Webmaster Discussions

So what’s the difference between promoting your website and a brick and mortar store? That’s a common question asked by new internet marketers. It turns out the principles are the same but the methods are different. Let’s take a look at how.

The main object of promoting either store is to first create awareness of the stores existence. Secondly you want them to know what you offer and why it will improve their life. Next you want to show them how yours is better than others in the market. This is all to achieve your final goal of visiting your store or site. Making the sale is another topic all together.

If you have real deep pockets you can start by advertising in the New York Times or on NBC for a brick and mortar store or on MSN or Yahoo sites if you’re on the internet. Of course you have to remember your AOL users won’t see you there just as your CBS watchers won’t see you on NBC. Most start ups aren’t going to worry about this problem as they don’t have the money to do this kind of advertising.

So what method do you use to advertise and drive traffic cost effectively to your site?
? Tell your friends and family about your site. The average person has about 250 people they would invite to their wedding. Let them know what you’re doing.
? Sign up for a leads service that will refer leads to your site. This will be a nominal expense in relation to the leads if you use the right service.
? Post your helpful opinions on forum web sites. This will add credibility to you as an expert and refer people back to your site.
? Place Solo Ads in targeted ezines. Ezines are electronic newsletters that are directed to select groups. This is a very effective method.
? Google Adwords is another way to reach your potential clients. Google adwords allows you to promote your website anytime someone searches for the words or phrases you have selected.
? Another effective method is to make promotional handouts that can be passed out to those you meet. Of course this must direct people to your website.
? Place newspaper classifieds. You can put together a very cost effective campaign using weekly papers that are less costly and can reach your target market.
? Write and publish articles just like this one that show your expertise and direct clients back to your website.
? Start your own blog. Your own blog allows you to ad more pages of content that refers potential clients back and forth from your website to the blog and vise versa.
? Write, have written for you or find an eBook you can brand. The eBook should refer and link to your website throughout the book. This not only shows you to be an authority but also where they can learn more. Advertise your FREE eBook and give it away.

There you have ten ways to promote your website. It’s like advertising a garage sale with yard signs all over town. It’s like putting signs all down the interstate that directs people to which exit they need to visit you. The internet is continually growing. The potential is endless. Go get your share.

Rod Hey

http://www.WinningLifeChoices.com/pips.html

3 Easy Steps to Work at Home Now!

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There are a few secrets that I’d like to share with you. You may have been privy to a few of them before. Actually you may have heard of all 4, but I can promise that you will finish each article with a fresh perspective. I will show you how 4 simple secrets can create a powerhouse web business. This is the second part of the 4 article series.

Before I divulge the vault of successful web business secrets I must warn you of one thing. All the information in the world will not take the place of determination and persistence. A web business is just like an offline business. It takes hard work and resolve to succeed. However working smart is heads and tails better than plain old working. These 4 secrets will turn any smart working, dedicated average Joe or Jane into a successful web business owner.

Web Success Secret #2) Without Traffic- What’s the Point?

Part 1 of this series really got down and dirty about content. Content’s main focus is twofold- make your visitors happy and make search engines happy. This article is all about making you happy! Think of this as your starter guide to increasing traffic and building a profitable business.

Traffic can be summed up in 2 words- free and paid. I consider all PPC (pay-per-click), ezine advertising, offline advertising, and paid directory submissions a form of paying for your traffic. I also consider any project that takes up your time to be paid advertising. After all in the business world time is money. Paid advertising is not bad. It just means that you are paying to receive traffic.

Free traffic is harder to attract, but it costs you absolutely no money. Almost all free traffic is the result of surfers finding your site on the search engines. We talked about using content as your ultimate search engine ranking booster in the last article.

Here are several ways to increase traffic. Some are paid advertising options and others are totally free.

- Write articles and submit them to several niche websites. Manually submitting articles to many websites can take a long time. I use a submission service to do all my hard work. Contact me for more info.

- Post in forums. Many forums will not allow you to market your product or services. That’s totally understandable. What I recommend doing is finding a really great forum that you can participant in. When people have questions, provide top notch and comprehensive answers. No selling. Almost all forums allow you to post your website in your sig file. Take advantage of that.

- Submit each page of your website to all major search engines. Also submit each page to all major search engines whenever you make a change on that page. Be careful with this one. Each engine has very specific directions and rules about submission rules. Be sure you do not spam! Submit pages according to each engine’s guidelines. I also use a submission service that does this for me at no additional cost.

- Create joint ventures with non-competing websites. Work with a company that compliments your product or service. Also be sure the joint venture is a win-win-win for you, the other company and your customers. Joint ventures can be a pain to set up and complete, but well worth it if done correctly.

- Look into ezine advertising, web advertising and/or PPC. Each method takes an initial investment and some time to learn, but can bring back traffic. Personally I do not prefer this method to increase traffic because it’s “iffy” at best.

- Print your website name on all business correspondences. This is a simple task, but one that is simple to do. Add it to your email sig line, forum sig lines, letterhead and business cards.

- Create an atmosphere of amazing customer service. This always leads to referrals from current clients. The more referrals the more traffic!

The bottom line is without traffic your site is floating in a sea of doom. No one is seeing your content or services. Traffic is the lifeline of any business, and the rule of thumb is more traffic means more income.

This brings me to my last and final point about traffic. Once you develop a nice flow of visitors you need to know specifics. Where did those visitors come from? How did they find you? What pages are the most popular on your site? What page did they enter into your site? What page did they leave your site? What keywords did they use to find you? You must know your visitor inside and out!

As I mentioned earlier, it is best to work smarter and not harder. Traffic analysis and search engine submissions can be very time consuming, but your hosting company should be providing most of these services to you free of charge. There are a small few that do this, but it is well worth the investigation. Contact me for further resources and information. Having a successful web business starts with effective content. Stay tuned for parts 3 and 4! If you missed Part 1 and would like a complimentary copy please contact me and I will forward it to you immediately.

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