The past couple of months I've been hearing the same thing. My site is up, but I have little or no traffic or at least not the traffic that I want. How can I get more visitors to my website? What can I do to stimulate traffic? This kind of made it clear that there are companies, small to medium-sized entrepreneurs still throwing up sites without it being part of their overall business and marketing plan, or simply not having a marketing plan for the site at all
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Without question, putting a website online is not a case of building it and they will suddenly come. You have to work it, like everything else. Marketing your website as with everything else begins with the product/service offering and you have to build out a plan for the site.
But here’s is a mini DIY list to get you started.
Traditional
1. Issue News Releases. Find newsworthy events and send news releases to print and Web publications in your industry.
2. Include your URL (www.yourwebsite.com) on Stationery, business cards, and all marketing collateral. This is a no-brainer but easily overlooked. Make sure that all reprints of cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your company's URL.
3. Promote in traditional media. Continue print advertising that’s been working for you. But make sure to include your URL in any display or classified ads you have in newspapers, yellow pages, journals and event publications.
4. Create an email signature. Most e-mail programs such as Outlook allows you to create a "signature" to appear at the end of each message you send. The signature must contain Company name, address, phone number, URL, e-mail address, and a one-phrase description of your unique business offering or a short list of top 3 services. Look for examples on e-mail messages sent to you.
Search engine strategies
5.Submit your website url (www.yourwebsite.com) to search engines and key web directories. Submit your homepage URL to the important Web search engines that robotically index the Web. Look for a link on the search engine for "Add Your URL." The most common ones are google, yahoo, msn, aol search, ask.com
6. Submit Your Site to Industry Sites and Specialized Directories. You may find some directories focused on particular industries, such as education or finance. You probably belong to various trade associations that feature member sites. Ask for a link. You may want to add them to general directories people use to find new sites such as Top5Jamaica.com
Email
7. Publish an E-Mail Newsletter. While it's a big commitment in time, publishing a monthly e-mail newsletter ("ezine") is one of the very best ways to keep in touch with your customers/clients, build trust, develop brand awareness, and enhance future business. You can start your email subscriber list by asking your current client for permission to send them the newsletter and you can add to that database by creating a sign up form to collect their email address and other information.
8. Write Articles for Others to Use in their Newsletters. You can dramatically increase your visibility when you write articles in your area of expertise and distribute them to editors as free content for their e-mail newsletters or their websites. Just ask that a link to your website and a one-line description of what you offer be included with the article. This is an effective "viral" approach that can produce hundreds of links to your site over time.
9. Rent targeted e-mail lists. We all do not like "spam," unsolicited e-mail, but there are legitimate companies who offer email lists of subscribers who’ve opted in to receive advertising messages. But before you pay a cent, ask for a profile of their list, sheer numbers will not give you a clear understanding of who you are speaking to with your ad and you may end up throwing darts in the dark.
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10.Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers. Your own list of customers and site visitors who have given you permission to contact them will be your most productive list. Send offers, coupon specials, product updates, etc.
11. Ask Visitors to Bookmark Your Site. It seems simple, but make sure you ask visitors to bookmark your site or save it in their Favorites list.
12. Begin an Affiliate Programme. Here's how it works, an affiliate programme pays a commission to other sites whose links to the retailer result in an actual sale, sign up member etc. The goal is to build a network of affiliates who have a financial stake in promoting your site. If you're the one setting up the programme, you need to (1) determine the commission you are willing to pay (consider it your advertising cost), (2) select a company to set up the technical details of your program, and (3) promote your program to get the right kind of affiliates who will link to your site. Research affiliate programmes online to get even more ideas.
