We are not talking about how to promote my website because it’s doing fairly well. We’re talking about how to promote YOUR website.
Congratulations! You’ve joined the army of online entrepreneurs who have got their website up and running and… well, that’s it. They don’t see too many visitors on their pages, nor do they generate a hefty amount of money. How come it’s so?
Well, partly because the competition on the Internet is ever strong these days and you have to fight hard for survival. This is something I cannot change, really, even with all the expertise I have.
There is, however, another reason for the lack of success in most online businesses. That reason is the lack of promotion.
“Promotion, you say? But I have the best website out there – it’s beautifully designed and purely original in its concept. Do I really have to know how to promote my website?” you might exclaim.
Yep, I believe your website is that good and maybe it is, in fact, so. But how will people find out about you if you don’t promote your website? That is the $64,000 question.
I have always strongly believed that if I were making a website, I should know how to promote my website long before it’s up and running.
Yes, it’s kind of hard to plan that far ahead and very few people do that. But that’s what makes it so wonderful – if you are going to be of those few people, chances are you will succeed.
Here in this article, I’m going to give you a set of tips to show you different ways of promoting your website and putting it on the map.
Before we start popping out those tips, let’s see if we’re good with the basics. By basics, I mean the goals you have and how well your current website type corresponds with them.
Website Types
It’s not a secret that websites are made for specific purposes and most of the time one of the major purposes (if not the only purpose) is attracting visitors. Visitors eventually mean money (unless you’re running a non-profit organization).
Before you get down to implementing a marketing strategy and promote your website, it’s very important to know that you’ve been doing it right from the start, i.e. have chosen the proper website type for your business goals.
Choosing the right website type is important because it:
- helps you focus your promotion efforts in the right direction
- saves you time and money on later updates and changes
- creates an instant connection with your potential audience
Besides, it helps you align your current tasks with your long-term goals.
If you still haven’t started developing your website, this information would be a blessing to you. If you already have, it can still prove helpful in figuring out what you’ve done right and what you’ve done wrong.
Here are the main types of websites as we know them.
- Online business card
- Theme-based website
- Landing page
- Corporate websites
- Promotional website
- Showcase website
- Online shop
- Information portal
Depending on the nature of your business, you might choose one of those as a basis for your future website.
How to promote my website depending on its type
Now, let’s go deeper into each website type and see how these types are different from one another in terms of promotion.
1. Online business card
The most primitive website type, online business card serves exactly the same purpose as your regular, physical business card – it gives people the main idea of who you are, what you do, and how to reach you.
Online business cards rarely feature some fancy functionality and design – most of the time, they’re down to a few sections like About, Products/Services, and Contact Us. That is, essentially, everything you need to know about any business.
Despite its minimalistic nature, an online business card shouldn’t look ugly and feel awkward when browsing.
PROMOTION TOOLS TO USE:
- on-page search engine optimization (SEO) – here’s a great article on the subject “On-Page SEO Checklist: How to Build a Perfectly Optimized Website Page”
- build the semantic core
- cluster the semantic core
- optimize your metadata and tags
- local business listing
- create a listing for your website at Google Business or some of the less obvious yet effective services like DexMedia, Moz Local, and BrightLocal
- submit your website to trade organization sites and specialized online directories
- traditional promotion
- promote your website using common mediums like real-life business cards, classifieds, magazines etc
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 3/5
2. Theme-based website
A theme-based website is a further development of the previous type (online business card) – besides basic stuff, it provides you with information on a certain topic (theme), like bodybuilding, cooking or anything else that might be of interest to people.
My website can also be defined as theme-based (although, not entirely) because it’s main focus is digital branding, promotion and other ways of becoming successful with your online business.
This website type suggests having quite a lot of content (articles, pictures, videos, tutorials, how-to’s, and guides) and your success will largely depend on the quality of the content.
