18 Ways to Promote Your Website Online for FREE

18 Ways to Promote Your Website Online for FREE

Getting leads and converting them into paying clients is a challenge for startups and newly-launched businesses. The way to generate leads is by attracting relevant traffic to your website. Easier said than done however, because the biggest challenge to new business is cost.

So how do you promote your website for free?

I have compiled a list of 18 methods that can help you attract clients and drive traffic to your website for free. You can use one or several of these elements to start promoting your website and getting the word out about your services and business.

1. Directory listings
2. Social Media
3. Commenting on Blogs and Forums
4. E-Mail Signatures
5. Social Media Bookmarking
6. Press Releases
7. Video Sharing
8. Podcasts
9. Referral Systems
10. Free Classified Ads
11. Banner Advertisement Swaps
12. Reciprocal links
13. E-mail Blasts
14. Joining Online Communities
15. Content Marketing
16. Guest Posts
17. Asking Clients to Review Products/Services
18. Photo Sharing

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1. Directory Listings

There is a lot to be gained from listing your business in online directories, maps and search engines because once you’re listed, potential customers know that you actually exist and are able to reach out to you. There are numerous services available for free that allow you to list your website and business to be found by people when they use their services.  The best-known business listing sites are Yellow Pages, Google My Business, Yelp for Business Owners, and Yahoo Local.  Here are some directories to consider submitting to: R-TT Directory, So Much, Directory World, All The Websites. Most importantly, make sure you submit your website to Google’s Search Console.

2. Social Media

Social media is a great way to promote your content for free, but keep in mind that not all platforms necessarily work for your business. Pinpoint the most efficient and compatible platform to target your audience and use it to drive value by showcasing your brand identity efficiently. Each platform also has best times to post, so you need to research when your audience is using your main social media platform of choice and post multiple times a day and consistently based on your niche and / or services. Luckily, you don’t have to do this every time because most social media platforms allow you to post scheduled content and plan ahead. A Social media plan is a must if you want to increase your audience and reach and ultimately, build a database of loyal and consistent followers, so make sure you have a plan before you’re using social media for promotion.

3. Commenting on Blogs and Forums

Never comment on blogs and forums just so that you can promote your own material. Nowadays, people see right through this tactic and do not appreciate leeching off of their hard work. The key is to build a strategy where you become relevant in your field and are considered a knowledgeable and welcome guest whose contribution is valued. That will get more people interested than openly displaying your website or blog URI in the comment section without any substance to back up your contribution. To find the best blogs to post a comment on, check the blog’s D.A (A highly relevant back-link that has SEO value). Once you locate the most relevant blogs with the highest D.A, set up Google Alerts to be notified as soon as a post is made and you can be the first to see the material and comment on it, which gives you a lot of exposure both to the author and other people who will comment as well.

4. E-mail Signatures

An e-mail signature is a block of text that’s found at the end of an e-mail message. Each business e-mail you send should include a professional e-mail signature on the bottom. I recommend a maximum e-mail signature width of 650 pixels and a maximum height of  90 – 150 pixels for any. Examples of what to include in your signature are your contact information (email, phone number, address), your website link, and your position. Keep it simple and professional.

5. Social Media Bookmarking

Users save links to web pages that they like or want to share, using social bookmarking sites to store links that they can share with others and refer to later. Social news sites focus on specific articles and blogs while others like Reddit and HackerNews focus on social bookmarking of news-related items such as politics, sports, technology, etc.

6. Press Releases

Small businesses and startups don’t usually require press releases to advertise their services, but you may find yourself needing them at some point in the future. Some free resources to submit press releases are Free Press Release , E-release.com, or 24Pressrealease.com.  You can use them to generating backlinks as well.

7. Video sharing

Make sure you are making the most out of the world’s largest traffic source – videos. People love visual content and the proof is in the numbers. An estimated 78 percent of U.S. internet users preferred to watch video to other visual content. Video has a lot of potential and can be used to convert leads to customers. Using a well-placed video on your landing page can increase your conversion rate by 80%, according to EyeWideDigital. If you’re not on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo or other similar video sharing websites, you should start a channel of your own. You may even want to consider to register for a Pro-account, and get a 30-day head start by using powerful video creator tools.

8. Podcasts

Podcasting is a form of audio broadcasting on the Internet. Adam Curry is credited with the invention of podcasting in 2004. Podcasts can help drive traffic to your website when you present value that people want to tune in to listen to. This may not be relevant in your specific niche, but for some businesses, it can have huge money-making and lead conversion potential.

