SITE DESIGN

You might not even be aware of it, but design of your site itself - code and content - can bring more traffic your way.

Search engines "reward" pages that meet certain criteria (varies from engine to engine) by moving those pages higher in search results.

If you're interested in tweaking your pages in hopes of climbing up SERPs (search engine results pages), you'd do well to visit three sites we spoke of in part one, in regard to search engines:

Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com) WebmasterWorld (http://www.webmasterworld.com) SearchEngines.com (http://www.searchengines.com)

Another two worth a peek:

SEO Today (http://www.seotoday.com) ClickZ Today (http://www.clickz.com)

BARTERING FOR AD SPACE

If you're open to idea, you can gain some free publicity by trading your services or products in exchange for ad space.

Oftentimes, other webmasters are willing to trade out banner ads, newsletter ads, or sponsorships in return for work they might need.

"Barter clubs" exist, but you can also simply approach another site owner if you have a barter proposal you feel would be of interest to him or her.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE SATISFIED CUSTOMERS

One of THE BEST sources of referrals is word-of-mouth advertising via your previous customers.

This accounts for a large share of my business and it's a real lifesaver in slow times (which inevitably occur). When your cash flow starts to more closely resemble a trickle, it's hard to plunk down more money on advertising. It's always great to have customers who are willing to do that advertising for you!

You'll be surprised at just how much business your previous clients can send your way. If they're happy, they have no problem saying good things about you and your business.

Plus, a recommendation from a friend is normally a much better advertisement than a paid one.

Be careful, though; word-of-mouth can backfire. If your customers are UNhappy, they still might be more than eager to "spread word" about your business - and that's type of "publicity" you DON'T want.

WRITE AND SUBMIT ARTICLES

Have a lot of information related to your business that would benefit others? Share it!

SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION

While quite a few engines require you to pay to be included in database or to bid for rankings, there are still search engines that allow you to submit for free.

You can use one of automated programs readily available to submit your URL to x thousand search engines, but most of your traffic will likely come from "big boys" - and it's a snap to submit to them manually.

Many of search engine crawlers will find YOU if you establish quality links to your site, but it won't hurt to submit URL yourself, just to be safe.

A few places to submit your URL for free:

Google (http://www.google.com/addurl.html) Potential for LOTS of traffic with a good ranking. Alta Vista (http://addurl.altavista.com/) AllTheWeb.com (http://www.alltheweb.com/help/webmaster/submit_site)

You should also submit to Open Directory Project, which is a directory, not a search engine, but many search sites and directories utilize ODP data. You can access their home page here: (http://www.dmoz.org).

For more information on search engines, try these sites:

Search Engine Watch (http://www.searchenginewatch.com) WebmasterWorld (http://www.webmasterworld.com) SearchEngines.com (http://www.searchengines.com)

PUBLISH YOUR OWN NEWSLETTER

Starting your own free newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with visitors and (hopefully) convert them to customers at some point.

There are several services that allow you to very easily set up your own email newsletter for free. Be aware that "free" is usually code for "in exchange for displaying our ads or our clients' ads"; depending on service, though, some of these ads are barely noticeable.

Two sites that enable you to publish your own newsletter are:

Bravenet Newsletter/MailingList (http://www.bravenet.com/webtools/elist/index.php) Topica Exchange (http://www.topica.com/create/index2.html)

Once you set up your account, it's on to next step...what to include in your newsletter.

It's best if your content relates to items or services you sell. If you sell wedding/bridal items, you might publish tips for planning a wedding. Run your own ads in newsletter and you're assured of reaching your target market - and you'll save yourself a lot of money in advertising fees.

Bear in mind that running a newsletter full of ads probably won't be conducive to garnering long-term subscribers. You'll need quality content to entice folks to subscribe and then persuade them to stick around.

You can write this content yourself, but if you don't relish idea, there are many writers eager to allow you to publish their work for free, provided you append their "resource box" to article.

A resource box is a four to eight line blurb that tells a little about author, and often includes a link to his/her site. This is usually required (in lieu of payment) for permission to use article.

A few places you can locate free content are: