20 Free or Affordable Ways to Promote Your Site

In just about every forum on the web you will find the same question over and over "How do I promote my site?". Most of the time their question is answered with a quick list of advertising methods, or a site with more information. Usually this does not satisfy the new site owner, and only leaves them with more questions. So the question should be "How do I learn how to promote my site?"

In order to help all new business owners with marketing, they need to understand how different methods work, and most of all learn that there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything! They also need to learn that one method is not going to give them everything. For example, targeted traffic and back links don't always come in the same package. What works for one site may not work for the next, and of course experience is your most valuable asset. Since no one can teach you experience, I figured it would be a good idea to talk about promotional methods that really work. This way you can stop wasting your time and money with shady methods, and spend your time learning how to use the right advertising methods.

#1~ Video sharing sites like You Tube and My Space videos can offer you tremendous traffic for months or years to come. With so many new webcam avatars and video editing software, you don't even need to be in the video. I recorded myself playing Mario Galaxy on the Wii, and uploaded it to many different sites, then added my site name at the end. In order to get the best exposure, upload your video to every video sharing site you can find. There are 100's out there.

#2~Article Marketing will never grow old or use less, it just evolves. We all know that article sites are a great way to get back links and exposure, but many are offering new incentives. Some sites offer pay per view, affiliate links, social networking, and much more.

#3~ Online Classified sites still do work, you just need to optimize them with good keywords so your ad will come up in the search engines. You need to also re-new them every month so your links will be indexed by the search engines on a regular basis.

#4~ Sweep Stake sites can offer you 100's of visitors and back links for free. Instead of paying $49.95 for the next big traffic secret, hold a $50 contest instead, and submit your contest to all relevant sites. I guarantee your email list will explode.

#5~ Traffic Exchanges can offer you hundreds of visitors, but most of them will be untargeted or not interested, so you need to have a different landing page just for your traffic surfers. Most people show a squeeze page with just a newsletter box asking for them to receive a free report. Anything that will only take about 30 seconds, this way your surfers can join your newsletter and then move to the next site.

#6~ Make sure you add your site as your signature in all your email accounts. This only takes a few minutes to do, and you will be pleasantly surprised my the results.

#7~ Online and printed coupons can go a long way because everyone one is looking for a good deal. This method is quite affordable as well. Many online sites only charge a fee once your coupon is used, and you can order or make your own business cards that double as a coupon.

#8~Social networking can be very beneficial if you have the time and follow the policies. Many business networks are popping up too, which will allow you to promote your business for free. It also pays to be friendly and make new friends, I have received some really great traffic techniques from my networking buddies.

#9~ Directory submissions may not provide you with much traffic, but it is one of the only ways where you can get 100's of back links for free. Back links are very important when it comes to search engine optimization. Just keep in mind that it can take months to actually be listed. Many marketing gurus say it is best to join only new directories, this way your site will be listed in a matter of days. To find a list of 1000's of directories just visit your favorite web master forum.

#10~ Forum posting can give you back links and visitors, but usually it's just other members sizing you up, to see if you are worthy. So I recommend your signature should be an article or page that you receive pay per views from. For example your favorite videos from You Tube or a squeeze page.

#11~ If you have a very unique free service or tangible item you are giving away for free, submit it to free sites. They are always looking for great new offers for their customers. If your freebie is accepted your site will usually get a solo ad sent to their entire customer base, featured on their home page, and a permanent link, all for free.

#12~ If you or a family member travel a lot, make sure your site info is on your vehicle. My best friend has to remove her sign some months, because she gets more business than she can handle.

#13~I could right a whole book on ways to create business with online auctions, but since this is already a lengthy article, I will only give you my favorite method. Since I enjoy to write, I write 3-5 page articles and sell them on eBay for $7.00, and of course there is always a link to a relevant site in the article. Plus I send a personal email to all my buyers, which has my main site in the signature.

#14~ Sponsoring any newsletter or charity is usually very affordable, and I am not just talking about business enzines. Most free sites (eCards, free stuff, etc.), are always looking for good sites. I sponsored a Free Stuff newsletter for $20, that had a database of almost 500,000 subscribers.

#15~ Expired domains can be a great alternative to traffic exchanges. You just need to make sure you research the domain before you commit to a purchase. Just be carefully with this method and think logically. If a company or person offers you an expired domain with 10,000 visitors for $20, than the traffic is probably computer generated.

#16~ Web 2.0 sites like Hub Pages, Squidoo, and Social Book Marking, are really a great place to start. Starting a business is hard enough, then forking out tons of money for hosting and etc., can really pile up. Not to mention you will get a much higher page rank for free. To me Web 2.0 is just Niche Building Sites evolving.

#17~ We know email signatures work, so why not having your site stamped or printed on every snail mail you send out. I have a huge red funky stamp that stamps my url on the back of all my envelopes. Since it is a fun design it does not look so business, so more people are curious about it.

#18~ Web Rings, Groups, Yahoo answers, safe lists, and blog comments can offer you some nice traffic and back links. However, since most of these methods are spammed to death, it may be a little difficult to find just the right ones. Most of these methods can be very time consuming and show little results, but with a little practice and research you will be able to find the best method for you and your business.

#19~ Viral Marketing is really not a method but many people have twisted the concept to make it look like a form of advertising. View 10 sites and then adding your site in the system is an electronic chain letter and nothing else. Every true advertising method you use should be an opportunity to go viral. You want customers to refer your site and come back because they want to not because they have too.

#20~ The most important and most over looked form of website promotion is Good Content. If you only have banners on your site or just a bunch of affiliate links, why would anyone want to link to your site, recommend it, or book mark it!