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Auctions Information10 Easy Route To Promote Your Website For Cheap Or Free
by:
Jen Merkel
Please consider this article for your website or news report - written
or virtual. Permission to reprint if byline stays intact and links are activated on the Internet. You may do minor data formatting changes or correct any typos. If you use it, please apprize me and send a copy of your publication.
TITLE: 10 Easy Route To Promote Your Website For Cheap Or Free
AUTHOR: Jen Merkel, Freelance Writer
WORD COUNT: 1,482
URL: http://jenmerkel.bravehost.com
Mailto: jen.merkel@cox.net
"10 Easy Route To Promote Your Website For Cheap Or Free"
© 2004 Jen Merkel
You've built your website and you're quite proud of it. The graphics look nice, it has a few exciting pieces of information and it showcases your subject perfectly. But how do you draw folk to it and get that hit counter ascent without breaking the bank? You’ve got your meta tags in place but you just can’t afford to pay the humungous fee to be a featured adman on a mega-search engine. Here are a few easy and quick route to publicize your website which are either cheap or free.
1. Link Exchanges
One of the most effective route to get traffic moving into your site is to list it as a link on else sites of interest to your target market. If you don't already cognize of another site similar to yours, just do a Google search victimisation a few appropriate keywords. By victimisation Google to do a search on the words "link exchange" you wish likewise find entire sites – several free, several with a fee – with directories of sites willing to exchange links. Once you find a site, see if they have a links page and scan it to do sure yours would-be be a good fit. Ordinarily manual on exchanging links are somewhere on the website, but if they're not just e-mail the webmaster or site owner and ask if they have a link exchange program. Be sure your site makes not vie with theirs. After all, you wish have to reciprocate with a link to their site on your own. Corporate sites don't ordinarily do link exchanges, you wish have more better luck with a site closely-held by an individual or small business. If you don't have a banner, you can create one for free online. A really user-friendly site for this is www.addesigner.com, but there are several others out there as well.
2. Join a Web-Ring
Web-Rings are a way of drive traffic to your site from others similar to yours. You just place a web-ring banner on your house page victimisation mere Mark up
code and you’re mechanically
part of the network. Once
a visitant clicks on the web-ring banner at one member’s site, they are directed to the next site in the web-ring, possibly
yours. There are several things to consider once
connexion
a web-ring. For example, once
one of your site’s viewers clicks on your web-ring banner, they are being directed off your site onto causal agency else’s. If you join a web-ring, find one matching the interests of your target market that doesn’t have a large number of members competitive with you. For example, if your site sells aquariums, join a site for tropical fish enthusiasts rather than one with for folk who sell pet products.
3. Host a Contest
Everyone loves to win a contest, and if yours offers thing
of value to your target market you can spark a lot of interest. The prize doesn't have to be big - peradventure a $10.00 gift certificate, a set of books, a pretty piece of jewelry you purchased on closeout, or of course one of your products. You may be able to get prize donations from your link partners or others in your network just by offering them credit and a link on your site throughout the contest. It's likewise smart to offer extra entries to a contestant if they refer causal agency else – word of mouth (or e-mail) is extremely powerful!
4. Win an Award
This may take several legwork on your part, but it could be well worth it in the end. If your site is rich in content and appealing to the eye, you have a good chance of winning several sort of web award. Just do your Google search on "website award" or "site of the day" and research the links for application procedures. If you win, the payoff wish be the privilege of posting an award banner on your house page for all to see. The site hosting the award wish virtually
be causing visitors to you by way of a link.
5. Put a Link in Your Name Line
The easiest and fastest
way to get message for your site is to put a link in your name line. Every e-mail you send wish announce your site, and including an seductive one-line ad such as "enter our contest to win a $10.00 gift certificate" wish likely increase your traffic.
6. Join an E-mail Group
In case you aren't familiar with e-mail groups, they are essentially networks of folk with a common interest or purpose, victimisation e-mail to communicate to each other. Victimisation a single e-mail address, you can send a message to a whole group of folk with interests similar to yours. Rest assured, no matter what your target market is, there is an e-mail group for it. It is important to support in mind that most frown upon advertising and all ban spamming, however you are ordinarily allowed to put a link in your name line and do special announcements. Just be sure you really contribute to the discussion - don't just assume you can use the list for free advertising or you wish be shunned really quickly. Two of the most popular websites for e-mail groups are Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com) and Topica (http://www.topica.com), several of which offer free memberships.
7. Publish a Newsletter
It can be sent daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, but be sure you send it out on a regular basis. Mine is publicized
weekly on Fridays without fail. My readers have knowing to look for it and I'd ne'er
consider holding them down by missing a deadline. Aside from being consistent, it is a cardinal rule to offer thing
of value to your readership. Don't use it exclusively as a venue for advertising – there are plenty of places to put text links and banner ads inside
it. To maintain readers, you wish need to include several helpful information as well. If you aren't more of a writer, there are articles accessible on the web that are free for publication, providing you include a link to the writer's website and a promotional paragraph. If you have a hard time finding these, consider posting a call for submissions on writers' websites offering $5.00 and free promotion via a byline. You wish be pleasantly astonished how many an folk respond with fresh and well-written ideas.
8. Purchase Advertising
Think advertising is expensive? Think again. There are innumerable bargain-priced opportunities for advertising on the Internet. Start by looking for sites which target the same market you do, providing they don't directly vie with yours. Chances are they have a link for folk interested in advertising on their site. If you can’t find it, just e-mail the webmaster or site owner and inquire. Another option is to do a search on eBay. Many an sites put banner ad placement on auction. You can find ad spots on eBay for as little as $5.99, but remember, it is an auction, and causal agency could easily beat you out. I recently saw a banner ad auction get up to $269.00. Don’t forget however, because it’s an auction, you have the power to limit the figure you wish pay a your maximum bid. It is important to have a banner available to go, since you wish ordinarily need to receive permission from the website’s owner before bidding on the auction. Always see the terms of the auction carefully, to do sure you understand the dates your banner wish be up and exactly wherever
it wish be placed.
9. Promoting Your Business Victimisation an Online Network
Just starting to catch on is a unique way to network with else small businesses by way of shared advertising. The basic idea is to swap business cards, flyers, or coupons (called "fillers") for your site with else small business owners. They wish put your fillers in their client orders and you wish put their fillers in your orders. Many an groups put together bags or packs with a compilation of member fillers on
with else goodies the recipient wish enjoy. These can be given out at area businesses, schools, day care centers, parties... the list is endless. If you have trouble finding a networking group think just about starting one of your own.
10. Write an Article
With a little activity and a free morning, you should be able to put together a couple of paragraphs for a "how-to" piece on your area of expertise. Just be certain it somehow relates to your website. Use your article in your own news report or search on writers' websites for sites or e-zines looking for articles that may be a good fit for your piece. Whether or not they pay for publication they wish be an superior
way to get the word out just about your site. Just be sure to support your byline brief and don't reference your website inside
your article unless utterly
necessary.
Jen Merkel is a freelance writer living in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and two children. Working from her virtual office, Jen offers business writing services (press releases, proposals, etc.) as well as assistance with meeting and incentive planning. Please visit her website at http://jenmerkel.bravehost.com or send her an email at jen.merkel@cox.net.
Just just about the Author
Jen Merkel lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and two children. Working from her virtual office, she offers business writing services (such as press releases, reports and proposals) as well as meeting planning assistance. Please visit her website at http://jenmerkel.bravehost.com or email her at jen.merkel@cox.net.
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