How to get your site noticed and generate the kind of traffic that converts to sales
Published on December 5, 2003 By Geoff-USA In Internet
You've got a killer product and a state of the
art website.

"Now, how do you get your site noticed and
generate the kind of traffic that converts to
sales?"

A professional ad agency or promotion company
will get you noticed but their services cost
money.

If you are just starting out or have a limited
budget, there are great ways to promote your
website that cost you your time but little money.
And the time you invest in learning what works
will pay off even if you decide, later, to pay
somebody else to do the job.

Here is a beginner's guide to web promotion.

These six ideas are easy to implement, cheap, and
will generate a quick response. Be sure to check
the end of this article for one last tip to make
it all work better!

* Search engines.

1) Submit your website to the major search
engines. This is the most important step you can
take to get awareness and generate traffic for
your site.

2) Learn how to optimize your pages to get the
best possible ranking.

3) Include effective META tags, especially the
description tag.

* Opt-in email.

Email is the most effective way to talk directly
to potential customers and get them to your site.
But build your reputation while you are building
awareness - don't spam.

1) Put a sign-up box on your site where visitors
can subscribe to your newsletter or email
promotions.

a. Build a relationship by sending the
newsletter regularly.
b. Become a trusted source of news and
information.

2) Ask for referrals.

a. Offer current subscribers a reward for
referring friends and business associates to the
newsletter.

3) Have a game, contest, or giveaway to bring
visitors to your site.

a. Invite visitors to subscribe to your
newsletter.

3) Scan the subject lines in your inbox.

a. Which ones grab your attention? Before you
delete that next unread email, take a few minutes
to figure out why. Make sure your email gets
read.

* Free advertising.

1) Advertise on FFA pages, classified ad sites and
safelists.

a. You won't get targeted traffic, but you will
get links to your site, which can be a factor in
your search engine ranking.

* Reciprocal links.

1) Ask for reciprocal links from related companies
(not competitors!).

a. Write to webmasters of companies that sell
related products. If you sell office equipment,
ask webmasters of office supplies sites to link
to your page in return for posting a link to
theirs.

* Industry presence.

1) Write articles for industry ezines.

a. Publish tips, tricks and insider insights in
articles about your industry for the general
public.

2) If you can, make a presentation at a local
trade show or industry conference.

a. Make sure your URL appears on all company
literature and presentations.

Which brings us to the last suggestion--

* Put your URL everywhere.

1) Your website address is as important as your
email address. Make sure your URL is on all of
your company's stationary, business cards and
advertisements.

"Finally, what will make any of the above ideas
work better?"

1) Have a plan and stick to it.
2) Set some goals for increased traffic and a time
frame for seeing some results.
3) Analyze your sales, concentrate on what works.
4) Drop or change what isn't working.

You are building your business, strengthening
your customer relationships and learning a bit
more about promotion!

And you will make more money too!

----
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Comments
on Dec 05, 2003
Probably the biggest advantage JoeUser has as a blog is that it is designed very well for search engines. So any blog written here will end up reasonably well ranked because it is correctly formatted.