Last updated on October 24th, 2023
We hand-picked these resources based on their usefulness, rate of success, and overall quality, and we hope you find this article informative and valuable. Enjoy!
1. Article Directories
Article directories are a fantastic way to get traffic and backlinks to your website. Many well-established article directories have been proven to get website traffic. People search for articles in different categories, and after reading the article, they usually follow a link at the bottom of the article to your website.
eHow
EzineArticles
HubPages
ArticlesBase
ZenBusiness
IdeaMarketers
OtherArticles
2. Business Directories
Posting in business directories is still an effective way to get backlinks and little traffic. Most directory sites have many listings that are organized. Being that there are so many business directories, the best way to find one related to your site would be to do a Google search or use the websites below to find them.
Google Business Profile
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
D&B Business Directory
Starting Point Web Directory
Business.Com
3. Classifieds
Classifieds are a common way to quickly make posts for free and reach large amounts of people. They tend to work better for business or service-based websites, but you can also drive traffic to other types of sites.
Craigslist
AmericanListed
BizBuySell
eBay
4. Forums
Forums are another great way to get backlinks and traffic, but you need to contribute to the forums and not just spam them with your links. I recommend becoming an active member of forums related to your site and including your website link in your forum signature. By making intelligent and informative posts, people will be inclined to check out the link in your signature because you have built interest in yourself.
The best way to do this is to manually search for forums related to your site and then sign up to start posting.
5. Social Networking Sites
Social networking sites are often overlooked as a way to market a website or blog. Having many friends and access to groups can be an excellent way to contact many people effortlessly and efficiently. Most social networking sites also have forums and classifieds that you can post in.
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
Tiktok
6. Social Bookmarking Sites
Social bookmarking sites can be a fantastic way to promote your website. Many people will write a killer article and then submit it to social bookmarking sites to drive traffic to that article, hoping it will get bookmarked a lot.
Pinterest
Tumblr
Scoop.It
Reddit
7. Search Engines
Search Engines are probably one of the most challenging ways to market a site, but also one of the most popular ways because the traffic you get can be highly targeted to exactly what your site offers. This is especially important for sites selling products and looking for a high conversion rate.
Ranking well on Google for a phrase like ‘graphic design’ in search engines would be extremely difficult, so look for longer or more detailed keywords. Targeting niche markets and low competition long tail keywords is usually better.
Similarly, you can leverage the power of SaaS link building and other SEO strategies to promote your website and boost its visibility in search engines.
Google
Yahoo
Msn
Yep
YouTube
Bing
8. Word of Mouth
This is a fundamental and old-school way of marketing, but it has remained because it is effective. All you have to do is tell all your family, friends, and co-workers about your new site or blog and let them do the work! Be sure to have business cards to give out to anyone you speak with.
9. Pay per Click Advertising (PPC)
PPC advertising takes a lot of studying and can cost a decent amount of money, but if your site is well-designed and converts well, or you are just looking for traffic, it can be a potent marketing tool. So, it should be no surprise why many multi-vendor eCommerce platforms use PPC advertising as a marketing strategy, particularly if they offer headless commerce capabilities.
Google Ads
Yahoo Native Advertising
Microsoft Advertising
10. Banner Advertising
The difficulty in banner advertising is simply creating a very alluring banner design in the amount of space specified. Some sites don’t let you create animated banners, but if you have a very intriguing static banner on a good website, it can surely get you traffic.
The best way to do this is to manually search for websites and blogs related to your site and contact them for a banner exchange.
11. Text Link Advertising
Text link advertising is usually cheap and can bring in lots of traffic, but the traffic tends to be rather unspecific – which is okay sometimes. I find it best to look for sites related to your website to buy text link spots on. Or, if you are looking for tons of traffic, you can go to significant text link sites that offer spots on very large websites.
12. Print Advertising
Print advertising can be costly but is especially useful when advertising in a specific location. For example, if you are opening a new restaurant in a city, sending out flyers is a surefire way to get people to your website and restaurant. You could also drop off business cards or flyers at local stores and start offering your services to local people.
