Wahm Budget Ads

“If you build it, they will come.”

Can you say Hogwash! That magic only works in the movies, and no matter how wonderful your website, if you don’t take a few basic steps, it will just sit there and gather virtual dust. The only way to get traffic to your site is by learning the basics of website promotion. Online promotion is totally different that traditional promotion, but if you can grasp and use the secrets, a line of virtual headlights will be heading towards your field.

1. SEO is the starting point. SEO or search engine optimization is the core of any good website promotion plan. SEO involves using keywords which are words that are part of an article on a webpage that are specific in describing what is on eht page. There should be inbound or incoming links from relevant sources, and URL submission to the major search engines like Google and Yahoo to let them and the world know that your site exists.

2. Social networking sites need to be visited to create relationship with like minded individuals. These communities have become a huge part of getting inbound links, building credibility and networking with people in your field. Many of the social networking places include familiar names: Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, MyBlogLog and the like, which are community forums that will highlight and introduce your website and it’s products and services to the world. These posts should be themed, not random or you’ll rapidly build negative credibility for spamming. There really is no need nowadays, because social networking is so easy and it’s fun.

3. Article marketing has long been the mainstay of any good promotion campaign. Give them away. Put them in article directories where others can read and use them. Each article picked up has a backlink or inbound link to your site. If somebody on some other site reads your article, likes it and wants to learn more, they will click on the link at the bottom. You, in turn, will receive traffic and potential customers.

Write ebooks and reports and give them away. It’s all about information. The power of giving away ebooks builds instant credibility and in each book you can add our website address. If they like the ebook, they will come to your website. It becomes viral, because if they like it, they will pass it on. More ebooks given = more visitors to your website.

5. Get other sites to link to you. This is usually done with the free article trick, but you can offer hordes of other free goodies: ebooks, online tools, free software downloads. You may also be able to guest blog for someone with good traffic, or just pay them to run your link somewhere on their site. Just make sure their Google rank is high before you spend all that time and money.

6. Offer free services. Recipes, calorie counters, and exercise charts are perfect content for a weight loss site because people will keep coming back to use the tools. Automated tarot reading and astrology charts work well for paranormal sites. What can you offer?

7. Create an affiliate program. Affiliates are like your salesman and cheerleaders. They get a percentage of each sale they make, each referral gives them a little. You, in turn, make more sales and they will do promotion for you.

8. Contests and games are real winners. There are tons of contest clearing sites. If you let them know you have a contest, they will link back to you. Come up with a prize related to your niche so that the traffic that arrives to sign up, will be interested in what you have to sell.

There are plenty of other ways to generate traffic for your site, but this will get you started. Remember, if you ADVERTISE it, they will come. And come. And come.

Learn tips for marketing an online business, or how to start a home based internet business. Visit the website marketing tips blog at http://www.nitromarketing.com/blog

- Kale McClelland