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Way back in the day, it used to be enough to just have a website. All you would have to do is buy a domain, create your website and wait for the traffic to start coming in. Back in those days though, it would not only cost you a couple hundred dollars to buy a domain name, but it would also take quite some time before you became the official owner of it.
Of course, a lot has changed since those days. The barriers of entry have dramatically fallen to the point where anyone can get their own domain for under $10 and start using it within a few hours. Unfortunately, because of these dramatic reductions in cost for online real estate, everyone and their mother are getting their own website. Gone are the days where you can just build a domain and wait for traffic to come, so I thought it would be appropriate to present 10 free tactics to promote your website that many people have never thought about. Some may consider these tactics rebellious, others may think they are bizarre. No matter what you think of them, they have proven to be effective in numerous instances.
That being said, I hope you will find some value in these tactics for promoting your website for free:
- Take advantage of popular user-generated content services. From social bookmark sites like Digg and Delicious to social review sites like Yelp, get your friends to utilize them to help promote your business. While I definitely do not condone the activity, I have seen instances where people actually use these kinds of services to bash on their competitors.
- Submit your website to the local business directories of Google, Yahoo and Bing. This will allow your business to show up for anyone who uses these search engines to find businesses in your local niche.
- Write about yourself. From mini-business biographies to “About the Author” sections in your article, make sure to tell readers about who you are and what you do. I can’t tell you how many times I see other real estate professionals doing this, so why not do it yourself? After all, you just never know what kinds of results will pop up when people search for your name on search engines. By writing about yourself and publishing the content on high-authority websites, you can help manipulate the search engine results in your favor when people search for you.
- Write an informative and engaging article on your website or blog, then post fragmented versions of it on other blogs, social networks, forums, etc. Then, provide users the option of being able to read the entire article by linking to the complete version on your website/blog.
- Create and administer your own groups in your niche. Monitor the content they publish and make sure it is all relevant. Don’t forget to mention your business, such as “The Real Estate Marketing Group, brought to you by [yourwebsite.com]“
- Make sure to always follow up with every connection you make. These are most likely your best prospects since you have already established a connection with them. As crazy as it sounds, I constantly hear people saying they always forget to follow up with their connections. Don’t be one of those people.
- Leverage content. Instead of just spending money on advertising, focus on your blog and invest in promoting it. Write quality posts, and use various social services and tools to distribute them to numerous social networks, directories, and other services.
- Join groups you can affiliate with and post comments and articles to it, with links to your website.
- Get involved with your local chamber of commerce, make connections, and attend all of their hosted events. This is all about building your business network.
- Establish partnerships with other advertisers. Contact people who advertise and that you can develop partnerships with. After all, people who are advertising will not want to miss your call. Tell them how you came across their ad and discuss ways you can help one another out. It’s a win-win.
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