UPrinting
Signs.Com
eSigns.com
48HourPrint
PrintPlace
13. Portfolio Sites
Many websites host portfolios of designers and artists. By submitting your work to their sites, you will often get a lot of exposure to your site through a link.
www.behance.net
www.altpick.com
www.deviantart.com
14. Tutorial Sites
Submitting tutorials is a great way to get traffic to your website via a link. Many designers submit tutorials to sites like the ones below and get much exposure. Most of these tutorial sites are very well-ranked, so getting a link on them can be very good for your website or blog.
Skillshare
Udemy
MasterClass
Udacity
Pixel2life
15. Link Baiting
Link baiting is when you write or post something that has the potential to be blogged about, linked, or bookmarked a lot. Good content will significantly help your website or blog, but you can step it up by producing videos or articles specifically for link baiting.
16. Contests
People love entering contests, especially if there is a desirable prize. Competition prizes range in types. Some sites offer exposure and links, while others offer money or physical prizes. The key to a successful contest is getting lots of people to enter, so make sure you promote your contest as much as possible on forums, classifieds, and more. Also, don’t be afraid to enter contests to win money or prizes!
17. Link Exchanges
This is arguably one of the most important ways to rank well for keywords and bring traffic to your website. It is essential to exchange links or get one-way links from relevant sites. Ensure you use an essential keyword because your links anchor text, not a word like ‘click here’ or something you don’t want to rank well for in search engines.
The best way to do this is to manually search for websites and blogs related to your site and contact them for a link exchange.
18. Email Marketing
Email marketing can be very beneficial if done well with the right lead-finder tools. You do not want to be a spammer or buy lists of emails, though. The way to work email marketing is to have an opt-in email form on your website where users can sign up to receive emails and special offers. Offering a free e-book or tips is an excellent way to get people to sign up with a verified email address. Once they are signed up, you can send emails once in a while to bring them back to your site or to promote something.
HubSpot
iContact
Sender
19. Viral Marketing
This is the hottest new way to market a website, but it is not easy! You have probably heard about all these YouTube videos getting millions of views and articles on Digg getting thousands of hits. If you can think up a clever, funny, or helpful idea and tie it into your website via a link or some other way, you can drive incredible amounts of traffic to your site with very little money or possibly none.
20. Videos
Creating videos has become very popular since the creation of YouTube and other video-based sites. This ties into viral marketing and is an excellent way to get people interested in your blog or website, especially when you have a versatile video editor online at your disposal to enhance your content. It is most common to show or say the URL of your website at the beginning and/or end of a video or somehow tie it into your video site profile.
YouTube
GoogleVideos
MySpace
Yahoo
MsnVideos
AolVideos
21. Podcasting
This basically creates audio files and lets your users download or stream them via a link on your website, blog, or RSS feeds. This is an excellent alternative to creating videos if you don’t have a video camera or don’t like being on film. I have seen many sites successfully offer audio downloads to give users a large amount of information quickly. You can even post on craigslist.com and hire voice-over talent for your podcasts at affordable prices.
22. Blogs
Blogs are a great way to reach a lot of people quickly. They take a lot of work, and to make a blog effective, they need to be updated with fresh content at least several times a week. Many websites will have a blog in addition to the main website as a sort of news system for their main site or just a way to drive traffic to a website.
www.wordpress.com
www.blogger.com
www.blogs.hyvor.com
www.tumblr.com
www.wix.com
www.weebly.com
23. eBooks
eBooks have become very popular and tend to spread well in downloading communities. You can even sell your eBook on eBay via a website or offer it as a gift to get people to sign up for your newsletter.
24. Press Releases
Press releases can efficiently get media attention if your website or product is newsworthy enough. This is especially true in the world of cryptocurrency, where a well-crafted crypto press release can help to announce a new project or partnership and generate buzz among investors and enthusiasts. There are several websites you can do this on. However, press releases are more commonly mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assigned editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and television networks.
25. Networking
Networking can have many benefits to promoting your site. I am always adding people to instant messaging services and talking to people related to my field. By networking and making friends in the business, you can learn and help each other, which will benefit your site.
The best way to do this is to meet people in forums or on sites related to yours and chat via instant messengers. I usually run five different instant messengers that are all filled with business contacts and friends.
Messenger
Skype
Viber
WhatsApp
Icq
Conclusion
I hope this article helped you narrow down the best promotion methods for your website or blog. We plan on doing more in-depth reviews of these resources at UCreative, so be sure to check back often for new tips on design and website promotion.