stay there for some time.
Or perhaps you don't create shareware. You must first buy the software before it can be utilized. Due to the possibility of it being cracked, there is no trial period. It's alright. I really comprehend this motive. Before giving up on shareware as a whole, I was a developer who had my program stolen three times. However, that doesn't preclude you from developing a demo, a standalone application that serves as a teaser. It won't take long for the software user to decide to purchase the full version. Just be careful not to tease too much in your demo.
In this way, uploading PAD files to software sites accomplishes two goals at once. Yes, you receive many links pointing back to your website, but those links serve purposes other than simply boosting your pagerank. In fact, people will use them to access your website. We software engineers have a technology that, compared to other marketers, makes the procedure much simpler and faster. Now that you know, not using it is being lazy.
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