Promoting a new website

Getting the ball rolling

Promoting a new website can often be tough. How does one start receiving the waves of traffic to their brand new website? It can be painstaking to work through all your new and unique content, all those articles, pictures and whatever else you have come up with, only to find that no one is visiting your new website. Simple steps can be taken however to start the traffic and money coming in.

Social networking is still a great way to get traffic to your new (and even old) websites. The first thing you should do is submit your website or specific website pages to Digg (http://www.digg.com/), Reddit (http://reddit.com/), Now Public (http://www.nowpublic.com/), StumbleUpon (http://www.stumbleupon.com) and get your friends to Stumble your site, and Del.icio.us (http://del.icio.us/) and if you’re really pushing the delicious traffic, add a Del.icio.us button to your homepage. Submitting even to these few websites will already, with any luck, start bringing you some traffic. It all depends on your selling of your site though, so make sure your descriptions and website summaries are eye catching and will draw the readers in. I have seen these methods backfire sometimes, people have made it to the front page of digg for example only to have their server crash from all the sudden traffic!

Simple tricks for traffic that every webmaster should do, things like:
• Add your link to your forum signatures
• Keep your website clean, blend in the ads
• Make custom error pages, so even if you have a broken link the user can still get home. You should really have a 301 redirect though!
• Add your link to your msn name
• Tell your friends about your website
• Start a news letter
• Add a “tell a friend” button to your website

Left of center ideas for traffic Over the years I have come up with different ideas for website promotion, none of which I have tested, but I still believe they will work.
• Make bumper stickers with your websites URL on them
• Print t-shirts with your URL and slogan
• Make a flag with your websites URL on it and fly it at concerts
• Drink coasters with your URL on it (leave them at bars)
• Yell out your URL randomly in public places (ok I may have done that one, drinking helps with confidence!)

The world is really your oyster when it comes to promoting your new website, and nothing drives traffic like a good quality website, so above all work on your content and I guarantee that the traffic and money will follow.