Promote your website on a budget.
Whether you're launching a small business or strengthening your brand, you might assume that expensive ads are the only way to drive traffic. However, with the right mix of budget-friendly strategies, digital marketing tools, and well-planned tactics, you can effectively promote your website without relying on a big budget. Here's how to create a cost-efficient website promotion strategy that attracts visitors and turns them into loyal customers.
How to promote your website: 10 tips to grow your site
Here are 10 tried-and-true methods to increase your brand awareness and boost conversions.
1. Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is about optimizing your website to improve its ranking in search engine results(SERPs). Effective SEO includes keywords, on-page and off-page strategies.
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keywords are terms added to online content in order to improve search engine rankings for those terms. Most keywords are discovered during the keyword research process. There are three main elements to conducting keyword research:
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Relevance. Your content will only rank for a keyword if it meets the searchers’ needs.
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Authority. Google provides more weight to sources it deems authoritative.
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Volume. The number of times the keyword is searched per month across all audiences.
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Competiton difficulty. The higher the score of a specific keyword, the harder it is to grab traffic.
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SEO tools can help you brainstorm more keyword ideas based on exact-match keywords and phrase-based on the ideas you’ve generated up to this point.
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Backlinks. Apart from the internal links, each time your content is shared, it can be considered a new external link, also known as a backlink. Every share creates a unique link that points to your website or article, whether it's on social media platforms, blogs, forums, or other channels. As long as the link directs back to your site, it's counted as a new backlink. These additional backlinks help boost your website’s visibility in search engines, driving traffic and increasing brand exposure.
There are two main ways to build backlinks:
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Purchasing Backlinks
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Building Backlinks Organically
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Collaborate with influencers or community ambassadors to create high-quality articles on other websites, and strategically include a link to your site within the content.
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Post on social platforms and include links to increase your backlink count.
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Join online communities and forums, such as Q&A sites, and insert your website link when relevant to provide helpful internal links and enrich the content.
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It's important to avoid mass-purchasing backlinks or using low-quality links, as this can lead to penalties from search engines, lowering your site's ranking. Use SEO tools to monitor your backlinks, remove low-quality ones, and periodically review and exchange high-quality links. You can also analyze your competitors' backlink strategies using SEO tools to gain insights.
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On-page SEO focuses on the content and structure of your website. Ensure your content addresses your target audience's needs, and make your website user-friendly across all devices.
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Creating high-quality, relevant content tailored to your audience’s needs.
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Ensuring your site’s technical elements, like its structure, metadata, and multimedia, are search-engine friendly.
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Implementing responsive design and intuitive navigation to enhance usability across different devices.
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Off-page SEO, on the other hand, deals with external factors like backlinks, domain authority, and user engagement. To improve off-page SEO:
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Build more inbound links from reputable websites to increase your domain authority and boost your search rankings.
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Share your content across social media platforms to drive organic traffic and strengthen your online presence.
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2. Start Guest Blog
Guest blogging is when you invite someone from outside of your company to write and publish a blog post on his personal or company’s website. The writers will usually work in the same industry or are experts in your company's related subjects.
Guest blogging helps you build relationships with others in your industry, expose your brand to new audiences, drive referral traffic to your website, and build potentially SEO-boosting backlinks to your website.
Successful guest blogging denpends on the quality of articles you write and the relationships you build with other companies. Best practices for guest blogging:
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Pitch relevant websites
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Pitch sites with traffic
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Pitch multiple sites at once
Writing a helpful, valuable blog post for an established, authoritative site with a relevant audience can promote your site a great deal.
3. Leverage Social media
Social media isn’t just a way for your friends to show off pictures of their lifestyles or snap photos of what they ate for lunch. It’s also one one of the best free powerful practise for adversting website to targeted audience, and building brand awareness.
Each platform has unique characteristics and caters to different needs. Here’s a list of the main social media platforms:
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Facebook. With the largest user base, Facebook’s targeted ads and analytics make it ideal for reaching audiences aged 25+, building communities, and supporting both B2C and B2B marketing.
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X(formerly Twitter). Known for real-time interaction, X is excellent for trending topics, news, and quick updates. It’s suited for concise messaging, thought leadership, customer service, and engaging in industry conversations through hashtags, making it great for immediate and reactive marketing.
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Instagram. A highly visual platform, perfect for brands focused on lifestyle, e-commerce, and storytelling. Instagram’s short-form videos and creative content appeal strongly to younger audiences.
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TikTok. Popular with Gen Z and millennials, TikTok’s short, creative videos are ideal for engaging content that showcases products in a fun, trend-driven way.
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Reddit. Reddit users expect authentic participation. Before promoting, join niche subreddit discussions and build credibility through meaningful contributions.
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LinkedIn. Best for B2B marketing and professional networking, LinkedIn is ideal for sharing industry content, corporate news, and job-related updates.
Before creating content, don't forget that each platform requires its marketing strategies. Visual content is better on Instagram and TikTok, while text-based content suits X and Reddit.
You can try paid advertising, where you can pay to have your business appear in front of large volumes of highly targeted users. You can also tap into the power of influencer marketing, and have social media influencers share your site as well as your products with their followers.
4. Offer Useful Content
Create high-quality, engaging content such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and podcasts that answer your audience’s questions or solve their problems. Share this content on your site to establish authority and drive traffic. To stand out, you must ensure your content is eye-catching, relevant and engaging enough to encourage people to click your call to actions (CTAs).
