If you have been following this website promotion series of articles, you would now be aware that there are many ways to promote your website online.
Ways to Promote Your Website – Part 1 of 3
Ways to Promote Your Website – Part 2 of 3
In parts one and two (linked above), a number of promotional angles were covered that included writing fresh content, incorporating keywords, creating Meta tags, writing blogs, participating in forums and establishing a mailing list.
In our final of three instalments, we’ll close out our top nine strategies by covering the remaining three: creating search engine listings, getting linked and branding everything.
Create more SE listings / Buy ads
The more search engine listings, the better. I don’t wish to whip a dead horse but five, twenty, fifty needles in the haystack are better than one. Take any opportunity to increase your exposure by creating more points of entry to your main business site.
Ways to get your site linked can include having multiple web sites, submitting your web page URL to free online directories, signing up for local business listings and establishing a blog space, among others. If you have some money to play with, look into paid listings (they give you priority), online Yellow Page ads, Ad Words campaigns and other PPC (Pay Per Click) options etc.
Again, you really need to weigh up the pros and cons. Start by asking yourself, what are the perceived benefits? Can I carry out testing to see which marketing strategy works best? What is my budget?
Get linked / social media
A component of getting a strong page rank (getting your website appearing high in listings) is by having your site linked from others. The more links you have to your site, the more ‘popular’ the search engines deem you. It highlights to the search engines that you are interesting enough to be listed on a multitude of Internet sites.
Other ways to promote your business website is to link and make reference to it from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Similar to email, the ease and efficiency of reaching thousands of contacts makes it very appealing. Make use of these technologies with the followers you already have. Aim to build your ‘fan base’ and grow the awareness of your business.
Add your business identity everywhere
Branding is how businesses are identified. Logos, taglines, colours etc all contribute to a company being remembered. Think of the Nike tick and saying “Just Do It”, or McDonalds golden ‘M’ – instantly recognisable.
By branding all of your business communications, you are continually advertising to your customers and prospects. Add your logos, taglines and contact details to your email signatures, invoices, quotes, business cards, letterheads, brochures, newsletters, mail flyers, product documentation, service slips and anywhere else you can think of. The more places your brand appears, the more chance someone will take notice.
So there you have it – nine tried and tested ways to promote your website. Just to recap, in no way have these suggestions detailed an exhaustive list, but I do believe they are strong candidates, worthy of your consideration.
You will find that in addition to the above strategies, there may be other suitable (or more applicable) ways to promote your site including advertising through the media, using newsgroups and newsfeeds, writing articles, word of mouth, videos, other multimedia and various forms of press releases. Once you become familiar with them, you will be in a better position to make an informed decision on those that will best suit your requirements.
Reread the three ‘Ways to Promote Your Website’ articles, research your own strategies and set forth on the ever changing and challenging journey of online promotion. Best of luck. Michael Soininen
