Advertising Approach For The First-time Webmaster

By Royan Shaw
Posted Sunday, August 8, 2004

For the first time internet entrepreneur [newbie] the best ways to promote your website at first instance are :

1. Express inclusion of your website for the usual 12 months offered by most of the major search engines. You can choose express inclusion for askjeeves, inktomi, altavista,msn etc but keep in mind to have your site submitted to the local index of your region.

For example if you reside in Toronto, Canada and you are submitting for express inclusion in the DMOZ or Canada.com search engine/directory you must ensure that your site is indexed in the Toronto's business and economy directory. Get your site in the local index first things first.

If your submission listing includes the regional version of the DMOZ directory then thats good enough to go. One point to note is that many of the major search engines and directories actually inter-relate that is they search across each other's database therefore submitting to only one major engine or directory will satisfice for the Internet Marketing beginner.

2. Next, the most overlooked approach for the first-time website owner is the maximisation of the benefit of offline marketing methods. Promote your website in exactly the same way you would have promoted a normal business by telling everyone about it.

Word of mouth is still the best way to promote a new business. Put your motto and logo along with your url address on everything from a pin to an anchor. From stationery, pens, letterheads, postcards, flyers, posters, in your usual email, the list goes on... You may consider placing classified ads in the local newspapers.

Run other programs such as sponsoring quizzes, prize competitions, trivia and other participating programs with your website address. You might ask readers to submit the answer to a quiz by visiting you website. Anything that gets the local community to know that your website exists. You can do it !!
FACT : You have to make it local before you go global.

Most start-up webmasters usually make the mistake on concentrating on those numerous ways to promote their site and become confused on deciding what works best. What works best can only be determined by careful evaluation of each and every advertising scheme in use on the web today :
1. Publisher/advertisers programs
2. Banner exchanges
3. Exit ads
4. Pay-Per-Click
5. Link Exchanges
6. Search engine blasting
7. FFa, classified ad posting
8. Rotator pages
9. __JavaScript based pop-ups etc
10.Express submit to search engines
11.Search Engine Optimisation
12.Adwords by Google
13. Others
Its interesting to note that no seller of the above services except for Google and the other search engine services has ever took the time to evaluate your website to decide whether or not your site is most suitable to fit the advertising package they are offering.

The best approach is to evaluate, evaluate, evaluate. Not everything out there works for everybody in every instant. Test your website across every platform say 10000 visitor package each and assess the outcome one by one.

Some will work better than others but the ones returning the higher rate of response doesn't necessarily mean they are the most profitable unless they each cost exactly the same per 1000 visitor.

What I had recommended in the first two paragraphs above should
work best for the first-timer and is the most prudent approach. Be careful when trying to find the best way of advertising, Don't be caught up in the Internet Marketing clutter out there as every you come in contact with will tell you the advertising method they sell is the best.

Ignore whatever testimony you see written on these webpages, use these services under a trial based approach before you order that 100000 package or start paying that monthly subscription.

Any method you are interested in should be test and proven in quality. Careful tjought and consideration should be given in order to plan, make decisions and control your business operating expenses. What works for seasoned campaigners of Internet Marketing does'nt necessary works in the same way for the starter.

Your website is unique just like your fingerprint and its now your duty to determine the most economic,effective and efficient approach in promoting it.

About the Author
P.S - R. Urien Shaw is a contributor to the WebMarketing Financial Newsletter and the developer of the 43-21 Budgeting Strategy. He is currently a final year student reading for the B.sc in Applied Accounting in London.