Last Thursday was the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day… and we’re still feeling green about the environment! If you are too then you’ll be interested in the list we put together of the 40 best websites for advertising to green consumers.

This “best of” list includes lots of eco-friendly websites to consider for your advertising dollars (all marketing budgets welcome!)

For example, websites dedicated to keeping everyone informed about environmental issues such as Mother Nature Network, Grist, and WebEcoist; those geared towards providing ideas and tips for living a sustainable lifestyle including TreeHugger, Worldchanging, and The Sustainability Ninja; along with sites offering a sense of community for people who want to make a difference, such as Care2 and Green Options.

The complete list of the Best Websites for Advertising to Green Consumers can be found on our Leadtail blog – Best Online Advertising Stuff.

Keep in mind that for many people, “going green” is a way of life, not a single act or purchase. Invest the time to craft the right message for this progressive audience, and you’ll be taking your “sustainable” sales growth all the way to the bank (in your hybrid car, of course)!

Know of a great green site that didn’t make our list? Share it in the comments!

Site maps are sexy. Yes they are. Maybe not to you and me… but the search engines sure like them and that’s all that matters. Of course, your website visitors will appreciate them too. But (as usual) we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

What is a site map and why do you care?

Just like the name implies, it’s a map of your website. Or said another way, it’s a web page that contains direct links to every page of your website and:

• Makes it easy for search engines to find (index) all your pages while providing powerful clues as to the type of content on your website. This means it’s more likely that your website will show up in the right search results!

• Helps visitors see the breadth of information on your site and makes navigation easier by giving them another way to find what they’re looking for.

• Shows a bird’s eye view of things which helps when you’re planning to add new pages and sections to your website.

Are you ready to create your very own site map?

If you have a fairly simple website (say, 50 pages or less) then just create a web page and add your links in a clear and organized bullet point format. Start with your main sections (e.g., Products, Support, About Us) and then add the links underneath that correspond to those sections.

Your website more complicated than that?

Then use one of the free or affordable site map tools such as: Free Sitemap Generator, Sitemapper, AllWebMenus, and XML Sitemaps.com. Besides quickly generating a regular site map, these tools can also create an XML site map (learn more) to submit to search engines. This will come in handy if your website is new or if you’ve recently made a bunch of changes and need to tell the search engines.

When done right, your site map will look like a table of contents or maybe like Yahoo! Directory with each topic having its relevant links under it.

Now just add a “Site Map” link to your website navigation so that it shows up on every page of your site. That way the search engines and your website visitors can always find it.

It’s time to create your site map… but don’t take too long. The search engines are waiting!