This is a detailed step by step guide about how to promote your website online. It covers website advertising methods like SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, paid search engine advertising, email marketing and more. It is not a five minute read. I made it as brief as I could while also making sure it was jammed full of useful information so that you, the business owner, can quickly decide which tactics are going to be right for you.
If you find all this website promotion, marketing & advertising stuff confusing and you just want to know how to get started then this is the perfect advice for you. Print this guide out. Make notes on your printed pages as you come up with ideas specific to your business.
You also want to get the free worksheets that accompany this guide. Those worksheets will help you take the information from this guide and apply it to your specific situation. I will email the worksheets to you if you want them. You can request them by filling out this simple form.
This guide starts out by recommending a few things that every person should do no matter what your industry is no matter what type of product or service you are offering. After those first few suggestions, we then move on to discussing all the major popular approaches to website promotion.
Many of these suggestions are things that you can do to promote your website for free if you are willing to invest your time. There are also some suggested methods in here that would cost you money.
You pick and choose which methods and tactics you feel are most appropriate for your situation and your style. Let’s get started….
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Step by Step Outline of How You Should Get Started Promoting Your Website
- Figure out who your target audience is
- Do some basic search engine optimization for your site
- Get your site listed in whatever business directories are most promising
- Consider whether or not to do Search Engine Marketing or how much of it to do
- Search Network Pay Per Click Advertising – like Google Adwords
- Specific Organic SEO Campaigns
- Consider whether or not to do Content Marketing or how much of it to do
- Content marketing on your own website
- Add a Blog to your site
- Videos or Video Pages
- Written Tutorials
- Free eBooks
- Free reports
- Audio Recordings & Podcasts
- Recorded Webinars
- Info-graphics
- Add a Blog to your site
- Content distribution
- YouTube Channel
- Article Marketing with Newsletters
- Guest Blogging
- Document Sharing
- Second Website Development for more specific targeting
- Collaborative industry projects
- Content marketing on your own website
- Consider whether or not to focus on Social Media and how much of it to do
- Consider implementing a Lead Acquisition and Follow Up Email Marketing System
- Lead generation through free content giveaway
- List purchasing or rental
- Identify specific target websites where you can reach out to prospects
- Forums & Blogs
- Information Hubs
- Industry Specific Social Sites
- Industry related community sites
- Industry related non-competing sites
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1. Start By Knowing Who You Want To Sell To
If you are walking around selling Hip Hop artist t-shirts, would you walk up to a sixty year old man and try to sell him a shirt or would you be better off approaching a teenager? It is common sense right? Teenagers are far more likely to want to buy a Hip Hop artist’s t-shirt than some sixty year old dude.
If you are selling web hosting services, would you walk up to random strangers on the street to ask if they want to buy web hosting or would you be better off approaching new business owners? Again, it is common sense. New business owners are likely to launch websites. They would therefore be more likely to need web hosting at some point.
The first thing you need to figure out in order to promote your website is who you intend to talk to with your marketing and advertising. You need to define an audience.
If you are a first time business owner, then you probably think of traditional advertising as just “getting your name out there”. Am I right? You want to get your name out in front of people so that people start to realize you even exist.
Let me share some advice with you. Trying to just get your name out there to enough random people where eventually you hit someone who is interested in your product is a very ineffective and very expensive way to promote yourself. It is the least efficient method by far. There is a better way.
You will discover that sticking your name and marketing message in front of a specific predefined target audience is much more effective, much cheaper and much, much smarter. If you really want results for minimum cost, then you have to know who the people are who would want to buy what you sell. So, start there before you do anything else. Take fifteen minutes to think about your potential customers and jot down information about who they are. Use the worksheets I gave you. It is one of the most important exercises you can ever do for your business.
Regardless of what form of advertising you intend to use, you definitely want to know who you are going to be talking to with that advertisement. Then you can……..
