Now that you have a beautiful, professional-looking website or blog set up, you need to make sure your target audience can actually find it! Having a website or blog go “live” on the web isn’t enough to make these marketing vehicles work for you. You need to take steps to proactively market and promote your URL, or potential customers won’t be able to find you easily. Even if you’re ranking high on the major search engines for certain keywords and phrases, there is an even bigger pool of potential clients and customers out there who can reach your site without using a search engine.
Here are seven FREE ways to promote your website or blog, and start generating more traffic:
- Set up a Facebook Page. Create a complementary Facebook Page for your business and make sure to include details about your website and blog on the Page “Info” section. You can promote individual links as updates on your Wall, and can also interact with commenters and fans regularly. This is a free Facebook service that can help businesses across all industries.
- Comment on other blogs or Facebook pages. Post comments on blogs relevant to your industry or services, and make sure you link back to your website or landing page when asked to enter personal information with your comment. If you’re on Facebook, make sure to “Like” other businesses in your niche or industry, and leave comments or posts on their Wall occasionally. This can help to generate some buzz and encourage other people to look at your Facebook page, website and blog.
- Exchange links. Seek out links to websites and blogs that have similar interests as you and offer to link back to them in exchange for a link. This can be a simple and effective way to attract more traffic.
- Add your URL to all marketing materials. Many small businesses overlook the value of this simple concept, and fail to attract hundreds of potential visitors to their site or blog as a result. Make sure you include your URL in all of your marketing materials – this includes business cards, postcards, posters and any direct mail pieces you send out regularly. Make it as easy as possible for potential customers to find your site’s address!
- Submit your site to niche directories or local listings sites. Get listed on major niche directories by submitting your URL through the contact form. Some local listing sites offer a “free” option, and this can be very helpful in getting you noticed by your target market.
- Publish press releases on your site, and online. Post press releases about newsworthy events and items related to your industry at least once per month. Press releases that get sent through the newswires need to include a link back to your website. This is a great way to get more exposure and increases the chances that potential customers will find you.
- Promote your website or blog on Twitter. Twitter is a great social networking tool for promoting your business and establishing your online presence. Set up an account and post relevant updates regularly. Follow people in your niche, work on building a following, and post links to your website and blog content so that people can click through to your site directly.