Step One - Target the Right Market
You will have to find Web sites that target the type of audience you are marketing to. For example, if you are selling sports products, advertise at sports related sites, newsletters, forums and etc. Focus at your targeted market and find l similar possibilities to target as well. If your sports products are designed for young people then make sure your website is visible where there are lots of young people.
Step Two - Generate Lots of Traffic
You need to generate lots of traffic to your Web site and gain recognition, you have to promote in as many places as you possibly can. Do not just spend all your advertising budget in only one or two spots. Make sure you measure the amount of traffic they are generating. Be aware that some sites charges high advertising rates but may not be generating as much traffic as they claimed. There are many sites that offer great deals and charge at affordable rates.
Step Three - Use the Search Engines
Google, Yahoo and MSN search are the best places to do research on "Free Advertising", "List your URL", "Add your URL", "Add your Site", "Free Site Promotion", etc. Use your targeted keywords with the search terms and you will come up with loads of possibilities. There are still lots of site where you can get free advertisment.
Step Four - Contribute Articles or Write a Report
You can either write the article yourself or hire a ghost writer from Elance.com. Your article does not need to be long - you can get a freelance writer to do a 400-word article for $20 or less. Alternatively, you can write a short report on a topic that you are familiar with. Then give permission to others to use your articles in their Web site and newsletter. Make sure you have your Web site URL at the end of the article. Or, better still, use appropriate text link your website. Distributing your articles and reports will attracting more traffic to your website and increase the number of inbound links which is vital to your ranking in major search engines.
Step Five - Add New Content Constantly
Add good content to your website constantly - say at least one new article every week. People will return to your Web site for fresh content. You may consider to "RSS enabled" your articles section so that people subscribe to your article feed. Again, if you do not have the time to do the article yourself, hire a freelance writer. Beside your human visitors, search engine spiders love fresh content. When you constantly add new content, the spiders will visit your site more frequently and your search ranking will improve over time.
Finally, always remember the bottom line is number of paying customers to your website. Your measure must be in terms of ROI. Get as many visitors to your website as you can afford and maximize your conversion rate to improve your profits. And always ask when you are in doubt and be willing to pay for good expert advice.