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2. Do Some Basic Search Engine Optimization To Build A Foundation For Website Growth
One of the first actionable steps you should take to promote your website, once you have chosen your target audience, is to get started with some basic website search engine optimization.
Doing basic search engine optimization for your website is not the same thing as running an SEO campaign to get ranked at the top of Google for specific keywords. Running an organic SEO campaign is much more involved and requires a lot more precision. The information in this section will help you do some basic optimization which will help your website rank better for the things it should naturally rank well for. It will not help you rank higher for any specific keywords. Doing this basic SEO will not result in a massive traffic increase for your site. It is merely intended to provide a foundation upon which you can successfully build more traffic from this day forward. It makes the rest of your marketing more effective.
1) Make sure you are using unique HTML page titles for every page on your website. If you view the HTML code for a page on your website, somewhere near the top you should see something that looks like this <title> and also this </title>. You tell the search engines what your page title is by putting words in between those two codes. So, if you wanted your page title to be “How To Promote Your Website” then the HTML on your page should show this –
Page titles are a huge factor in how search engines determine relevance and rankings. Therefore, Google hates when you have two pages on your website that have the exact same title. That makes it hard for Google to tell which page is relevant for which title. Google does not like to be confused. So, you should make sure each page has a somewhat unique title.
The title should be approximately 3-6 words long in most cases and should accurately describe what that page is about. You will see the best ranking results for your pages if you keep your page titles between 3 and 6 words long approximately. If you are using less than three words then your page title probably isn’t descriptive enough. If you are using more than six words then you are probably beginning to be a little too vague. Sometimes you need to have titles that are bit longer. If your situation requires that, then it is okay. In general though, you want to keep it near a maximum of about 6 words.
2) If possible, use descriptive words in the URL structure for each page. That means instead of having a page called http://yourwebsite.com/page1.html it should be http://yourwebsite.com/words-that-describe-page-content.html
A lot of eCommerce websites have URL structures that are generic and meaningless. Sometimes the URL is a bunch of gibberish like http://yourwebsite.com/cat4/product6? or something else meaningless and non-descriptive like that.
If you run a clothing store and that page is selling a Tie-Dye shirt then the URL should be something like – http://yourwebsite.com/t-shirts/red-blue-tie-die.html
That helps the search engines determine that your page has tie-die t-shirts on it that are red and blue. Do you see how that makes more sense?
A lot of ecommerce websites won’t take this extra step to ensure their URL is descriptive. If you take that extra step, you will give yourself an advantage over them.
Don’t make the URL really long though just to cram more descriptive words in there. You want to keep your URL’s as short as possible while also being descriptive.
3) Make sure the majority of the content on each page is unique so that you don’t have too much repetitive content from page to page. You want the main body of content on each page to be mostly unique without too much redundancy from page to page. Make every single page as unique as possible.
Google hates websites that have too much “cookie cutter” content. In fact, their original Panda algorithm update caused sites to be demoted when they had too much redundancy from page to page. You want to make sure that majority of content on each page of your website is different from every other page on your website.
It is okay to have a website template that has a common header, sidebar and footer. But, you have to make sure that you are adding enough content on to each page in the main body area that is unique compared to every other page on your site. Otherwise, Google will think your site is low quality and it can get demoted in the search results.
The easiest way to make every page unique enough is to add several hundred words of text to each page that is specifically relevant to the content on that page. If your page is selling a product, then add several hundred words of descriptive content about that product if you can.
4) Create a unique Meta Description for each page. The Meta Description is the snippet of text that is going to appear in the search results for that page. This description is important because it is going to convince a person whether or not they should click on that search result. It can influence your traffic levels a lot. The Meta Description for each page on your site should be unique and should also help entice a person to click on it.
INTERNAL LINKING
5) If your website is less than twenty pages then check to make sure that every single page on your site has at least one link pointing to it from another page on your website. This ensures that the entire website is crawlable for search engines.
Ideally, you would want these links to be embedded within text somewhere on the page. Sometimes that is possible and sometimes that is not possible. Ideally, you would also want to use descriptive words as the anchor text for the link.
