10 Simple Ways That You Can Promote Your Website

Back to basics.

At times, website promotion can seem confusingly
complicated. There seem to be so many, sure-fire new ways to
get thousands of hits to your site. Whilst some of these
methods work, most just waste your time.

So, welcome back to the basics of website promotion - 10
simple, effective, ways to promote your site. Learn
something new, or just remind yourself of an 'old
favourite'.

1. SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO SEARCH ENGINES & DIRECTORIES

Submit your site to all the major search engines and
directories (except Yahoo!). Repeat at monthly intervals
ONLY if your site isn't listed - this especially applies
to Google!

Links:
- http://www.addme.com/submission.htm
- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/submit-all.html
- http://www.shoptour.co.uk/go/affiliate-announce.html
http://affiliatetoolkit.com/affiliateannounce/

Tip: Hand submit your site to the major search engines here
- http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/site-submit

2. SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO YAHOO! (ZEAL & DMOZ)!

Both Yahoo!, Zeal and the Open Directory Project (DMOZ) are
search directories that are edited by real people (on Zeal,
*you* are the real person!). As such, you must follow the
submission guidelines of these sites exactly, or your site
will not succeed in getting listed.

A listing on Yahoo! is useful as it's still one of the
busiest sites on the web, and DMOZ helps your chances of a
good listing on Google.

Links (how to suggest your site):
- http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/
- http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/include.html
- http://www.dmoz.org/add.html
- http://www.zeal.com

Tip: (see below)

3. SWAP LINKS WITH OTHER SITES

To swap links, do the following:
- Identify sites with similar content to yours;
- Get in touch with the site's webmaster (use their name);
- Politely ask for a reciprocal link, then create a "Links"
section on your site and put the links there.

Not everyone will respond, but it is worth your effort as
search engines (especially Google) rank sites based on how
many other sites link to it!

Links (more information on what to do, and what not to do):
- http://www.cashway.com/secrets_of_reciprocal_linking.htm
- http://www.reciprocallink.com/article1.html
- http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/link-swaps

Tip: (see below)

4. JOIN A FREE BANNER-EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Place a banner ad. (or text ad.) on your site and other
sites will place your ad. on theirs in return. It's a great
way to get your site noticed, and there are many free banner
exchange programs to choose from.

Links:
- http://www.ukbanners.com
- http://www.bannersgomlm.com
- http://www.linkpartners.com
- http://www.txtswap.com/cgi-bin/txtswap/ea/aff.cgi?832
http://www.txtswap.com

Tip: (see below)

5. USE A SIGNATURE FILE

A signature file (sigfile) is a block of text that can be
appended to the end of each e-mail message sent by your e-
mail software. Use it in your e-mail, or whenever you
participate in discussion groups relevant to your services
or products (see below).

For example, I sometimes end emails I'm sending to a fellow
webmaster with the following text:

"Thanks,
Steve
---------------------------------------
Free webmaster articles help you build, promote
and profit online. Read them online or by email.
http://www.wise-buys.info/webmaster-articles.shtml
---------------------------------------"

Links:
- http://www.siglets.com/addasig.php

Tip: (see below)

6. POST A NEWSGROUP (OR FORUM) DISCUSSION

Somewhere, there's a newsgroup or forum involved in
discussions relevant to your site. You can find a great
variety of newsgroups at Google Groups, which allows you to
search all of the Usenet newsgroups for a particular term or
phrase.

Post a message to a suitable newsgroup using Outlook Express
(or other newsreader software), or via Google's news-group
site, or via the forum itself. Do follow the newsgroup
guidelines - but it is usually okay to use a signature file
with each of your posts.

Links (Google Groups):
- http://groups.google.com
- http://www.forum-tracker.com/
- http://www.webmasterworld.com/

Tip: (see below)

7. OFFER AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM

Affiliate programs are a win-win opportunity for you and
your potential partners (affiliates). Apart from the instant
sales force you develop, you create lots of links back to
your site and generally improve site exposure. Your
affiliates gain from adding products or services to sell on
their site.

Links:
- http://www.tradedoubler.com
- http://www.cj.com
- http://www.associateprograms.com

Tip: (see below)

8. PUBLISH AN E-ZINE

An e-zine (or newsletter) allows you to stay in touch with
your visitors. You can educate your visitors with how-to
articles (and so build trust in you and your organisation),
let them know about new offers, or just inform them about
site-improvements. Readers of your newsletter can become
regular visitors to your site, and good customers too. And
running a newsletter can cost little or nothing!

Links:
- http://www.topica.com
- http://groups.yahoo.com
- http://www.sparklist.com

Tip: (see below)

9. RUN A COMPETITION

Competitions are a great way of promoting your website, and
finding out more about your site's visitors in the process.
Offer a prize related to your website, and get people to
fill out an entry form (or even join your newsletter).

When it comes time to announce the winners, send an e-mail
to everyone with the winners name, and add items of interest
about your services and opportunities too.

Even better, there are sites that will actually promote your
online competition, giving your site even more exposure!

Links:
- http://www.theprizefinder.com/asp/addacompetition.asp

Tip: (see below)

10. WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

Press releases (news releases) are one of the most effective
ways to generate traffic to your site. If written well, they
can produce startling results. There are sites that give
advice on how to write a press release, and sites that will
compose and distribute your press release for you (and lots,
lots more).

Links:
- http://drnunley.com
- http://www.prweb.com/
- http://www.pressbox.co.uk

Tip: (see below)

--

So there you are: ten simple ways that you can promote your
website. All that's left to do now is to get out there and
do some promotin'. (So, what are you waiting for!?)

Website promotion.

Get back to basics!

PS To see example tips for each of the steps above simply
view this article online, at
http://www.free-website-promotion-course.net