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Posts Tagged ‘website promotion’
Tuesday, July 26th, 2011
Article marketing is still alive and well on the Internet. Do you ever wonder where you can publish your articles and build links back to your website or get the attention you deserve as an expert in your field? Here are 5 non-article directories that are great places for marketing your article content.
- Squidoo – Squidoo is the brainchild of popular author and marketing genius Seth Godin. You start a “Lens,” which is a single-page resource on a given topic. You’re allowed to link to other places on the Web, and that includes your own websites.
- HubPages – HubPages is a place for authors to publish articles on a variety of topics. You can monetize your articles on HubPages with your Amazon affiliate links, Google AdSense, eBay, and other monetization strategies. Another thing you can do is link out to other pages on the Web.
- Knol – Google Knol pages have become very popular as well. These articles tend to be more technical in nature and you can add as many links to your Knol pages as you want. Written well, they can be a great source of information and establish you as an expert in your field.
- Helium – Helium is another site similar to HubPages where you can write articles on specific topics, monetize them, and build links to other pages on the Web.
- Triond – Triond is unique. You publish your articles on topics at Triond and they are syndicated to niche websites so that you can reach a larger audience.
For greater leverage and flexibility, try using these 5 websites for publishing your articles. Note, however, that you’ll be more effective at each site if you publish only original articles.
Tags: article marketing, self publishing, website promotion
Posted in Article Marketing | 9 Comments »
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
Until Bing called itself a “decision engine,” not many people had heard that term. And I’d wager to say the same thing about “discovery engine,” though I like that term. It’s what Erica DeWolf calls StumbleUpon.
Social bookmarking has become a very popular way for many people to find new websites. Because of that, it’s become a popular way for many marketers to present their websites for discovery. But StumbleUpon offers some unique ways of being found.
First, it’s a real simple “Like” or “Not Like” vote. Yes, StumbleUpon came upon this concept long before Facebook. It has worked for SU for about nine years now.
If you download the StumbleUpon toolbar, you can “Like” or “Not Like” in one click. But other things you can do is to search for new websites, and you can search in a number of ways. You can search by friends – that is, Stumble through the sites Liked by each friend on your friends list. Or, you can Stumble by interest. By that method, StumbleUpon will take you to new sites randomly based on interests you have already noted by the sites that you have liked in the past. It’s a whole new way of discovery.
Now, what is the best way to use StumbleUpon for your small business? Here are a few tips:
- Write a new blog post
- Stumble your post and Like it
- Using the StumbleUpon toolbar, send your post to a few friends and ask them for a Stumble
You have to be careful with Step #3. Make sure your friends are open to you asking for their help. Not all Stumblers enjoy getting those requests. It is most helpful if you pick a handful of your friends who are willing to help you with Stumbles and that you are also willing to help out in return. You can exchange Stumbles and help each other promote your content.
Tags: discovery, Like, social search, StumbleUpon, website promotion
Posted in Social Media | 8 Comments »
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
It seems that some media companies don’t like people linking to them. They want to charge to be linked to. The history of the Web is such that website owners have always linked to content on other pages – ones they don’t own – without needing permission or paying for the privilege to do so. The Web is the public square.
That does not mean that the Web is public domain. You can’t steal or appropriate whatever you want for your own purposes just because it’s out there. Intellectual property rights still apply online.
But where is the line?
I think the line is clearly intent. Are you being helpful and does your link benefit the site you are linking to without detracting or impinging on their right to profit from their own content? If so then I’d say you are good for your link.
Linking has always been seen as a form of payment. When you link to another website you are essentially benefiting them in the search engines because that link could be counted by Google, or another search engine, in its search ranking algorithm and could potentially benefit the other site by pushing it up in search rankings. But you are benefiting the other site as well in another way. Traffic.
If you send traffic to another website because you link to it then that’s payment. That new traffic could very well purchase something.
So I really don’t understand these media companies that are complaining about being linked to. And, remember, if it’s true that you are benefiting those websites you link to then it’s true that sites linking to you are providing you with unpaid benefits as well. Why complain?
Tags: linking, search engine optimization, website promotion
Posted in link building | 3 Comments »
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
Link building is an essential aspect to doing business online. When you have a website and you want to increase your search engine rankings for the keywords that you are targeting, on-page optimization will only take you so far. Link building can get you further. It’s not a first line of offense, but it’s a great enhancer.
What methods do online marketers use to build links to their website? Here are some ways webmasters build inbound links:
- Article marketing
- Blogging
- Social bookmarking
- Social networking
- Viral marketing
- Forums and blog comments
- Widget creation
- Reciprocal linking
Reciprocal linking has almost gone out of fashion. Some webmasters still do it but they don’t rely on it for huge link building success. They really would prefer one-way inbound links.
When you want to take your website further and increase the already good exposure you’re getting, link building is one sure way to help you get there.
Tags: inbound links, link building, website promotion
Posted in link building | No Comments »
Monday, May 4th, 2009
If you want to build a successful website, whether you are building a site for an existing business or starting an online business, you need to consider these 3 essential factors. How you approach each of these factors will determine to a large degree how successful you are at building an online presence:
- Site Design
- Website Development
- Website Promotion
Website design is all about how your site looks and how easy you make it for your prospects to find your website.
