web site promotion,search engine optimisation and traffic building resources and information
 
this site WWW

Using Free Publicity to Build Your Web Site Links and Traffic


So, you have a great product or service, yet your web site is not getting the high rankings and traffic you desire from the top search engines like Google and MSN Search.

You're not alone. This scenario is playing out all across the web, yet there is a simple solution to the problem. Publicity. Publicity is the art of gaining exposure for your web site, product, or service with press releases, articles, and other promotional methods.

A consistent publicity campaign can get you links from some of the best web sites on the Net. These links provide your web site with "Link Popularity" and the Google PageRank numbers you need for high search engine ranking and traffic. Plus, the links themselves can bring you a significant about of targeted traffic.

The Top 5 Tips for Getting Publicity (and Links)

Here are a few of my tips for getting publicity and links on the web sites, AND getting news stories and articles in the newspapers, magazines and Internet radio show sites.

TIP #1: Be Consistent - Stick With It For The Long-Haul

For maximum results, use public relations as a long-term awareness and link-building campaign. This will allow your messages to be delivered to the appropriate audience and generate visibility, traffic and sales for you.

The biggest mistake I see businesses making with publicity, is they're not consistent at all, only sticking with it for 1, 2, or 3 months. It pays to be consistent is because sometimes you'll send out a press release and get no response back, no publicity, nothing... In fact, this is when most people quit, when they should realize that publicity is a "numbers game" that generates exposure over the long-run if they would just stick with it.

Plus, if you know where to submit your articles and send your press releases, each one that you write can generate 3-20 or more new publicity hits and new links to your web site! So, send something to the media at least every month, if not every week or two. Stay on track by scheduling your articles and news releases on your marketing calendar.

TIP #2: Offer Great News Ideas and Quality Articles

To maximize your results, don't send corporate "flack" to the media. "Flack" is blatant advertising disguised as a press release. Instead of wasting the media's time, be their ally by sending them real news and quality articles that help their audience.

Don't think you have enough time or ideas for writing articles and press releases? You probably already have the content for 12 press releases or articles without having to write a bunch of new content.

Where is this "hidden" content that's already written? It's the content on your web site, and in your white papers, and other marketing materials. Simply "repurpose" and edit this content into announcements, articles, press releases, tip sheets, and other publicity materials.

TIP #3: Expand Your Publicity Campaign By Building A Media List

In the publicity game, your greatest assets are your contacts. Since you know your ideal customer, you can target the web sites, media, and publications that your customers use to get their news and information. Your media list should consist of the following types of media...

  • Industry-specific web sites, and e-newsletters

  • Internet blogs, discussion forums and discussion lists

  • Article syndicators

  • Trade publications

  • Newspapers

  • Magazines

  • Radio & TV shows

TIP #4: Distribute Via E-Mail

A 2003 study by the Meta Group revealed that approximately 80% of business people say their e-mail is more valuable than the phone. This applies to media professionals as well, so send your press releases and articles via e-mail. E-mail is f*ree and easy to use, but adhere to these quidelines for e-mail press releases...

  • Introduce yourself via e-mail to the media professionals on your list and start building a relationship.

  • Use a compelling subject line that is personalized by including their first name.

  • Never ever send attachments

  • Be sure to format your e-mails in ASCII text file with hard returns at 65 characters. (Use Microsoft NotePad)

  • Following up via the telephone will greatly increase your results, but never ask "did you receive my press release?" (The media hate this question since they get hundreds of press releases a day!)

TIP #5: Post Your Articles On Your Web Site And E-Mail Newsletter

Content is King on the Internet, and the search engines love web sites with great niched content. Your articles and news releases are a perfect source of keyword rich text that's tasty "spider food" for the search engine crawlers. So, post your articles and press releases on your web site to increase your search engine traffic.

But don't stop there. Send them to your e-mail newsletter subscriber list, you never know who might be on your list who will love your article and link to it!

