When it comes to online marketing, one too many people have the perception that “if you build it, they will come”. Unfortunately, succeeding involves far more than just creating a website. With literally billions of pages on the web, it is very unlikely that someone will just run into your website. People know what they are looking for and those that do stumble upon your site – well, they could be looking to litter your inbox with spam or worse. Simply put – if your website isn’t promoted, it will become buried deep within a corner of the web it may never be seen by anyone that matters.
Smart Web Design
Effective website promotion all begins with design. You could have the most beneficial product or service online, yet if your site looks unprofessional, visitors will not take you serious. Your site should have a professional design and encourage your visitors to stick around. Aside from appearance, your website should be designed in a manner that helps to naturally increase your visibility. This means optimizing it to be search engine friendly. Make sure your content is rich with relevant text and keywords your ideal customer is likely to type into a search engine box. You should also reach out to other people in your market and exchange links. Learning to capitalize off keywords and link popularity can help you generate traffic that consists of prospects with a general interest in what you are offering. A finely designed website lays the foundation and could make your promotion efforts that much easier.
Advertising
Though it may seem obvious, some get so caught up in SEO that they underestimate the value of good old fashion advertising. This of course, will require an investment on your part but can be very effective if you choose the right avenues. There are many ways you can go about this such as purchasing ads on other sites or signing up for Google Adsense and other pay-per-click campaigns. Banner exchange programs have also been effective and tend to be one of the most affordable ways to promote a website.
Final Thoughts
There are a number of ways to effectively promote your website from newsletters to email campaigns. The key is to formulate a workable plan and stick to it – even when the going gets rough. You don’t have to obtain a million hits per month to be successful online, however, without promoting your site, it is likely that no one will even know it exists.