My partner is a web designer: often we find ourselves working as a tag-team for clients who are looking to put up a web site for the first time. One of the most common misunderstandings I come across when dealing with entrepreneurs of new businesses is a lack of knowledge about the nature of the internet itself. Many new start-ups are under the impression that the internet is sort of like a television with cable - they figure that if they put up a website, customers are going to regularly cruise through and "find" them. It can be really disconcerting for folks to discover that this isn't the case. They've spent the investment to get a website developed, it's up on the web - now, where is everybody? This is where a marketing strategy comes in.

Small home-business owners need to face the internet the same way they'd face moving to a new city: you are starting out completely alienated, and your goal is to become widely networked. Big businesses spend a lot of money on website marketing - from Google Ads to online directories - paid advertisements are big business. In contrast, small entrepreneurs usually have a low-to-zero budget to spend on advertising. How can one even hope to begin? At the request of a friend and small-business owner, I've put together a few simple, free strategies for people starting out with web businesses from home. Whether you are promoting your radio show, a massage practice, selling a product or your freelance services, these strategies will build a foundation for you as you learn how to network online.

Search engines such as Google^TM and Yahoo!^TM respond to keyword searches by displaying pages that contain your keywords, ranking pages highest that have:

• The keywords repeated many times in the page;
• Many links on the page to other sites of relevance;
• Many links to the page from other sites of relevance; and,
• Pages that receive the highest number of hits (lots of web traffic).

For this reason, the goal is to get your name and/or your business or product name on as many different high-traffic websites (other than your own!) as possible. Here are some ideas.

Many internet directories charge you to place a listing, but there are some that are free. LinkedIn is a free listing you can submit to that will give you some extra web publicity.

Web communities are online social or business networking tools such as Facebook and MySpace. Increasingly, people are using these for internet marketing and business networking. Larger organizations can create group accounts, mass email about events and start a fan club. Other types of web communities are directories listing websites by people centered around similar values. There are raw food networks, alternative medicine directories, and local farmer's market collectives. Learn to use the search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Dogpile, et al) to research the keywords related to your specific business and interests. Then get creative by joining online communities and submitting a profile on your business as part of the network. This will quickly link you to customers already interested in what you have to offer.

Forums are online discussion boards by topic. They require registration and set you up with an account and password for free. Once registered, you can post questions and answers on topics of interest as part of a community discussion board. The best tactic here: join a small number of forums related to your topic of interest and then post regularly as a member - in your profile, include your website address below your name so it appears after every post you make. Members who like what you have to say can quickly visit your website to learn more about you.

The next three options require upgrades in your website software, but they are worth it if they assist you in your particular business. Blogging, or online web journaling, has become very popular and is a way of gaining a regular following as part of your sales audience. Blogging is a great way to establish a voice for yourself as an expert in your field. By sharing insights, offering tips and publishing small articles on your blog, you gain web exposure and stir up interest in yourself as a teacher or lecturer on your subject matter.

A small add-on to the html code of your site will place a box on your homepage that allows people to submit their email address in order to sign up for your regular newsletter. This allows you to build a list of email contacts you can communicate with regularly in order to build a sales base. Email lists are great to have when you want to announce the launch of an event, a new product or provide a discounted offer, or just to keep in touch with your client base in order to build and maintain a long-term relationship. Newsletters can be extensive and complicated or simple emails sent out on a regular basis.

Special software is needed to add a forum and you will have to learn how to use it or hire someone to configure and manage it for you - however, the good news is that it is free. Forums generate enormous amounts of traffic when you are looking to create a community with your site as the hub. The downside to consider is how much time you want to spend moderating - forums have the tendency to become argumentative and can be a bit of a hassle if left unmanaged. Depending on your subject matter, this may or may not be a match for you. Check out some online forums to get a feel for how they operate and whether this would be a helpful addition to your site.

If you like to write, generating short (500-1500 word) articles is a great way to generate additional publicity. Online journals are always looking for new content - unlike printed magazines, most don't pay, so the editors are usually eager to get your article for free. Write a thoughtful and helpful article that contributes something to the field you are participating in and then submit it with a byline that contains your brief bio and your website address. Blog sites are popping up everywhere - these are unpaid sites in which you join and publish as a member for self-promotion. Check out HubPages and Helium. One note: sites of this nature may promise pay, but I can promise you, you won't make anything worth counting. The real value is in the self-publicity.

© 2008 JILL STEPHANIE MORGYN, COURTESY OF MORGYN CONSULTING, www.morgynconsulting.com.