Ten Free Ways to Promote Your Site, Part One

Need traffic, but don't have a lot to spend promoting your site? Here are ten ways to attract visitors that won't cost you a dime!

SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION

While quite a few engines require you to pay to be included in the database or to bid for rankings, there are still search engines that allow you to submit for free.

You can use one of the automated programs readily available to submit your URL to x thousand search engines, but most of your traffic will likely come from the "big boys" - and it's a snap to submit to them manually.

Many of the search engine crawlers will find YOU if you establish quality links to your site, but it won't hurt to submit the URL yourself, just to be safe.

A few places to submit your URL for free:

Google (http://www.google.com/addurl.html) Potential for LOTS of traffic with a good ranking.
Alta Vista (http://addurl.altavista.com/)
AllTheWeb.com (http://www.alltheweb.com/help/webmaster/submit_site)

You should also submit to the Open Directory Project, which is a directory, not a search engine, but many search sites and directories utilize ODP data. You can access their home page here: (http://www.dmoz.org).

For more information on search engines, try these sites:

Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com)
WebmasterWorld (http://www.webmasterworld.com)
SearchEngines.com (http://www.searchengines.com)

PUBLISH YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER

Starting your own free newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with visitors and (hopefully) convert them to customers at some point.

There are several services that allow you to very easily set up your own email newsletter for free. Be aware that "free" is usually code for "in exchange for displaying our ads or our clients' ads"; depending on the service, though, some of these ads are barely noticeable.

Two sites that enable you to publish your own newsletter are:

Bravenet Newsletter/MailingList (http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/elist/index.php)
Topica Exchange (http://www.topica.com/create/index2.html)

Once you set up your account, it's on to the next step...what to include in your newsletter.

It's best if your content relates to the items or services you sell. If you sell wedding/bridal items, you might publish tips for planning a wedding. Run your own ads in the newsletter and you're assured of reaching your target market - and you'll save yourself a lot of money in advertising fees.

Bear in mind that running a newsletter full of ads probably won't be conducive to garnering long-term subscribers. You'll need quality content to entice folks to subscribe and then persuade them to stick around.

You can write this content yourself, but if you don't relish the idea, there are many writers eager to allow you to publish their work for free, provided you append their "resource box" to the article.

A resource box is a four to eight line blurb that tells a little about the author, and often includes a link to his/her site. This is usually required (in lieu of payment) for permission to use the article.

A few places you can locate free content are:

World Wide Information Outlet (http://www.certificate.net/wwio/)
IdeaMarketers.com (http://www.ideamarketers.com/)
EzineArticles.com (http://www.ezinearticles.com/)

ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE ON MESSAGE BOARDS AND IN DISCUSSION LISTS

Many message boards and email discussion lists will allow you to post either a full SIG (signature) file or, at a minimum, your name and URL.

I'm using the term "SIG file" to refer to a short text block added to the end of your posts. Similar to an author's resource box, a SIG normally includes contact information (your name and URL) and possibly additional information on yourself, your business, and/or your products or services.

It goes without saying that in order to generate significant traffic to your site via this method, the message board and/or list has to have a good bit of traffic itself, otherwise few eyes will fall on your "ad" and still fewer clicks will be collected.

Notice I used "ad" (in quotes)? There's a reason for that, and please be crystal clear on this point from the get-go: NEVER blatantly advertise on a message board or email discussion list.

Ever heard of getting flamed? Well, let's just say your hind parts may very well be ablaze if you break this rule.

If you're unsure what's acceptable, many boards/lists post usage guidelines, or you can "lurk" for a while before posting to get a feel for the board etiquette.

To get the most return on your time and effort, search out boards and lists that are either directly or indirectly related to what you sell. Run a search for "message board" plus your target subject (or "newsletter" plus your target subject) and that should generate a sizeable list.

ADD YOUR URL TO EXISTING MARKETING MATERIALS

If your website isn't already listed on your business cards, letterhead, and other marketing materials, add it.

In addition to the items discussed above, other places to use your URL include: bumper stickers, receipts, promotional items, yellow pages ads, television and radio ads, your answering machine message, and I'm sure you can come up with several more at the drop of a hat.

You're already spending the money for these things anyway, so why not get the most bang for your buck?

START A LINK BUILDING CAMPAIGN

Good links to your site can benefit you in more ways than one.

It's obvious that the link itself can direct traffic to your website, but quality links to your site may improve your ranking in some search engines as well.

So, not only do you get visitors who click on the link itself, if you successfully establish a quality link program, you may have tons more visitors as a result of increased rankings to boot.

There are several ways to get linked:

- get listed in search engines and directories
- request a link from sites complementary to yours
- use a SIG file on message boards/mailing lists (if appropriate)
- write articles that include your URL in the resource box
- start an affiliate program
- provide a testimonial (these often include the URL of the person quoted in the testimonial)
- start an award program
- buy online advertising
- sign online guestbooks where appropriate

One of the things you DON'T want to do is participate in a "link farm" (sites that exist solely for webmasters to obtain links). You may be penalized rather than rewarded if you go that route.

In Part Two, we discuss five more ways to generate no charge traffic to your site.