"If you build it, they will come" is not necessarily true on the Web. Putting a website up is one thing, but getting visitors to come to your site is another. The process becomes even more difficult if you have limited resources to market your business.
Here are some shoestring marketing ideas that can help you get the visitors you need at the least cost possible:
1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement - if visitors love your content, then they will go back and spread the word to others.
2. Make it easy for users to recommend your site. Viral marketing is very important -- and easy to tap on the Web. But give your users the tools. Get a Recommend this Site script from websites such as cgiscripts.com and similar directories of scripts. Some even go as far as giving incentives to those who recommend the site to their friends. If only 10 people go to your site, but these 10 people invite 10 more - that's additional traffic that you get for FREE!
Recommend Site Scripts (various) http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Scripts/Website_Promotion/Recommend_Site/
Big Nose Bird Recommend this Site http://bignosebird.com/carchive/birdcast.shtml
CGI Resource Index http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_and_Scripts/Perl/Website_Promotion/Recommend_Site/
Hostscripts http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_and_Programs/Site_Recommendation/index.html
3. Rank well in the search engines (organic search results, not the pay per click). SEs can be a big source of traffic. The key is to create the best content in your niche. If you have good content, other websites will gladly link to you and offer your site as a resource to their audience. Check the on-page factors and be sure to get linked from authority sites in your topic area.
If you are going to read only one piece on search engine optimization, I suggest you read Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld.com's "Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone: 26 steps to 15k a day." http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/2010.htm
SEO for Google http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/google.htm
SEO for Yahoo! http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/yahoo.htm
SEO for MSN http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/msn.htm
Tying It Together: SEO For The Big Three http://www.powerhomebiz.com/052006/seo.htm
4. Send out press releases. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News. My website (see my profile) accepts free press release submission (no strings attached!)
5. Submit articles. Write articles and submit them to websites accepting author submissions. You get exposure for your business; establishes you as an authority in your field, and allows you to get backlinks for your website. If 50 websites publish your article and it contains a link back to your website, then you easily get 50 links from a single article. The more links you have, the greater your chances for increasing your search engine rankings.
Here is a comprehensive list of where to submit your articles http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=AhzreGmnCUicOoyedqypscUjzKIX?qid=1006022407481
6. Improve your conversion. Getting visitors is one thing; getting them to buy your products is a whole different story. Read the article "10 Ways to Convert Visitors to Buyers" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/072005/conversion.htm for tips on how to improve your conversion rates.
. Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/...
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/guide/cases/ii-lexi.htm
2006-06-26 15:41:54
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answer #1
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answered by imisidro 7
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Everybod wants "free". There is however a great way to get targeted traffic without paying. Go to this site and look at the info about driving traffic to your site. Then read the article at the second link.
2006-06-24 18:57:27
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answer #2
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answered by Looking Up 5
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One word of advice, Never buy crappy softwares promising to blast your ads to millions of sites. They're just too ridiculous to be true.
There are free ways and cheap ways you can get major traffic on your website. for the free means:
1. u can submit ur site for free to yahoo, msn, google, and aol.
2. Submit your site to major web site directories, especially DMOZ
3. join forums that are related to ur site, and Strategically mention your web site in message boards and newsgroups with a similar topic. search engines love to visit forums and message boards a lot.
4. consider writing free articles and mentioning ur site in the articles.
5. Exchange links with other webmasters, but only with sites that are related to yours (reciprocal linking)
Ok, those are the free means. the other alternative you have is to pay a company to do all the work for you. But you know there're lots of liers out there so be careful which company you choose.
personally, i can only recommend you to a site http://qualitybase.org/sp.aspx . they helped me with my SEO, and their service is very well worth it.
If u hire a professional, they'll do all the work for you with ur meta tags and keywords. But if u self promote ur site, just make sure you use the right keywords.
I also think one of the cheapest ways to advertise is email marketing. Buy bulk emails, and send them out. Here's a good resource for email marketing http://qualitybase.org/emails.aspx
2006-06-24 19:59:26
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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There are two types of near free advertising I know of.
PR -Get journalists or bloggers to write about you business
Viral Marketing- Create an email that would be interesting enough that people might forward it to each other and is also somehow related to your business.
2006-06-24 17:31:21
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answer #4
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answered by text avitar 2
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