I honestly believe that I am the cheapest man alive. My hesitation to spend money even that of my company has reached legendary status inside of the Imoutdoorshosting family. However, I do love to fish and in order to pay for my growing assortment of spinners and plastic worms that currently overflow my tackle box I have to get people to our Web site. That being said here are a few ways in which you can spread the word about your Web site without making a huge dent in your paycheck
Tip #1 – Link, Link, Link (Did I mention Link)
The number of links pointing to your Web site is critical in getting your site high on Google and Yahoo. They see this as a validation that your site is legitimate and therefore will place you higher. Directories and other sites that have related content are great for this. I suggest going to http://www.addurl.nu and submitting to all the free directories as possible. Just be sure to use the correct keywords and description for your site. Also try to vary the keywords and descriptions across directories. Every good campaign has to be tracked. Go to http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com to find how many sites are linking to you.
Tip #2- Tell people about it
Find a free/affordable press release service such as http://www.prweb.com and use it to announce new product launches, changes to your Web site. Not only do you have a good chance of being picked up by some news Web sites, you’ll get a link back to your site (See Tip #1)
Tip #3 – Tell people to tell people about it
Word of mouth advertising is easily the most effective method of advertising. If you provide a good service, this often takes care of itself. Additionally, providing monetary incentives (small ones should do) is a guaranteed motivator to help bring in business.
Tip #4 - Become an “expert”
Add a blog to your Web site and write articles that people will find interesting. Not only will this make your Web site more interactive, the text-heavy content of a blog is loved by search engines. Also, be sure to have a “Send this to a friend” link at the bottom. It helps with Tip #3. Participating on forums that relate to your industry is also valuable. Your knowledge will encourage people to visit your Web site, and plus adding a link to your site in your signature helps with Tip #1. If you’re not an “expert” on any subject matter, don’t worry about it because most of us who blog aren’t either.
Despite the fact that I love being cheap, I am also a realist and accept the fact that in some instances, you do need to spend money (gulp) to make money. Once you do Tips 1-4, I suggest purchasing Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Engine Marketing or even our TargetClicks product. They can provide a great return on your investment as well without serious breaking your bank.