9. Referral Systems

Reviews and referrals are the new way people are learning about your business before they buy. An estimated 71% of online shoppers are now looking at what others have to say before they buy. That’s why customer referrals are one of the most powerful selling and marketing tools available for your business, and tools that you should constantly make sure are reflecting a positive image about your business. The best referrals are genuine and come from truly satisfied customers. Building a steady stream of customer referrals will improve your reputation and credibility and attract new customers to your business. A study performed by The Wharton School of Business found that a referred customer is 18 percent more likely to stay with a company over time than the average, off-the-street customer.

10. Free Classified Ads

Free classified ad websites can do wonders for promoting your website, services or even products. Free classified websites such as craigslist, Free Ads Time or Classifieds for Free are at the top of a list of best 100 free classified website for posting ads. Search for the closest category in your niche and post your ads. Don’t forget to include and highlight your website’s URL, and make it easy for people to find your website link.

11. Banner Advertisement Swaps

Banner ad swaps are a great way for you and another business to help each other increase traffic to your respective online businesses. The main idea is that you will show ads on a website and they will show their ads on yours.  Banner advertising is comparable to contextual advertising,where you choose the niche of the sites you want to target.  Unlike simple link swaps, which are often hard-coded directly to a page, banner exchange networks allow rotation of ads among many different sites, sometimes with the benefit of reaching targeted audience.

12. Reciprocal links

I do not recommend abusing reciprocal links. Too many, and you can find yourself in trouble with Google. Before opting to use reciprocal links, make a quick search on reciprocal links rules and how you can use it to increase your website performance as opposed to harming your reputation with major search engines.

13. E-mail Blasts

E-mail blasts are powerful, relevant, and can get you a lot of traffic which end in lead conversion. Add an opt-In form so that people who are interested in your blog, service or products subscribe to your marketing list through sign-up forms and are always informed of the latest news regarding your services. Opt-in forms can be pop-ups or embedded within the footer of your website. Utilize web-based email marketing service such as MailChimp to send an email or series of emails to a contact based on a specific campaign. Any distributed content can be created and measured in MailChimp, including automation, workflow, settings, scheduling, and content for distributing a series of automated emails.

14. Joining Online Communities

Steve Jobs, once said “People with passion can change the world.” Whatever you are blogging about, you can always find enthusiasts who share the same passion. Leverage the community,  join groups on Facebook, create a community on your website and reach out to like-minded people all over the world through your blog.

15. Content Marketing

There are as many types of content marketing as there are types of content. Content marketing can be in the form of infographics, webpages, podcasts, videos, books, presentations, audibles and motion graphics. There are many digital companies that offer content marketing services, often paired with SEO or PR. If you can’t do it yourself and aren’t ready to manage hands-on, then you might need to consider hiring a digital agency.

16. Guest Posts

“Guest posting” means writing and publishing an article on someone else’s website or blog. Guest posting is an extremely useful way to connect to people within your own niche and new readers who may not have been familiar with your content or services prior to your guest post. The most useful way you can make the most of guest-posting is by using backlinks. As time goes by, they raise your website’s Domain Authority and make you easier to find on search engines.

17. Asking Clients to Review your Products / Services

Customer reviews are important because the vast majority of people today are listening to what others have to say about your business. If you have a Google My Business account, your customers can now see your overall star rating once five or more people review your business. This helps your company stand out from others when people are searching for products and services that you offer. Create a link that customers can click to leave a review of your business on Google, and actively encourage them to leave reviews. You can easily share the link with customers to encourage them to write reviews and rate your business. If reviews are negative, reach out to the client directly and see how the experience could have been made better. Clients are not out to get your business, and will most likely remove a negative review if they are attended to and heard.

Here are the 5 best ways to get consistent (and high quality) feedback from your customers:

18. Surveys
19. Feedback boxes
20. Reach out directly
21. User activity
22. Usability Tests

18. Photo Sharing

Uploading images that are relevant to your business and enhance your brand identity will increase traffic to your website. Every image you upload should be tagged with a keyword and also have a Meta tag which helps search engines identify your image and include it in the search display for the user.

Conclusion

Your website should be present anywhere online, and you don’t have to break the bank to get started. Remember –  it takes an average of 7 impressions to make 1 conversion.