So, you create a website you're proud of—now what? It’s time to share it with the world. After all, what good is your site if no one is around to see it? Website promotion doesn’t have to cost you a ton of money in order to reach your target audience. In fact, it doesn’t have to cost you any money at all.
We’re sure you’ve encountered articles similar to this one that promise to show you “x amount of tips” to do something for free, only to have a big, red price tag at the end. This isn’t one of those posts. All of the following marketing ideas listed will ensure your wallet stays closed.
Read on to discover the 10 best ways to promote your website for free.
How to promote your website
01. Solidify your website SEO
Leveraging SEO and integrating it into the website creation process is vital. Various studies have shown that organic search is the single greatest provider of traffic to websites.
Mordy Oberstein, Head of SEO Branding at Wix.com
SEO, or search engine optimization, is one of the most effective ways to promote a website, as it helps improve a site’s ranking on Google and visibility in other search engines. Unlike paid search ads, SEO is totally free - the competition is open to everyone, based on the quality of the content you publish, the fluidity of the navigation you offer to your visitors, and the number of links you receive from external sources.
You can achieve strong SEO by placing certain keywords and phrases throughout your website, adding alt text to your images and optimizing your headings so that your website can get found on search engines.
Because SEO requires time and effort, from your initial keyword research right through to implementation and tracking, so automated SEO tools make the process more efficient. Wix SEO, for example, walks you through the process from start to finish, providing you with an easy checklist of everything you need to optimize on your website so that it's visible in search engine results.
Additionally, all Wix websites are instantly indexed by Google, which is a crucial first step in getting your website on Google. This is the bedrock of website promotion, as it ensures your website can be discovered by new visitors.
02. Take advantage of email marketing
There’s a reason you always see email marketing placed high up on articles that talk about how to drive traffic to your website. Why? Because it’s proven to be effective over and over. In fact, its average rate of return can be as high as 4400%, or $44 for every dollar spent.
Newsletters are a particularly effective form of email marketing, since they are a direct form of communication between you and your potential customers. They also help you get subscribers and can help drive traffic to your site. To create an engaging newsletter, keep your content punchy and direct, and use prominent calls-to-action that encourage readers to click. That will help your content stand out from the sea of other newsletters your subscribers may receive. Don't forget your UTM links when planning your email marketing, you'll need these to track the implementation of your KPIs and how well your campaign performs.
For this reason, email marketing is an important part of any marketing plan. Wix’s email marketing services will help you create, send and share professional email newsletters and other email marketing campaigns in minutes.
03. Start a blog
When considering how to promote your website, a good practice is to create a free blog to bolster your SEO and increase your site’s rank on search engines. Blogging and content marketing in general makes it easier for people to find your site and discover your business. On top of that, it helps you establish yourself as an authority in your field and can dramatically improve your conversion rate.
Writing blog posts forces you to research your market, and in turn broadens your knowledge and professional skills. It can also help you build an online community who engages with your content and each other, this is particularly impactful if your site targets a niche market. As for the technical side of starting a blog, Wix streamlines this process, making it easy to add a blog to your website.
Even if you’re not much of a writer, you can still benefit from including a blog on your site, as it helps generate brand awareness and increase your website traffic. You can also monetize your blog and promote it further with affiliate marketing.
04. Try guest blogging
Expand your website promotion even further by collaborating with a guest blogger. When another writer in your industry writes a post on your own blog, you expand your reach to their target audience and gain quality leads. In addition, connecting with writers who are already established in their field helps you grow your own network. This can bring you more exposure, traffic and social media shares.
On the flip side, you can also promote your website by becoming a guest blogger yourself. If you choose to go this route, you’ll be writing articles that will be published on sites other than your own.
This is a crucial marketing strategy that yields huge benefits. First, it strengthens your SEO when you include a link to your site in a guest post or author bio. Second, it generates awareness of your brand by encouraging new audiences to click on your site and browse.
05. Harness the power of social media
Social media isn’t just a way for your friends from high school to show off pictures of their children or snap photos of what they ate for lunch. It’s also an effective way to promote a website, as it helps businesses reach a diverse audience and build brand awareness.
Whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn or Instagram, social media marketing is important for engaging followers. Importantly, posting compelling content increases the chances that your audience will share it - which is free promotion for your website. And the more people click on your content, the more chances you'll have of getting website traffic and improving your conversion rate.
