Living Green Ezines

How To Start Your Website Marketing Campaign In Five Easy Steps

When it comes to promoting your website you need a plan. It can be quite overwhelming to figure out where to start. With all the gurus, experts and wizards on the web telling you the best way to start your Website Promotion campaign, it can leave you in a frenzy and your pockets empty. So instead of shelling out cash and making other's rich- keep your change in your pocket. And start your Website Marketing campaign today at absolutely no cost! Here is how to get started.

Step 1. Search Engine Optimization

I am assuming you have a website along with a domain name, in reference to your business. So now you have to customize your web pages in reference to what your site is all about about. Let's use " Stainless Steel Water Bottles" as an example for this step. Search Engine Optimization or SEO can be defined as increasing the traffic rank of your website by optimizing keywords that are relevant to your site. However, before you began your SEO campaign you have to make sure that you have performed a keyword analysis. You may sell "Stainless Steel Water Bottles", but your target market may be searching for " non-plastic" water bottles. To get a general idea of what words your target market may be using to find your products, you can use this free keyword tools:

www.google.com/keywordexternal www.overture.com www.wordtracker.com

Part A. Now you know for sure that your target market is using " Stainless Steel Water Bottles" to find you. You need to optimize your web pages with your keywords to increase your ranking with the major search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo! Therefore you can create your web pages to start, a website usually has a Home page About Us page, Products and Services, and FAQ's . It is also essential to have an Article Index, since the search bots are hungry for fresh and juicy content.

Part B. So now you have a keyword rich website that makes your business more noticeable on the web. No you have to list you Web pages with the search engines so they can index them. Some experts say you don't need to submit your pages to the Search engines, because they will automatically index your website. It is up to you if you want to submit your website to the search engines. If you decide to do so, the top 3 search engines you should worry about is Google, MSN and Yahoo!

Step 2. Forum Posting

Okay now it is time to start getting you word out about your site. Personally, I feel the best way to start is by beginning your Website Promotion campaign with Forum Posting. Why Forum Posting? Online discussions and forums are where people go to find solutions to their problems. Another good reason to try forums is because you can get a numerous amount of ideas for article topics that you can use as part of your Article Marketing Campaign. In this case, " Stainless Steel Water Bottles, are most likely geared towards people who care about the environment as well as their health. So you can simply perform a Google search and look for " fitness forums" or "green living forums", and any other combination you think matches your business. Then you can go to the forum and present yourself as an expert in your field. Or you can make people aware of your product, by making certain post on how the product will benefit them.

Step 3. Article Marketing

Article Marketing is the distribution of your articles to ezines and newsletters online. Submitting your articles to online directories is a recommended strategy. Since most established ezines have a high ranking with the search engines-submitting your articles to these directories will increase the chances of your articles being on the first page of Google and the other leading search engines. You may have seen an exhaustive list of Article Directories, but none of them really matter, unless you are targeting a particular group of people that will actually purchase your product. However, you can use popular directories such as ezinarticles.com, since it has a high traffic rank. And that means you will get immediate exposure.

Step 4. Press Releases

When it comes to promoting your business online, you don't need news to submit a Press Release. After all press releases are considered to be Web Content. You will have words that will be in the SERPS ( Search Engine Rank Pages) forever with a press release. There are free to fee based press release services that will help you build your online presence. You can start with using services like prlog.org and then move on to other Press Release Distribution services once you get familiar with the process.

Step 5. Social Media Marketing

If you heard of Facebook and Myspace, you may think they are for the kiddies. But not anymore. Many businesses are becoming aware that these social networking sites are where their target market is. And it is crucial for you to be where your target market is. However, Facebook and Myspace are not the only social media sites that have your target market online. Fun and interactive sites like Squidoo.com and Hubpages.com are taking Web 2.0 to another level.

So there you have it 5 easy steps to begin your Website Marketing Campaign. But, remember that Rome wasn't built in a day. Therefore Website Promotion is an ongoing process. There are thousands of web pages going online on a daily basis. And your competition may already be online taking all of your customers right from under your nose. It is a must that you are ahead of the game, if you want to flourish in the cyberworld.