Development is about the functionality of your website. Is it easy to navigate? Do you make it easy for your customers to find what they are looking for and are you effective in converting them to customers?
Finally, website promotion is all about how well you market your website so that prospects can find you. Is it search engine optimized? Do you use social media effectively?
If you want to be successful online, it helps to have a plan. You’ll have to consider all three of these essential factors in your plan. Leave one out and you could very well be leaving money on the table.
Tags: web design, website development, website promotion
Posted in website development | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Here are a few reasons why website promotion is key to your success in the short and long-term:
Whether you’ve built a small niche website or a large directory, knowing how to promote your website is the only way to ensure success for the long-term. Websites built with search engine optimization in mind aren’t guaranteed traffic; while you may reach high search engine rankings that lead to a steady visitor stream, branching out with a powerful website promotion strategy will help you create a firm foundation and capture the market.
Here are a few reasons why website promotion is key to your success in the short and long-term:
- Marketing your site helps build brand awareness. Building recognition for your brand is an ongoing process, but many website owners fail to see how important this step really is. Branding can be as simple as sending out press releases with your website URL and logo, or complex as building up a newsletter list and sending out frequent news bytes and other information to your customers. Promoting through social networks and other social media is another way to create brand awareness and encourage steady traffic to your site.
- Building quality content will attract visitors. With the advent of Web 2.0 social media sites, more and more people are getting ready to share quality content they’ve discovered. Part of your website promotion strategy will involve building quality content for your site so that people begin to share and link back to your content, videos and blogs; this naturally starts to attract large amounts of traffic.
- Directory submissions help boost page rank. Building an SEO-friendly site isn’t the only way to gain good PR rankings on Google; making sure your website has been submitted to different directories and listing sites can help you drive clicks to your site when people are searching for content specific to your industry. There are many directories to choose from, but you need to know which specific category and section to submit to so you get the best placement.
- ‘Freebies’ will drive traffic to your site consistently. Giving away something for free can also help you build traffic and encourage new visitors to frequent the site. Whether this is a free eBook, video or tutorial, anything that will attract unique visitors to your site is a part of website promotion efforts.
- Using keywords and key phrases will help you capture your target market. Capturing your target market on a consistent basis gives you leverage against the competition. When you are developing unique content that captures a captive audience, both advertisers and visitors will become aware of your brand, your site and your business. This is an effective website promotion strategy that will help you create a phenomenal business; a few carefully selected keywords and key phrases may be all it takes to drive quality traffic to your site and build your business with ease.
Developing a website promotion strategy is a critical step for any business, and will help you create a firm foundation to build upon. Promoting a website through any or all of these five channels is a simple way to get started; there are several strategies that you can employ consistently to achieve results, but all are equally important in getting the traffic and brand exposure you need for your future success!
If you liked this article, would you do me a favor and vote it up at Digg and HubPages? Thanks!
Tags: small business marketing, website development, website promotion
Posted in Small Business Internet Marketing | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008
Which Comes First??
The Importance of Website Design
Designing a website that is not only relevant to your market but also optimized for the search engines will lay the foundation for your success. Successful sites on the web today are driven by social media and Web 2.0 platforms; your website must have a few fundamental elements of Web 2.0 design interwoven to the site so that components such as articles, blogs, and video can be shared easily across the major social networks. Without these components, you could be left far behind your competition and fail to reach your target market. In the end, this means lower levels of traffic and infrequent visitors.
A website that is both SEO-friendly and W3C compliant is another important element to keep in mind; if your site isn’t indexable by the search engines, even the most creative website promotion strategy won’t bring you steady traffic for the long-term.
The Importance of Website Promotion
Promoting your website also plays a critical role in website development; with the right strategy and well-designed site in place, you will be able to build steady traffic while increasing brand awareness of your business.
The overall design of the site can help you branch out into different social media networks and develop successful website promotion campaigns. For example, having a simple ‘share this’ feature implemented on your website will enable any user to bookmark your content and share it with their social network. This is a very basic, ‘natural’ form of website promotion that can essentially help you market your site to your target market. Including a discussion forum or a blog where users can post comments is another way to build a high-traffic site; this is another form of marketing as word-of-mouth spreads when users share information and link back to their posts and comments.
Without the appropriate features in place – which are all a part of your web design project – none of this can take place.
How to Proceed with Website Design and Website Promotion
When you’re building a website with new features and custom content, you will need to make sure the content is applicable to your target market’s needs. This is where a strategic marketing plan may be required, and this will then turn into a formal website promotion plan geared specifically to your market.
From the launch stages to tracking your visitors and learning about their behavior on the site, building your site to accommodate for your marketing strategy will help you get the leverage you need to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace – no matter what type of industry you are in.
If you liked this article, please give me a vote!
Tags: small business marketing, website design, website promotion
Posted in Graphic Design, Small Business Internet Marketing | 1 Comment »
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