6) If your website is more than “about twenty pages”, make sure you have a sitemap so that it is easy for search engines to discover every page on your website. You do also want to have enough internal links to make it easy for a search engine spider to crawl from page to page. Don’t forget the sitemap though so that the search engines are sure to know about every page you want to show up in the search results. The larger your website is, the more important it is that you use a sitemap.
Other Things To Think About
You have probably already heard about how important links are for search engine optimization. They are very important. You do not need to start link building immediately though. Links will come with time and you will get that started soon enough.
You are probably going to be coming back to your site to do additional SEO later on. You may want to implement an organic search engine optimization campaign to get a specific page on your site to rank high for a specific keyword. You will then be doing some keyword research and much more detailed on page SEO work.
Then over time, you will be doing a lot of tweaking and experimentation. Search engine optimization is a process that you keep improving on over time as your site grows and matures.
Even if you never run any specific SEO campaigns, you should still do this basic optimization. It sets a good foundation for your website to rank well naturally as you generate publicity for it using other channels.
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3. Get Your Website Listed In Whatever Business Directories or Website Directories It Makes Sense To be Listed In
Submit your website to DMOZ.org. It is free to submit your website there.
Ask yourself if it is worth being listed in the Yahoo Business Directory. If it is worth the cost to you ($299 per year for most sites), then now is the time to submit your listing.
Check to see if there are any business directories relevant to your industry that you really should be listed in. You can search for them in Google. For instance, if you have a website that sells flower bulbs to people who like to garden, then you should search Google for phrases like these – garden supply directories – directories for garden supplies – directory of gardening businesses – home gardening directories, directories of garden stores, etc. Search for them in every way that you can think of.
Visit a bunch of them, especially the ones that look more professional and more popular. Get your website listed in any free ones right away.
If any of them require payment for a listing, then you have to make a determination as you go along as to whether or not each one is worth the price. In general, it is only worth paying for a listing if that directory is a high quality website that actually gets traffic. I would be hesitant to pay for a listing that requires an annual renewal. If it is a onetime payment for a permanent listing, then it might be more worthwhile.
When analyzing any particular directory, check and see what sites that directory already links out to. If they link out to lots of low quality websites, then you should probably skip that directory. A directory is only going to be valuable if it is very careful about which sites it links out to.
The vast majority of website business directories are nearly worthless for you especially if your website sells product on a national scale. Most of them won’t help your ranking at all or enough to justify a listing; nor will they ever send you any traffic. So don’t go overboard. It isn’t worth it.
However, if you run a local business that sells to local clientele through a regular retail store in your town, then you should get listed in every major directory you can find that is free to register in. Google ranks local websites (Google Places section) using somewhat different factors than websites that sell nationally. So, for local websites getting your business listed in lots of directories is very helpful.
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Every Website Should Start Out By Doing Those First Three Steps
Once those first three steps are complete, then you should consider which of the other promotional methods you want to focus on.
You do not have to seriously focus on all of the remaining methods even though all have been proven effective. Some people like to do a little bit of each. Some people prefer to focus heavily on just SEO, just content marketing or just social media. Some prefer to capture contact information and follow up with those people over time using email to convert them into customers.
Often times it is best to use multiple methods in conjunction with one another. For instance, social media can be used to promote the content that you distribute. The content that you distribute can link back to your website and therefore help with your SEO efforts. That page that gets linked to might be a specifically designed landing page with an opt-in form. You capture the person’s name and email when they opt into that form in order to receive a free guide. Then you promote yourself to them over time using email marketing. So, each of these methods is connected with the other in some way.
Every single method can be made to work in your situation if you invest the time to learn how to do it properly.
So, it is really a matter of personal preference.
You will discover that each of the methods overlaps into the others somewhat. So, even though you may focus on trying to generate targeted traffic using one method in particular, you will probably be doing some of the other things too.
