Newsletter Archive > 20 Ways to Promote Your Website

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about developing a website is that they believe nobody will ever find it. Unfortunately people buy into this myth. Sure, there are millions upon millions of websites out there but people find them…and even better, they can find yours.

Here is a list of 20 free things you can do today to promote your website.

Search Engine Optimization

1.Write a descriptive, unique Page Title for each page on your site. Keep it short, no more than 10 words. Use words that describe the content found on each page.

For example:

Avoid using “filler” words such as “the,” “and,” etc.

2. Write a unique Description Meta Tag for each page on your site. The Description Meta Tag should be one sentence that describes the content on a particular page of your web site.

For example:

3. Include a Meta Keyword Tag for each page on your site. Your Meta Keyword Tags should be specific to the content of each page of your web site.

For example:

4. Make sure the Keywords you list for each page are used within the copy on your page. This is very important.

5. To ensure all of the pages in your website are getting indexed by Google, submit a site map to them. www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/

6. Make sure your website navigation is search engine friendly. Avoid using graphic buttons or Flash animations as your site navigation. Plain text links always work best.

7. Name your web pages appropriately. If you have a page that lists your services, instead of calling it services.html, be more specific. For example: copywriting-services.html or public-relations-services.html. Be sure you always uses dashes and not underscores.

8. Make sure all of your images have Alt Tags. (Mouse over an image or a logo on a web site, the text that appears as you do so is the Alt Tag.) Alt Tag refers to the text that is associated with an image. Alt Tags containing keywords can improve the search engine ranking of the page for those keywords.

Links Ahoy!

9. Submit your web site to Directories. Make sure your website is listed at dmoz.org as doing so will increase your ranking with Google. Yahoo is another important place to have your web site listed. Personal websites are free to list though they charge an annual fee of $299. for business related web sites.

10. Submit your website to Industry Sites and Specialized directories.

11. Request reciprocal links. Have a section on your website for links and request links from friends and artists whose work is similar to yours. If you link to their site first, they are more likely to return the favor when they ask. Take it a step further and create a banner ad for others to use when linking to your site.

12. Start a Blog! Keeping a Blog is a great way to not only share your thoughts and ideas pertaining to your art but it can also increase traffic to your web site if people are searching for the things you are writing about and linking to them. Keep your writing informative and relevant and people will keep coming back.

13. Enter you Blog in Blog directories like Bloglines.com, Blogorama.com, and Blogcatagory.com.

Utilize Traditional Media

14. Include your website address on your business card, letterhead, and stationary. Doing so may seem obvious but is often overlooked.

15. If you run print ads or distribute promotional postcards, make sure your website is included.

Email Strategies

16. Add a “Sign Up” form to your website so people can join your mailing list. NotifyList.com offers this service for free.

17. Email Signatures. Most email programs like Outlook and AOL allow you to include a “signature” at the end of each email. Be sure your company name, address, phone number and website information is included. Include your website within your email signature.

18. Send an Email Newsletter. Publishing a monthly newsletter is not only a great way to stay in touch with your clients, but it’s an excellent opportunity to keep in touch with your prospects, and build future business. Collect email addresses from prospective clients and friends and ask them if they would like to receive your newsletter. Constant Contact offers a free trial of their email Newsletter service.

19. Email special offers to your clients. Send special limited offers, coupons, and updates to customers and contacts who have given you permission to contact them.

Miscellaneous Strategies

20. Social Networking Sites. If you are already on social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, (for artists Self Portrait, or deviantART) make sure you have your website listed within your page and profile.

The most important thing to remember when promoting your website is to be useful. If your website is irrelevant to the traffic you have attracted, there’s no reason for them to stick around. As long as you are genuine in your communications, and strive to provide a truly high-quality website to your target audience, it will be relatively easy to promote your site.