Once you create a website, the next step is to get traffic! But how? You dont have an email list yet, so you cant use that method. And you dont have bottomless pockets for paid advertising. Should you just sit there and wait for people to find your new site? Certainly not! Here are 10 free ways that you can drive targetedtraffic to your new website…
- Article Marketing
Write 3 articles that are related to the topic of your website. Include a brief bio and link to your website at the end of the article. Submit each of these articles to article directories, and also to webmasters and ezine owners that rank well for your keywords. - Forum Marketing
Do a search on Google for keyword+forum. If you have a pet related site, for example, search “pet forum” (without quotes). Find the top 3 forums in your niche and join each of them. DO NOT SPAM, but do set up a profile (and signature, if allowed) and post an introduction. Get involved in each of these 3 forums by posting at least one thread or response each day. This will help you gain exposure in your target market, and people will naturally be interested in your related website. - Yahoo! Answers
Go to http://answers.yahoo.com and find questions related to your niche or website. If you can provide a legitimate answer to their question, you can include your link as the resource or reference URL. Again, without spamming, if you can contribute to the community you will interest them in your related website. - Viral Marketing
Write a Report that would be of great interest to your target market, and sell it cheap. Include your bio and information about your site within the report (briefly in the Introduction, and fully in the About The Author section at the end). Offer 100% commission to Affiliates, and you will have all of your competitors sending traffic to your website for you. To make this super-easy, you can get the instructions and the script to do this (here) – it’s well worth it - Social Networking
Set up profiles at popular social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Ryze.com etc. Network with people in your niche and get established on these sites with a customized profile. It is very easy to grow your network, and people who are interested in what you offer can find you easily. If you can use “photo marketing” to your advantage (cute pet pictures for a pet site, for example), include Flickr.com in your networking list as well. - Blogging
Blogging can be considered another form of Social Networking, and enough so to be considered a stand-alone marketing technique. You want to set up a blog that is directly related to your website’s topic, and post content to it frequently (3-5x/week minimum). If you have a pet store website, for example, you can create a blog on Pet Tips (dog grooming, dog training, etc). For detailed tips see Social Networking in the Blogosphere. - Press Releases
You can write and submit a press release free of charge. While some websites charge to publish your press release (and this may be worth the investment!), many also offer a free submission option. You want your press release to be newsworthy, so you choose your angle carefully. Do a search on Google for press release tips. - Search Engine Marketing
Learn all that you can about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and take the necessary steps to optimize each of your web pages. It is not complicated or impossible, but there is a lot of mis-information out there about search engines. I can help you with this personally if you like (free) at my discussion forum – look for the SEO section. - Get Links!
Submit your new site to appropriate directories, and get it listed on niche resource pages. Link farms and exchanges on “link pages” are a waste of your time, but do seek out quality linking opportunities. You want a variety of links pointing to your site, not only to your main page but also to internal pages of your site as well. - Funnel Traffic From Other Sites
This strategy may require a little creativity, but you want to consider ways that you can funnel traffic from popular websites such as: craigslist, ebay, youtube, wikipedia, etc. These are very popular websites that are established and bursting at the seems with live visitors. Think of ways that you can add something of value, and (without spamming!) lure these visitors to your website.
Use these 10 strategies as your initial Action Plan. Once you complete all 10 steps, go back to the first and begin again. Consistently marketing your site in a variety of ways is the key to gaining exposure and getting a consistent flow of traffic into your website!