My advice is that you should seriously consider each of the following methods. Weigh the pros and cons of each method. Then decide which one you want to start with first.
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4. Consider Promoting Your Website On Major Search Engines
Two things that your potential customers are using the internet for are to find companies to do business with and to search for answers to questions or dilemmas they have.
Here in the United States, the three most popular sites used for doing searches are Google, Bing and Yahoo. The big three search engines, when combined, account for 85% or more of the total search market share depending on where you get your figures from. There are billions of searches done each month on those search engines. So, if you run an online shoe store, then you can bet there are thousands of people using Google, Bing and Yahoo to find places to shop for shoes.
With about 67% of the market share for searches, Google is by far the number one search engine Americans use to conduct searches. So, you have the potential to get more traffic from Google alone than you could get from all other search engines combined. This is why so many people focus so much effort on Google and on search engine marketing in general.
Introducing Keywords:
In order to market your site effectively on search engines you need to learn about keywords. Search engine marketing revolves around “keywords”. Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into the search engine when doing searches. Those keywords make all the difference in the world in terms of how effective your marketing is.
Imagine two men that like to fly kites as a hobby. Both guys sit down at their computers to do a search. One guy might search for the phrase “kites for sale” while another guy searches for “how to build a kite from scratch”. Chances are the first man is looking to purchase a kite. The second guy is looking for instructions on how to build a kite on his own. The first person is likely to make a purchase from a kite store. The second person is unlikely to buy a kite. If you ran a kite store, which of those two people would you really want to come to your site right at that moment?
That example illustrates why choosing the right keywords is so important. To promote your website on search engines, you first want to determine which keyword phrases you want your website to be listed for. You want to pick a few keywords to start with or at least pick one. You can always change them later.
A common tool for helping you choose keywords to target is the Google Keyword Planner. Google requires that you create an account with them in order to use the tool. It is worth your time to do that. The tool will show you what phrases people are typing into Google that relate to your business. Choose a handful of search phrases to start with.
Once you have some keywords picked out, there are two different ways you can get your website to show up for those keywords. The fist way is to purchase advertising through Google Adwords. You can bid on positioning for those keywords. If you are willing to pay more than anyone else, then you can have your ad show up at the very top of the page on Google under the paid listings. There is more to it than that. There are other factors that come into play such as how relevant your advertisement is for the page you are linking to within your ad. But, that is the basic idea behind it.
I wrote an article that explains whether paid search engine advertising like Google Adwords is worth it or not. It is a common question that keeps many business owners from even trying it. If you are undecided about it, then you should read that article.
The other way you can get your website to show up on that page for those keywords is to focus on your search engine optimization. If you do an excellent job of optimizing your website and specific web pages on your site, then you could get a page from your site to show up on Google’s first page of results whenever someone searches using that keyword. These organic listings (shown in the graphic below) are free. You can’t pay to be listed in the organic listings. You can only accomplish it through superior SEO.
It is hard to notice in this picture, but the background behind the top 3 paid ads is a slightly different shade of color than the background behind the organic search results. The listing for TheWebsitePromoter.com is the very first organic listing on this page. Notice that the top organic listing is half way down that page.
You can do the same type of marketing for Bing and Yahoo as you can for Google. Most people start out by focusing on Google though because Google has more potential to generate business. Both Yahoo and Bing have paid listings and organic listings too.
Search engine marketing is exceptionally attractive to business owners and can provide an exceptionally good return on investment. The reason it is so lucrative is because a lot of shoppers will do a search using the search engines right before they make a purchase. So, you have a chance to stick your website right in front of those people right before they decide to buy. Many marketers and business owners will tell you that there is no easier way to do that than through search engine marketing.
People use search engines in other ways besides just looking for companies to buy from.
People Also Use Search Engines To Find Answers To Their Questions and Solutions For Their Dilemmas
Search engines are really useful for finding information. Many of your potential customers are using them for that. It gives you another opportunity to potentially earn their business. Let me give you an example.
Some of the people who are interested in my services will do a search on Google for the phrase “How to get ranked number one on Google” or something similar to that. I created a page on my website to specifically target those people. The page on my website ranks very high on Google for that phrase and other phrases similar to that. So, some people find my website that way. When they find my site, I have a chance to get them to see that I offer SEO services where I could help them get ranked high too. So, someone searching using that keyword phrase is somewhat likely to want a service like mine. I just need to present them with the right offer at the right price. Then maybe I can earn their business.
Are there any “How-To” pages you could create on your own site to target potential customers?
You can create pages on your own website that target certain phrases like that for your type of business. Then you use search engine optimization to help get them ranked as high as possible. Each one of these kinds of pages then brings in a little traffic of its own. This kind of marketing is a form of content marketing. We will talk more about that next.
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5. Consider Content Marketing To Generate Publicity, Links and Traffic for your Website
Content marketing in a nutshell, is the process of producing content in whatever form (articles, blog posts, audio recordings, videos, product guides, free reports) for the purpose of gaining the attention of people in your target audience. Once you have the person’s attention, then you have a chance to implant your marketing message into them.
Content marketing can be done by adding content to your website. Content marketing can also be done by distributing content to other websites. Both methods work well under most circumstances.
The easiest way to use content marketing on your own website is to add a blog section to your website. Basically, you just create a folder on your website and install something like a WordPress blog on it. You publish articles on that blog about topics that people in your target audience would be interested in.
If you sold high performance parts for race cars, then maybe you would write about topics related to racing. You could write about racing news. You could write about new technological breakthroughs that parts manufacturers make. You could write an article about a new type of product that someone came out with to knock another tenth off a car’s lap time.
The idea behind using content marketing on your own site is to try to create new pages on your site about topics that other people in your industry like talking about. That way your site can earn some natural backlinks. It can also get some people in your industry to share those pages on social media.
You may prefer to distribute content to other websites rather than publish it on your own website. There are lots of sites out there where you can distribute content for free. This content will attract visitors from different places on the internet. Then somewhere in that content you mention or link back to your own website. This can generate publicity and traffic for your website. It also helps build search engine authority because of those links that point back to your website. Search engine authority helps your website rank higher. The more of this you do, the better your results should be.
Content marketing takes time because you have to produce the content. It may be in your best interest to get some professional help with some of this stuff, especially when you are just getting started. Once you have some experience under your belt, it gets easier and easier though. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of doing it. It is easier than it sounds.
Two places you can easily distribute content to are guest blogs and YouTube. You don’t need to both. Try whichever one you think would be the best fit for you.
The best part about content marketing is that you can simultaneously generate publicity, links and traffic for your site. It has an excellent return on investment.
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6. Consider Using Major Social Media Sites To Promote Your Website
Social media gets a lot of publicity these days. Doesn’t it?
You hear all these stories about how people are generating wicked amounts of traffic using websites like Twitter and Facebook. Those rumors are true. People do generate a lot of traffic with those sites.
As a business owner/website owner you would think you could join those social networks and then just use your accounts to advertise your website. But it doesn’t really work that way. Very few people will follow you and pay attention to your messages if you just constantly bombard them with advertising. To attract mass numbers of people and bring in the most new customers you need to give your followers something that they really want.
Remember, they aren’t logging on to their Facebook accounts hoping to see advertising. They aren’t signing onto Twitter hoping to see advertising. They are going there for another reason. They are going there to catch up on what is happening. They are going there to entertain themselves. They are going there to connect with other humans.
The audiences on each of these social sites is a little bit different too. So your approach on each website will probably be a little bit different.Whether or not it makes sense to use a particular social media channel also depends on what type of business you are in.
