How To Promote Your Blog/Website
>> Saturday, April 25, 2009
When people start an internet business they don't have a clue how to go about their marketing campaign. They end up posting ads aimlessly to places that do nothing but send them spam and waste time and money. Then, after a couple weeks without results, they give up. And it it happening with people everyday. So, in this section we will look at a number of techniques which you can use to your advantage when promoting your new website. When used correctly these marketing techniques will dramatically increase traffic and sales without emptying your bank account.
1. Web Classifieds & Directories
Good quality links - especially from webpages on a similar topic to yours - are crucial to getting ranked well in the search engine results. The search engines figure that sites with more good links to them are more important & will reward them with better rankings. And, of course, people will find your site through links too. So submitting your site to a quality directories and and placing adds on a high rated classified sites will not only bring more people to your website but also will help search engines to find your website faster and also will increase your site rating in search engines. read more on classifieds or read more on directories.
2. Link Exchanges
This is a fantastic way to increase the importance of your website in the eyes of the search engines. The rationale that the search engines use is that if other sites are linking to yours, then your site must be important. A link from another site to your site is considered a "vote" for your site. The more of these votes, the better; to an extent, of course. Steer clear of such black hat techniques as link farms and free for all (FFA) sites. I recommend starting by asking your vendors, suppliers and customers if they could link to your site in exchange for a link to theirs. You could then branch out into related businesses that service a different audience.
3. Search Engine Submission
This step is critical for any brand new website. You'll want to let the major search engines know that your new site exists, and prompting them to visit it with a search engine submission campaign is a great start. Don't bother buying a big 1500-engine submission package ? there's only about 7 to 10 major search engines worth worrying about, and once you're listed on these, the other 1490 will pick you up (not that they'll send you any measurable traffic?). The controversy here is whether or not to continue a submission campaign. Does it help an established site? Does it hurt it? A big tip to give you here is to be sure to work hard to get your site listed in the important directories like Google and Yahoo.
4. Electronic Newsletter / EMAIL Marketing
An electronic newsletter is a fantastic method for staying in touch with not only existing customers, but potential customers as well. Provide useful, interesting information on a regular basis and be sure that people can subscribe and unsubscribe easily. Utilizing a good tool (e.g. auto responder or follow up service) will make your life easier and allow people to forward the newsletter to their friends and colleagues (known as Viral Marketing). You can also use the newsletter as a vehicle for announcements or specials. Never charge anything to subscribers, and build your list by running contests or promotions or free giveaways.
5. Article Writing
Writing articles is another great way to generate a lot of quality traffic as well as make a name for yourself on the internet. All you do is write on a topic you know about and submit it to places that accept article submissions. This one scares people at first because they don't think they can write. Trust me it's not as hard as you may think to find a topic you know something about. Then just write a couple pages about it. For example: I never used to think I could write articles but you are reading this one right now, aren't you?
6. Forum Submissions
Basically all you do with this one is go to internet business forums and post answers to people's questions. This one is more for making a solid reputation for yourself as a knowledgeable and trustworthy individual.
7. Pay-per-click
I saved this one until last as I believe it is the single most important item in this list. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember pay-per-click (or PPC). By paying for visits from people who are searching on keywords related to your product or service, you are almost ensuring that your website will generate more revenue with a higher conversion rate of visitors to customers. The more popular programs include Google AdWords, Overture Content Match and Site Match, as well as smaller players like FindWhat, Kanoodle and Mamma. read more
What NOT to do when promoting your business - Do not send out unsolicited (spam) emails to people. All that will do is get you in trouble and won't produce very good results anyway. Don't post to FFA (free for all) sites. All you will get back from them is a bunch of junk in your inbox so it's not worth your time. Also, don't use unethical business practices of any kind. If you are not sure about something then ask someone. Always use your better judgment.
