Google Consultant and Internet Strategist

SEO SEO Help Website Promotion


What exactly is website promotion then ?

Website promotion is as its name suggests the promotion of a website through the use of advertising and marketing.

What are the different types of website promotion ?

The following are three main types of website promotion and examples of each (some of these are easy ones but I guarantee there will be some you have not yet thought of):

  • Online Promotion.
    • Submit your website to the directories.
    • Submit your website to the search engines.
    • PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising and Sponsored links.
    • Banner adds.
    • Affiliate programs.
    • Reciprocal links.
    • Outgoing links.
    • Incoming links.
    • Start a blog.
    • Create a RSS Feed.
    • Join a relevant forum and take part in the discussions.
    • Write newsletter.
    • Write free articles for your website and submit them to relevant newsletters and websites.
    • Offer free services.
    • Advertise on relevant websites.
  • Offline Promotion.
    • Magazines, Newspapers, Local papers, Freebie papers.
    • Yellow pages, Thompson local.
    • Television, Radio, Cinema.
    • Banner advertising.
    • Car advertising.
    • Charities.
    • Press releases.
    • Envelope advertising.
    • Business cards.
    • Event sponsoring, Local team sponsoring.
  • Viral Promotion.
    • The use of a signature on all of your emails.
    • Word of mouth.
    • Previous customers recommendations.
  • Things to stay away from.
    • FFA Pages.
    • Click exchange programs.
    • Anything that offers to put your add or link into hundreds of link pages, blog's and such as it is most likely spam.
    • Most website awards unless from a highly reputable source (most places use them to get a link from your site and end up better of than you).
    • Company's that offer to submit your website to thousands of websites.

Where should I start in promoting my website ?

If you follow the bellow steps for website promotion you should be on the right track::

  1. Make sure your website is free of broken links.
  2. Ensure you website is optimised towards the search terms you are going for (see the Search Engine Optimisation Page for help).
  3. Submit you website to the directories (you need to give this a few weeks till you start getting results back)..
    • DMOZ
    • Yahoo
    • Looksmart However if your site is not purely commercial it is possible to get into looksmart for free via Zeal best thing is to have a look and see if you qualify.
  4. While you are waiting for the directories to look at your site now is the time to start a PPC campaign. This will really kick start the promotion of your website and deliver highly targeted traffic as long as you use the right keywords in your campaign. Both Google and Overture will help you choose the right keywords and walk you through setting up your account. I always suggest using the following because they cover approximately 90% of web users:
  5. Start contacting websites in the same area as you although not in direct competition and request a link exchange this will not only generate some targeted traffic to help in your website promotion but it also gives your website credibility.
  6. By now you should have some results from the directories and you can go on to to submitting to the search engines.
  7. Now is the time to submit to the search engines and for this we are not going to pay someone were going to do it ourselves for free. Yes that's right for free, I have found some software that you can download and use for free from a very reputable company called webceo. Their software is up to date and they do a free version that will do much more than just submit to all of the search engines for you but for this part that is all we need it for. If you have already completed your website optimisation and have read my Search Engine Optimisation section then chances are you have already downloaded it but if not do so from the SEO Software page. Now simply follow their instructions and use the software to submit your website to all of the search engines (you only need do this once).
  8. Carry on generating reciprocal links and add in your own choices of promotional method using the above suggestions to get you started.

Remember you have worked hard on your website promotion and it takes time to get to the top do not be tempted into trying bits of software for £19.99 that promise the earth if it doesn't sound good enough to be true it probably isn't.

I hear a lot of bad things about website promotion company's ?

Unfortunately there are a lot of company's out there taking money from people for website promotion and not actually giving much back in return.

This is why you need to be careful when making the decision of choosing a company to handle your website promotion.

Below are a few questions you should ask before making your decision:

  • What methods do you employ when undertaking Website Promotion ?
  • What qualifies you to be able to provide me with a Website Promotion ?
  • How long do you think the website promotion project will take ?
  • How much will this cost ?
  • What will I be getting for my money ?
  • What other websites have you promoted and can I speak to the them ?
  • What can you guarantee for me ?

The golden rule with website promotion companies is if what they say sounds to good to be true then it probably is so if in doubt do not risk it and if you are in need of some help please contact me and I will be only to happy to help!

Further Information on website promotion:

If you would like further information on website promotion please contact me.

Copyright 2004 Ben Norman