If you are in a business that performs some kind of in home service like carpet cleaning or lawn maintenance then it probably makes sense to have a Facebook fan page at minimum. If you sell a product that is judged based on how good it looks like a florist or landscaper then it makes sense to promote it on a website like Pinterest. If you sell a business to business service then maybe it makes sense for you to network with other people on LinkedIn. If you are in a business where your customers are constantly awaiting the latest news about it, like investment advice or anything involving sports teams, then it probably makes sense for you to be on Twitter. If your business would benefit from you networking with highly educated, highly tech savvy, higher income earners, then getting into the right Google Plus circles could be a gold mine for you.
In some situations it makes more sense to use email as a primary way of maintaining contact with your customers instead of using the popular social networks. The use of email is far more widespread among the population than the use of any single social media network.
Using social media can give you an advantage over your competition if you use it well though. Most small business owners are afraid to use it at all or simply don’t invest enough time with it to get good results. That presents an opportunity for you to reach new potential customers in ways that your competition won’t reach them. But you have to choose the best social network for your situation and commit to it.
But If Social Media Has The Potential To Generate A Lot Of Traffic, Shouldn’t Every Website Owner Make The Investment?
No, not necessarily? That is a decision you will have to make for yourself. It makes more sense in certain situations than others.
If you are getting customers asking you if you have a Facebook fan page, then yes you probably should have one. If you are seeing your competition all using a certain social network then you should definitely look into that more.
Don’t jump into social media just because it is hot right now. Think about whether it makes sense or not. Think about which social network you would focus on and how? Who is going to run your account? Will they properly represent your website/company? How often are they going to need to monitor your account? What is the mindset of the people using that social media network? How are they using it? How can you get those people to take an interest in your business or your website? What can you offer them while they are logged into their social media account that they would really want to get from you? How can you get them to like you?
If you have good answers to those questions then it probably makes sense for you to try promoting your business this way. If you can’t answer those questions, then you should learn more about it before jumping in with an account for your business.
One Way You Should Definitely Use Social Media
One way that you should definitely use social media even if you don’t have active accounts on those more popular sites, is by making it easy for other people to share your website with their friends.
You can do that by embedding HTML code on your pages so that there are shortcuts there for people to click and share your page with their friends on those major social media network sites. Adding this code to your website is kind of like a set and forget approach to increasing the amount of sharing that people do with your website.
You want to have a link to every popular social media site where people would be most likely to share your stuff.
You will see that at the bottom of every page on TheWebsitePromoter.com website, you will see shortcuts that look like these:
If you click on the ones at the bottom of the page, it links you directly to the major social sites so that it is really easy for you to share that page. You should consider adding shortcuts like those to your website. Make sure you link to the most appropriate social sites for your type of business.
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7. Consider Using A Lead Capture and Follow Up Selling System
No matter where you go online these days, there is someone there telling you that you should be building a list. There are two types of lists that are very valuable to a business owner. The first is your existing customer list. The second list is a list of business leads.
Your customer list is valuable for obvious reasons. Those people have already proven their willingness to buy from you.
Having a list of prospects could also be very valuable though. Wouldn’t you agree?
If you have read up on “The Prospect Evolution Theory” then you already comprehend the fact that some people are at different stages in the evolutionary buying cycle. Your website is going to attract lots of people who aren’t going to buy from you right then and there.
What if you captured their contact information though? You could then stay in contact with that person as they evolve from a cold prospect to a warm prospect to a hot prospect. You can even nudge that process along if you are good at marketing. If you are still in close contact with this person when he becomes a hot prospect, then you have a very good chance of getting him to do business with you.
That is basically how these lead capture follow up selling systems work. Get those leads now and keep trying to sell to them over a period of time.
The most popular way of capturing leads is to give away something valuable on your website. You offer to give people something valuable if they are willing to give you their contact information. This valuable object could be a downloadable free report. It could be access to a recorded webinar. It could be access to view a private training video. It could be a newsletter subscription. Use your imagination. Give away something that your target audience will find very useful.
Typically you will capture the person’s name and email address using an opt-in form. Then over a period of time, you email the person information that they would find interesting and beneficial. That builds up trust and authority for you. If the stuff you are giving away is valuable enough, it could also build up reciprocity in the other person and make them feel obligated to you as if they owe you something.