Use SEO tool to search keywords to know your audiences' pain points. You can research keywords for the related competitors to your industry, creating the keywords included contents will ensure your website is informative, persuasive and professional.
Instead of pushing out as much content as possible, take the time to ensure that everything you publish is relevant, well-researched, and engaging. Explore the 14 unique personal website examples to inspire your content.
5. Leverage Email marketing
Email marketing allows you to communicate directly with your audience before and after your website is published.
According to studies, email marketing proves to be an incredibly cost-effective channel, delivering an average return of $36 for every dollar spent.
Here are two effective forms of email marketing to promote your site:
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Website launched promotion. Build a buzz for you website launch event by connecting to potential visitor before the official launch day. Sharing an pre-launch email with a sign-up link across social media platform so people can subcripte without opening the site. Apart from link-sharing, you can execute email campaigns like countdown email, exclusive pre-launch offers, and launch day announecement.
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Marketing Campaign. One of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website is by launching marketing campaigns via email. With each email, include compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) that encourage recipients to visit your site. For example, when promoting a sale or event, your email could direct users to a dedicated landing page.
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Regular Newsletters. Sending regular newsletters helps you stay top-of-mind with your audience, keeping them informed about new content, updates, or upcoming events. Newsletters also give you the chance to share useful insights and updates, ultimately driving more traffic to your website.
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Email Marketing Automation. It allows you to streamline your marketing efforts and create personalized experiences for users at different touchpoints. By setting up triggers, such as user interactions on your site, you can send timely and relevant emails that encourage further engagement.
Make sure to use strong CTAs to increase the click-through rate to your website. Don't forget your utm links as well, you'll need these to track the performance of your campaign.
6. Use Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), is a valuable marketing tool that’s often underused. This free and user-friendly service helps your business appear in relevant local searches, which is crucial if you are a local business.
With Google Business Profile, you can promote your business on Google and gain more customers for free. Ensure your website link is prominent in the profile so potential customers can easily find and visit your site.
You can also list your business on other online directories, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, MapQuest, and Angie’s List, plus various industry-specific directories. Having listed on these sites helps you get more website traffic from Google and even get your business name directly in page one of search results.
7. Engage in Online Communities
When looking to promote your website to a new audience, consider leveraging online forums and communities. You can actively participate in discussions on a well-known forum like Reddit and let the community determine its value through upvotes, or engage in existing conversations and refer to your website when relevant.
Online communities provide excellent opportunities to connect with niche audiences actively seeking specific content. By contributing valuable insights and strategically linking back to your site when appropriate, you can effectively promote your website.
Here’s a list of main online platform where you can promote your website:
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Reddit is a community-driven platform with niche subreddits where users engage in discussions. It’s best for sharing educational content and expert advice by participating in conversations, rather than direct promotion. Subtle links to your website can be included in helpful, well-researched posts.
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GitHub is a platform for developers to share and collaborate on code. It’s most effective for promoting technical tools, software, and open-source projects. Sharing useful code repositories and documentation can drive interest in your website among a technical audience.
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Product Hunt is a platform focused on tech product launches. It’s perfect for introducing new apps, tools, or services to early adopters. A well-crafted product listing with clear value propositions can generate buzz and direct traffic to your website.
Try to find forums that are specifically about your industry so that you can reach people who are already interested in your niche. .
8. Pay-per-click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising （PPC) is a form of online marketing where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads. Most PPC platforms, such as Google Ads, use a bidding system, allowing advertisers to bid on keywords. Their ads then appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when those keywords are searched. This enables advertisers to target specific keywords and audiences while setting a budget to maximize exposure and control costs.
PPC advertising can also be implemented on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, in addition to display advertising on various websites. This approach is an excellent and cost-effective option for both enterprises and startups, as you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. Most platforms allow you to set a budget cap, giving you control over your spending. Once you reach this budget cap, the platform will pause your ads from entering the auction until the next budget period begins.
9. Offer Incredible Deals
Incorporating attractive deals into your website promotion strategy is an effective way to engage potential customers and encourage visits. Here are three popular methods that can help boost traffic and build brand awareness:
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Giveways. Hosting giveaways that require users to visit your website for participation can generate excitement and increase traffic. Ask users to sign up for your newsletter or share content on social media to enter the contest. Choose a prize that resonates with your target audience, from free products to exclusive discounts, and create a buzz around your brand.
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Creative Discounts. Stand out with limited-time offers, flash sales, or seasonal promotions that motivate users to visit your site. Bundle deals and loyalty discounts can also drive value and encourage return visits. Make sure these offers are prominently displayed on your homepage or landing pages with clear calls-to-action.
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Referral Program. Turn your customers into brand ambassadors by offering rewards for referrals, such as discounts or free products. Referrals from friends and family are trusted and can bring new traffic to your site. Promote the program through emails, social media, and your website to maximize participation and attract new visitors.
By leveraging these creative deals, you can attract new visitors, boost brand awareness, and ultimately increase conversions for your website.
10. Use Your Signature Wisely
Your email signature is an often-overlooked yet powerful tool that acts as an online business card. Ensure that your email signature features your business logo, links to your social media accounts, and your website, along with any other relevant contact information. This not only adds a professional touch to your emails but also helps promote your website to your recipients.
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Promoting your website doesn’t have to be expensive. By leveraging these affordable yet effective strategies, you can grow your online presence while maximizing the potential of your 3D Dora-run website, the 5 best free AI website builders in 2024.
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If you're interested in more tips, check out our blog for additional insights.