Don’t forget to cross-promote so all of your networks benefit from as much of your content as possible. For instance, you can share your Instagram video to Twitter or your latest blog post on your Facebook page. You can also use a link in bio tool to promote your website from your social channels, or create social bar to your website so that visitors can easily find your social profiles and share your content. Find more advertisement examples here.
You can also tap into the power of influencer marketing, and have social media celebrities on meta platforms such as Instagram, share your site as well as your products or services to their followers.
06. Submit your site to online directories
In addition to optimizing your SEO to help people discover your website, you’ll want to submit your site to online directories. Online directories, can act as news aggregators, and make it easy for people to find your URL and navigate to your site. Depending on your industry, there may be a directory for your specific business type.
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, submitting to local directories is even smarter. Free services like Google My Business allow you to claim your business so that when someone searches for your business, a complete set of details - including your website, opening hours, contact details, and a map of your location - appear on the results page. Other locations you should consider placing your website are Angie’s List, Yellow Pages and Yelp.
07. Post on forums
When deciding how to promote your website to a new crowd, try using forums. One method is to start a thread on a well-known forum like Reddit and let others decide if it’s worthy of getting upvoted. Another option is to engage in an existing conversation thread and refer to your website when relevant.
Whichever approach you choose, be mindful that you should only add your website to these posts when it serves as a genuinely helpful resource to supplement your response. Otherwise, you risk coming across as spammy.
Try to find forums that are specifically about your industry so that you can reach people who are already interested in your niche. If you can’t find a forum that’s specific to your business category, start your own forum using Wix Forum. That will make your website the destination forum spot for your industry - another great website promotion tactic.
08. Reach out with outreach marketing
Outreach marketing involves connecting with others in your business niche, such as bloggers, influencers and other professionals, in order to promote your website. Ideally, you’ll be able to build a lasting relationship with these professionals that will help you increase your site’s exposure.
The technique starts with identifying your marketing goals, and then finding people who can help you achieve those objectives. This involves reaching out with a pitch, and following up when necessary. Try sending your pitch over email or via certain social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter.
09. Say it with your signature
Your email signature is an underrated but powerful tool that essentially serves as an online business card. Make sure that your email signature includes your business logo, links to your social accounts and website, plus any other contact information. This puts your brand’s stamp on your emails and promotes your website to your recipients.
10. Focus on quality
When learning how to promote your website, your focus should be on publishing expert, informative content. This is true regardless of which promotional strategies you choose, whether that’s posting on social media, writing blog articles or partnering with influencers. Though you may be eager to get the word out right away, prioritize quality over quantity, as this helps build trust among your audience and drive them through the marketing funnel. This is one of the best things you can do for your business in the long run.
Why website promotion is important
Website promotion is crucial for businesses of all sizes to establish an online presence, reach their target audience and achieve their marketing goals. Here are some compelling reasons why website promotion is essential for success in the digital landscape:
Increased brand awareness: Website promotion helps businesses showcase their brand, products or services to a wider audience through search engines, social media and other online channels. By enhancing visibility, businesses can attract new visitors, generate interest and establish a strong brand identity.
Improved search engine ranking: Effective website promotion strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO), help websites rank higher in search results when users search for relevant keywords. This improved visibility leads to increased organic traffic, driving more potential customers to your website.
Enhanced user engagement and conversion rates: Well-promoted websites attract more visitors and keep them engaged with compelling content, clear navigation and a seamless user experience. This increased engagement can lead to higher conversion rates, whether it's newsletter signups, product purchases or other desired actions.
Effective lead generation: Website promotion plays a vital role in capturing leads and converting visitors into customers. By implementing calls-to-action, contact forms and other lead generation strategies, businesses can gather valuable contact information and nurture relationships with potential customers.
Cost-effective marketing channel: Compared to traditional marketing methods like print ads or television commercials, website promotion offers a more cost-effective way to reach a large audience. With targeted online advertising, social media marketing and SEO strategies, businesses can maximize their return on investment.
Measurable results: Website promotion enables businesses to track their progress and measure the effectiveness of their campaigns using analytics tools. By analyzing website traffic, visitor behavior and conversion rates, businesses can identify areas for improvement and optimize their strategies accordingly.
Competitive advantage: In today's competitive online landscape, businesses that actively promote their websites gain a significant advantage. By staying ahead of industry trends, adapting to changing algorithms and continuously refining their strategies, businesses can attract more customers, generate more leads and achieve their overall marketing objectives.