Different people market to their lists in different ways. I have personally been on both extremes where the marketer just constantly bombards you with buy this, buy this, buy this. And, I have been on lists where the marketer sends out mostly useful information without pressuring me to buy anything.
Personally, I believe in maintaining a healthy relationship with your list and giving constant value to them rather than being a pushy salesman.
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8. Identify Specific Target Sites Where You Can Find Prospects, Talk To Them & Advertise Your Website
Here is where it becomes really important to know who your target audience is. At this stage of the game, your marketing and advertising efforts will really payoff if you understand who you are talking to.
Imagine one of your potential customers in your mind’s eye.
What specific websites is that person likely to visit and use?
We have already covered the big three search engines plus the major social media sites. Now, how about other websites?
Use Google, Yahoo or Bing to look for and research these kinds of sites. You will find some sites that you didn’t even know about.
Make a list of the names of other websites that you know of where people in your target audience are spending time. Think about these kinds of sites.
Popular Industry Information Websites (for your industry):
Industry related forums, blogs or community websites:
Industry Organizations, Clubs, Groups, Charities, etc.:
Other (non-industry specific) Organizations, Clubs, Groups, Charities, etc.:
Any other websites at all that you can think of where they are probably spending time:
Now you are going to have to do some in-depth analysis of each of those websites. You need to determine if it is worth reaching out to your audience there and if so, then how? Use the worksheet I created for you to help you figure that out. If you haven’t already requested the worksheets I mentioned at the beginning of this guide, then do so now. Print out one copy of the worksheet for each website that you came up with during this exercise. Answer every question on the worksheet to the best of your ability.
Sort out all of the websites where you saw potential. Then formulate a plan for each one of those sites individually. You might choose one approach with one website, while choosing and entirely different approach with another website. One of these websites could be a goldmine of traffic for you depending on your circumstances.
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Which Website Promotion Method Is The Best For You Right Now?
The first thing you have to ask yourself here is how long you are willing to wait for results. If you want results as soon as humanly possible, then buying advertising from somewhere like Google Adwords Search Network will get you those super fast results. You can just go buy highly targeted traffic from there. Yes it might get costly especially at first as you learn how to get good at it.
You may also get fast results by identifying specific websites where your target audience exists and implementing a plan to get that targeted traffic from those sites right away. If there are a few popular forums where large numbers of your audience are visiting every day, then you could start building a presence there immediately either through paid advertising on those sites, personal participation on those sites or else hiring someone to act as your representative on those websites. How fast this works for you and how well it works for you is going to be determined by a lot of factors that are unique to your situation. Depending on your situation, you might achieve great results or lackluster ones.
If you are willing to wait months for results, then a dedicated search engine optimization campaign or a content marketing campaign will get you long term lasting results. They will take months to start working at all. Their full impact won’t be felt for many months, probably six months or more. So, keep that in mind.
What Is Your Next Step?
The best way to start promoting your website in my opinion is to perform those first three steps that were mentioned in this guide. Figure out who your target audience is. Do some basic on-site optimization. Get your website and business listed in the most appropriate directories. That will give you a good foundation for traffic growth.
From there, you have a wide variety of options like – beginning to target specific websites, running a Google Adwords Search Network campaign, beginning a search engine optimization campaign, beginning a content marketing campaign or setting up a lead acquisition and conversion system.
All of those options will work if implemented properly.
Don’t get tunnel-vision and rely on one method for promoting your website. You should implement as many of these tactics as you have time and money for. Track your results wherever possible. Make sure you are using some kind of traffic analysis software on your website like Google Analytics for example.
Keep track of what is working for you and focus more of your efforts there over time.
If you have any questions about how to promote your website, feel free to shoot me an email and ask. I can email you back some suggestions or else maybe we can have a phone chat. My contact information can be found at the bottom of my contact page.
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