Back to basics.At times, website promotion can seem confusingly complicated. There seem to be so many, sure-fire new ways to get thousands of hits to your site. Whilst some of these methods work, most just waste your time.
So, welcome back to
basics of website promotion - 10 simple, effective, ways to promote your site. Learn something new, or just remind yourself of an 'old favourite'.
1. SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO SEARCH ENGINES & DIRECTORIES
Submit your site to all major search engines and directories (except Yahoo!). Repeat at monthly intervals ONLY if your site isn't listed - this especially applies to Google!
Links: - http://www.addme.com/submission.htm - http://www.shoptour.co.uk/submit-all.html - http://www.shoptour.co.uk/go/affiliate-announce.html http://affiliatetoolkit.com/affiliateannounce/
Tip: Hand submit your site to major search engines here - http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/site-submit
2. SUBMIT YOUR SITE TO YAHOO! (ZEAL & DMOZ)!
Both Yahoo!, Zeal and Open Directory Project (DMOZ) are search directories that are edited by real people (on Zeal, *you* are real person!). As such, you must follow submission guidelines of these sites exactly, or your site will not succeed in getting listed.
A listing on Yahoo! is useful as it's still one of busiest sites on web, and DMOZ helps your chances of a good listing on Google.
Links (how to suggest your site): - http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/ - http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/info/include.html - http://www.dmoz.org/add.html - http://www.zeal.com
Tip: (see below)
3. SWAP LINKS WITH OTHER SITES
To swap links, do following: - Identify sites with similar content to yours; - Get in touch with site's webmaster (use their name); - Politely ask for a reciprocal link, then create a "Links" section on your site and put links there.
Not everyone will respond, but it is worth your effort as search engines (especially Google) rank sites based on how many other sites link to it!
Links (more information on what to do, and what not to do): - http://www.cashway.com/secrets_of_reciprocal_linking.htm - http://www.reciprocallink.com/article1.html - http://www.howipromotemywebsite.com/link-swaps
Tip: (see below)
4. JOIN A FREE BANNER-EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Place a banner ad. (or text ad.) on your site and other sites will place your ad. on theirs in return. It's a great way to get your site noticed, and there are many free banner exchange programs to choose from.
Links: - http://www.ukbanners.com - http://www.bannersgomlm.com - http://www.linkpartners.com - http://www.txtswap.com/cgi-bin/txtswap/ea/aff.cgi?832 http://www.txtswap.com
Tip: (see below)
5. USE A SIGNATURE FILE
A signature file (sigfile) is a block of text that can be appended to end of each e-mail message sent by your e- mail software. Use it in your e-mail, or whenever you participate in discussion groups relevant to your services or products (see below).
For example, I sometimes end emails I'm sending to a fellow webmaster with following text:
"Thanks, Steve --------------------------------------- Free webmaster articles help you build, promote and profit online. Read them online or by email. http://www.wise-buys.info/webmaster-articles.shtml ---------------------------------------"
