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Website Marketing Initiative

The following are initiatives customers can consider to attract visitiors to their websites, and more importantly, the business products and services their business provides consumers.

Linking Strategies

Links to your site from other sites drive additional traffic. But since Google and other major search engines consider the number of incoming links to your website ("link popularity") as an important indicator of relevance, more links will help you rank higher in the search engines. Google has a measure called PageRank that reflects the quantity and quality of incoming links. All links aren't all equal. Links from trusted, popular sites help your site rank higher than links from lower traffic sites.
Linking Strategies to consider:

  • Submit Your Site to Website Directories
  • Submit Your Site to Trade Organization Sites and Specialized Directories
  • Request Reciprocal Links
  • Write Articles for Others to Use in Websites and Newsletters
  • Issue News Releases

Social Media Marketing

Our next type of website promotion comes from the mushrooming field of social media, in which people are encouraged to interact with each other, and respond to each other's blog postings and comments. You should be aware of four types of social media: (1) blogs, (2) social networking sites, (3) social bookmarking sites, and (4) forums. Don't be upset if the distinctions between types of social media tend to blur. Social media help promote your site by sending direct traffic, producing links to your site, and generating awareness. The subject is too diverse to go into detail here.
Social Media to consider:

  • Begin a Business Blog
  • Become Part of a Social Media Community
  • Promote Your Site in Online Forums and Discussion Lists
  • Write Articles for Others to Use in Websites and Newsletters
  • Ask Visitors to Bookmark Your Site

Traditional Strategies

Just because "old media" strategies aren't on the Internet doesn't mean they aren't effective. A mixed media approach can be very effective.
Traditional Strategies to consider:

  • Include Your URL on Stationery, Cards, and Literature
  • Promote using traditional media
  • Develop a Free Service

Website E-Mail Strategies

Don't neglect e-mail as an important way to bring people to your website. Just don't spam, that is, don't send bulk unsolicited e-mails without permission to people with whom you have no relationship. Many countries have anti-spam laws.
Email Marketing strategies to consider:

  • Install a "Signature" in your E-Mail Program
  • Publish an E-Mail Newsletter
  • Aggressively Ask for E-Mail Sign-ups
  • Send Transactional and Reminder E-Mails
  • Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers
  • Exchange E-Mail Mentions with Complementary Businesses

Website Paid Advertising Strategies

None of the approaches described above is "free," since each takes time and energy. But if you want to grow your business more rapidly, there comes a point when you need to pay for increased traffic. For example, advertise your business and website using Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter. Advertising on these major search engines is sold in one of three ways: (1) traditional CPM (cost per thousand views), (2) pay per click (PPC), and (3) pay per action (PPA) or cost per action (CPA) approaches. Examples of the latter are affiliate program and lead generation programs. Banner ads get such a low click-through rate (0.2%) that we don't recommend paying much for them. Banner ads typically cost about 50¢ to $1 per thousand page views, except on targeted sites. Do some small tests first to determine response. Then calculate your return on investment (ROI) before spending large amounts. Here are some methods to explore:

  • Advertise in an E-Mail Newsletter
  • Begin an Affiliate Program
  • Purchase Pay Per Click (PPC) ads
  • Rent targeted, commercial e-mail lists