I have a sporting goods based online retail buisness, I sell optics, firearm accessories, and game calls. My site is camascreekoutdoors.com (Camas Creek Outdoors) and I have worked out all the bugs I can find and am ready to advertise. My buisness is totaly internet based, where would I get the most bang for my buck and are there ways to get my website out there for little or nothing? You need to think of two things:
- Getting TARGETTED TRAFFIC (those interested in what you actually offer, not those get-100000-hits-for-$29.99 types of sites which is useless traffic)
- CONVERTING those visitors to buyers (getting them to your website is one thing; but making them actually buy is another thing)
You can use pay per click advertising in the search engines to reach audiences looking for your products. You can use Google Adwords http://www.google.com/adwords or Yahoo http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com
Here are some shoestring marketing ideas that can help you get the visitors you need at the least cost possible:
1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement - if visitors love your content, then they will go back and spread the word to others.
2. Make it easy for users to recommend your site. Viral marketing is very important -- and easy to tap on the Web. But give your users the tools. Get a Recommend this Site script from websites such as cgiscripts.com and similar directories of scripts. Some even go as far as giving incentives to those who recommend the site to their friends. If only 10 people go to your site, but these 10 people invite 10 more - that's additional traffic that you get for FREE!
Recommend Site Scripts (various) http://php.resourceindex.com/Complete_Sc...
Big Nose Bird Recommend this Site http://bignosebird.com/carchive/birdcast...
CGI Resource Index http://cgi.resourceindex.com/Programs_an...
Hostscripts http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Scripts_an...
3. Rank well in the search engines (organic search results, not the pay per click). SEs can be a big source of traffic. The key is to create the best content in your niche. If you have good content, other websites will gladly link to you and offer your site as a resource to their audience. Check the on-page factors and be sure to get linked from authority sites in your topic area.
If you are going to read only one piece on search engine optimization, I suggest you read Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld.com's "Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone: 26 steps to 15k a day." http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/201...
4. Send out press releases. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and (c) get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.
http://www.prleap.com/sign_up.html
http://i-newswire.com/
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/...
http://www.pr.com/press-releases
http://www.prfree.com/
http://www.clickpress.com/releases/index...
http://www.theopenpress.com/
http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com
http://www.newswiretoday.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/
5. Submit articles. Write articles and submit them to websites accepting author submissions. You get exposure for your business; establishes you as an authority in your field, and allows you to get backlinks for your website. If 50 websites publish your article and it contains a link back to your website, then you easily get 50 links from a single article. The more links you have, the greater your chances for increasing your search engine rankings.
Here is a comprehensive list of where to submit your articles http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=...
6. Improve your conversion. Getting visitors is one thing; getting them to buy your products is a whole different story. Read the article " How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site " http://www.powerhomebiz.com/092006/ecomm... for tips on how to improve your conversion rates.
7. Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:
Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com
Classifieds for Free http://www.classifiedsforfree.com/...
Text Link Exchange http://www.txtswap.com/
Recycler.com http://www.recycler.com/
Yahoo Classifieds http://classifieds.yahoo.com/
US Free Ads http://www.usfreeads.com/ Write articles about your website or ideas.
Share your knowledge, use keywords.
Go ahead, advertise yourself.
Make your article Famous!
Invite others to read your article!
There are no rules.
It's free to join!
http://famouspages.info There are many ways to promote your internet business via the internet:
1. Search Engine Optimization
Search engines are vital in bringing traffic to your site. You would want you site to appear at the top of search results when people enter, for example "firearm accessories".
The first step in doing so is by submitting your website to major search engines for free.
Google - http://www.google.com/addurl/
Yahoo! - http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
Live Search - http://search.live.com/docs/submit.aspx
However, submitting your website does not guarantee that your website will appear in the search results. You may have to employ engine optimization (SEO) services. Here is a list of companies offering SEO services: http://seo.biz.tm/
2. List your site on major web directories
You should get your site listed in a web directory under the a category like "Outdoors". The best web directory is the Open Directory Project (http://www.dmoz.org/ ). Sites listed on DMOZ usually get high rankings on search engines.
3. Free advertising
Some sites allow you to promote your website or products for free:
http://base.google.com/
http://www.spottt.com/
http://www.txtswap.com/
4. Consider paid advertising
Paid advertising like Google's AdWords which you can easily set your budget for advertising. Your advertisement will appear along with regular Google search results. Learn more at http://adwords.biz.tm/ . An alternative is Yahoo! Search Marketing (http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/ ).
5. Public Relations
Submit press releases to make the public aware of your business. Here are some websites that offer free press release submission:
http://www.prlog.org/
http://www.theopenpress.com/
http://www.free-press-release.com/
Last but not least, ask your friends and family to visit your site. If they like it, they can help you spread the word for no cost at all! |