CONCLUSION:

As the great P.T. Barnum once said... "Without publicity a terrible thing happens... nothing!" Publicity is a great way to build your web site links, visibility, traffic and sales. Use these tips to maximize your publicity campaign's success.

Promote! Promote! Promote!

About The Author

Article by Matt Hockin, of Interactive Marketing, Inc.

Interactive Marketing, Inc. assists business owners with increasing their growth and profits with cost-effective, high-ROI sales and marketing strategies.

http://www.interactivemarketinginc.com/




MORE RESOURCES:

The 'Poor Man's Traffic Intercept'
InformationWeek, NY - 13 hours ago
By Thomas Claburn So you want to intercept Internet traffic? If the National Security Agency is too busy to help out, you could always exploit a weakness in ...
Huge Internet Security Hole Demonstrated BroadbandReports.com
Hack Lets Researchers Silently Eavesdrop on IP Networks Dark Reading
all 7 news articles


Researchers reveal core web-routing vulnerability
ZDNet UK, UK - 18 hours ago
To do this, BGP maintains a table of available IP networks, and finds the most efficient routes for internet traffic. In their presentation, Pilosov and ...
Hijacking huge chunks of the internet - a new How To Register
Full disclosure: The only protocol for net security ZDNet UK
all 8 news articles


How to Intercept the Internet Like the NSA
Wired News - Aug 26, 2008
There was a lot of additional information I wanted to include in my article about intercepting internet traffic through the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), ...
Revealed: The Internet's Biggest Security Hole Hard OCP
Revealed: The Internet's Biggest Security Hole Wired News
all 8 news articles


Washington Post

Comcast Proposes 'Fair Share' Internet Traffic Control
NewsFactor Network, CA - Aug 21, 2008
Following a Federal Communications Commission ruling that Comcast blocked Internet traffic and ordering the company to submit a compliance plan about how it ...
Comcast gets 30 days to explain its Internet policies Bizjournals.com
Update: Comcast has no traffic management plan yet Afterdawn.com
Comcast has 30 days to detail Internet plans Broadcast Engineering
Home Media Magazine - xchange Magazine
all 239 news articles


Cymphonix Announces Counter-Intuitive Approach to Controlling ...
MarketWatch - Aug 13, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug 13, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- With the opening ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games complete and over 210 million Internet ...


Beijing Olympics: Opening ceremony fuels internet traffic surge
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - Aug 8, 2008
The spectacular Olympic opening ceremony saw internet traffic surge to five times its normal level, according to some estimates. Much of the extra internet ...


IT Infrastructure A Qwest for Growth
eWeek,  NY - Aug 25, 2008
You look at Internet traffic on our network, and it typically doubles every 15 months. On a per-user basis, each individual user will generate 40 percent ...


New York Times

FCC slams Comcast for blocking Internet traffic, vows to police ISPs
Los Angeles Times, CA - Aug 1, 2008
But the 3-2 FCC vote sets a new precedent in the volatile battle over Internet traffic flow, known as net neutrality. In concluding that Comcast violated ...
FCC Orders Comcast To Stop Blocking Internet Traffic InformationWeek
FCC Orders Comcast To Stop Blocking Internet Traffic MediaPost Publications
FCC orders Comcast to stop arbitrarily blocking Internet traffic iTWire
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - Chatter Shmatter
all 968 news articles


Neighborhood P2P could alleviate Internet traffic concerns
TG Daily - Aug 19, 2008
The idea: Keep Internet traffic local. Internet service providers have not made many friends by starting a discussion about possible bandwidth caps. ...
The 160-mile Download Diet: Local File-sharing Drastically Cuts ... Science Daily (press release)
all 7 news articles


Internet traffic changes road rules
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - Jul 31, 2008
By Alastair Sloane Once, a used car dealer bought from the average Joe, who didn't know what the wholesale price of the car was and sold to another average ...

Internet-Traffic - Google News