PROMOTION TOOLS TO USE:
- content marketing (read this article for more on the subject – “What Is Content Marketing: Guide to Successful Content Strategy”)
- only quality, original content, which doesn’t duplicate other sources and provides a real value to its readers
- on-page SEO
- optimized keywords and meta tags for each page
- come up with the right keywords to drive more organic traffic to your website (here’s a tool from Google to do that)
- email marketing
- ask your readers to sign up for your mailing list to get updates first
- once you’ve built up your mailing list, you can use it for promotional purposes like sending out promo emails
- social media
- having a Facebook, Twitter, and an Instagram page is a must – there, you should post some of your website content + original stuff tailored specifically for social networks
- stay in touch with your audience by replying to their questions, requests, and general feedback
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 5/5
3. Landing page
A landing page is a kind of website that’s all about converting visitors into customers. It’s like an online business card that is capable of selling stuff.
Landing pages usually don’t feature too much content and rarely have more than one page. The information here is presented in huge blocks to make it easier for visitors to scan, process, and come up with a decision.
Since it’s hard to imagine someone reading a landing page for the sake of content, the main promotion tool for this type of websites will be advertising.
PROMOTION TOOLS TO USE:
- pay per click advertising (PPC)
- pick the right keywords for your PPC campaign – the more specific you get, the bigger your chances are
- after launching the campaign, keep experimenting with keywords to see if you can drive more traffic
- conversion rate optimization
- track conversion on each step of the visitor to see where the weakest spot is
- experiment with design, copy, call-to-action (CTA), prices, and, basically, anything else that you can experiment with as long as it makes sense
- email marketing
- use your visitors’ emails to send follow-up information and offers, especially for those who haven’t completed the registration/purchase process
- segment your users for more effective email campaigns
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 4/5
4. Corporate website
Well, chances are you’re not running a huge corporation (if you do, however, give me a shout-out in the comments below – it’s my pleasure having you here 😉 ).
That’s why we’re just going to mention that a corporate website is like a combination of all of the types listed here – it has a bit of everything. It’s very hard to pinpoint a single promotional strategy for a website that can cost a few thousands of dollars just to develop.
At this stage, the company should probably have a special department responsible for web promotion, so it’s up to them to decide, which promotion tools to use.
5. Promotional website
A promotional website is a mix of a landing page and an online shop, which features just one product and is totally dedicated to it.
Many companies launch promotional websites for their new products to help push them on the market and create a buzz.
PROMOTION TOOLS TO USE:
- pay per click advertising (PPC)
- conversion rate optimization
- email marketing
- social media
- misc
- you can also link this page to your main website to create a natural transition for visitors both from the search engine results page and your website
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 3/5
6. Showcase website
A showcase website is a logical continuation of the promotional website – albeit, with enhanced features and functionality, like high-res product images, videos, articles, testimonials etc.
Here’s an example of such page.
The promotion tools are pretty much the same as with the previous type.
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 4/5
7. Online shop
Now this is where it gets haywire! Online shops are the pinnacle of modern web promotion – just take a look at Amazon and their product pages, navigation, search, payment system, and customer service.
With this website type, anything goes, really. All web promotion tools are used to some extent but your main focus should be satisfying customers – a satisfied customer is the best form of promotion known to mankind.
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 5/5
8. Information portal
Information portal mostly deals with content – news, articles, announcements, reviews, etc.
What you should be looking for here is the originality of your content and its potential to be shared and commented by visitors.
Also, consider finding advertisers (to feature their paid materials) and guest writers who are willing to provide content in exchange for money or exposure.
PROMOTION TOOLS TO USE:
- content marketing
- on-page SEO
- email marketing
- social media
OVERALL PROMOTION POTENTIAL – 3/5
Conclusion
Now you know the answer to the question “How to promote my website based on its type?” and have various promotion tools at your disposal. Good luck!
The right thing to do would be share this article with your friends on the social networks – just click on one of the icons of social media, it’s that easy.
If you have further questions on the subject, please write them in comments – I’ll be glad to answer.
Loading...
Comments0