Internet web site promotion is one of those things that make you
go “hmmm”…
Seriously, there are so many ways to promote a website that
reviewing options for internet web site promotion and ultimately
choosing a route for promoting your website can be mind boggling.
It will much easier for you to decide which internet web site
promotion techniques are in your best interest if you have an
overview of the many options that are available. Providing an
overview that will enable you to make better decisions for your
internet web site promotion is my goal for this article.
Following are some simple explanations of common internet web
site promotion tools and techniques…
1. Publishing a newsletter
Publishing a newsletter is an internet web site promotion
technique that helps you to collect email addresses for opt-in
email campaigns as well as keeping you connected with previous
website visitors resulting in continuous web site promotion to
qualified individuals who have chosen to subscribe to your
newsletter.
2. Email marketing
Many internet marketers have found that email marketing is a
powerful web site promotion tool. The main thing to avoid with
email marketing is SPAMMING, which is sending unsolicited email
messages to recipients. For email marketing to be effective and
legal you have to have an opt-in list, a list of email addresses
for people who have chosen to receive email marketing messages
from you or on the topic you are addressing.
These opt-in lists for internet web site promotion can be
obtained through your newsletter or website, or can be purchased
from third-parties. However, if you purchase opt-in lists from
third-parties, always make sure that you know how the addresses
on the list were collected to ensure that they truly are
targeted, opt-ins.
3. Offering freebies
Because of human nature, people love free stuff – free products,
free information, free graphics, free services, anything free is
hot so offering freebies can be a good internet web site
promotion technique.
Publishing free articles that are of interest to your target
market, or better yet, giving away free articles with the right
to republish, is an excellent internet web site promotion
technique as long as the article contains information that will
direct readers to your site and republishing rights clearly state
that the information cannot be altered or removed prior to
republishing.
4. Classifieds and e-zine advertising
Just like in the “real” business world where classified ads and
magazine advertisements are good promotional techniques,
classifieds and e-zines can be a great internet web site
promotion medium. There are a number of category specific
classified ad sites on the internet through which you can
purchase classified advertisements. There are also e-zines which
are effectively electronic magazines, as well as newsletters,
that offer classified advertising services.
5. Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is a technique that optimizes your
website so when submitted to the search engines, it will get
indexed with a good rank. Effective search engine optimization
requires ongoing monitoring and adjustments to maintain your rank
in the search engine results. Though obtaining and maintaining a
good search engine ranking can be difficult, it is undoubtedly
the most effective internet web site promotion technique because
prospects that are looking for your products, services or
information will use the search engines to find you.
6. Shopping bots
Shopping bots are nifty internet web site promotion tools because
they help shoppers to find the best deal for whatever they are
shopping for. They actually give shoppers a comparison of various
websites that are offering the products or services with a brief
description of the offering and the price. Effective use of
shopping bots as an internet web site promotion tool will send
qualified shoppers that are ready to buy to your website.
7. Pay-per-click advertising
Pay-per-click advertising is an internet web site promotion tool
that enables you to bid on keywords that will put your website in
the top ranking in search engines.
8. Viral marketing
Viral marketing is one of the easiest and most inexpensive
internet web site promotion techniques. By including information
about your website at the end of email messages and other
correspondence to your contacts, the information will be spread
through a network of your contacts to others they come in contact
with.
9. Newsgroup participation
If used properly, industry-based newsgroups can be awesome
internet web site promotion channels. By participating in a
newsgroup you can build your reputation as an expert in your
field as well as building trust-based relationships with those
interested in your products or services.
10. Press releases
Press releases are often underrated as internet web site
promotion tools. Press releases are actually sent to the media to
break news about your company. An effective press release that
captures a reporter’s attention has the potential of producing
massive media coverage that will be good for your internet web
site promotion.
11. Link campaigns
Link campaigns are relatively inexpensive ways to accomplish
internet web site promotion. The main point is to get relevant
websites to put your link on their site so their site visitors
can follow it to your website. This can be done through a
reciprocal link agreement, a link exchange where you put their
link on your site in exchange for them putting yours on their
site, or by paying for the placement of your link. Providing high
quality content that is of interest to another site’s customers
is also a great way to get others to link to your site.
12. Banner ads
Banner ads are ads that you buy that are displayed on other
websites. At one time they were thought to be an incredible
internet web site promotion technique, but over time they have
diminished in value. Even so, banner ads can still be used for
internet web site promotion.
13. Affiliate programs
When you have your own affiliate program, you basically
accomplish internet web site promotion via affiliates who
advertise your products and services for you for a fee. The fee
structure for an affiliate program is sometimes based on a
commission of sales from an affiliate’s referrals or on a pay-
per-visit structure for visits to your site that result from the
affiliate’s efforts. Affiliate programs aren’t only a great
internet web site promotion technique; they are also an
incredible tool for multiplying your sales through increased
marketing efforts that essentially cost you nothin