Web Tips

How Can I Market My Website With Minimal Investment?

First and foremost, a web site cannot promote itself. This may seem commonsense, but many people think that if they put a great site on the web, people will automatically go to it. Newsflash…there are millions of web sites on the World Wide Web, and probably hundreds, or at least dozens, that are very similar to your own. So how do you set yours apart without spending a ton of cash? Here are a few good ideas we found:

Newsletters. It gets the word out that things are happening at your site or business. It’s a great idea to have a “subscribe to our newsletter” link on your website, as well as a “tell a friend” type of link in your newsletter. This will inevitably help traffic trickle, or pour, in. We recommend Constant Contact for an easy and professional way to send a newsletter. Just remember to keep is simple, informative, and low in advertisements.

Promotions. Not spam. Not cheese. Good, subtle, effective promotion. Perhaps an offer for free e-mail, forum, or special rates, etc.

Link Exchange. You can do this the old fashioned way, by contacting web site owners and flattering them by asking to place their link on your site. While this can be time consuming, most times they will reciprocate with a thank you and offer to do the same. However, choose carefully. There are pros and cons to exchanging links with more successful competitors: Pro – they have higher traffic to their web site, and if your link is on their site, you will most likely get more traffic to yours. Con – if you have their link on your web site, you could risk losing some traffic (potential clients) to them. So…make sure you research and thoroughly examine your choices. Perhaps a better choice to exchange links with is a site that has similar services to your own without having competing services. Another option would be a site that has tutorials, how-tos, or news on subject matter that is relevant to your site. The key here is to share links with sites that would appeal to the same traffic base as your own.

A Good Reputation. This means a good service, good communication, professionalism, and appeal. And folks, this one is vital.

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