If you’ve been doing online marketing for any time at all, then you already know the traditional methods of attracting visitors to your website and increasing traffic: social networking, social bookmarking, blogging, email marketing, PPC, forum and article commenting, directory submission, etc. But at some point, these methods begin to lose effectiveness and new marketing and promotion channels must be discovered. Listed here are nine non-traditional methods that can help you increase website traffic.
1. Submit your website and logo to design galleries – Even if your business is not in the design industry, you can attract a sizeable new traffic base by posting your unique and interesting website or logo to one of the hundreds of galleries currently on the web. An expansive list of these galleries can be found on the CSS Gallery List.
2. Create a Wiki – Create more interaction among employees and potential customers by creating a wiki for your business. With a wiki, employees can post info they find useful and can allow clients and potential customers to collaborate and add to the open projects. A wiki can be a very valuable source of both information and interaction, making your customers feel like they are part of the company. Check out Media Contour’s Wiki to see how it works.
3. Record Videos of your Meetings and Processes – If you are going to a particularly interesting meeting, you can use your camcorder, cell phone, webcam, digital camera, or screen capturing program to capture the event. You can then go back and edit out any portions that are boring or contain sensitive info. Interviews with various employees of your company can also act as promotional vehicles for your website. Processes such as the design of a website or the coding of a particular widget on your site can also become a viral sensation if made interesting, funny and useful. You can post these videos on your site as well as on YouTube, Viddler, and Veoh to gain maximum exposure.
4. Cold Calling and Spam Email Reversal – We have all gotten those annoying calls from telemarketers and it is safe to say that you have at least a few spammy emails in your inbox. The next time you get a solicitation for a certain product or service, turn the situation around and offer your products and services to the telemarketer or spammer.
5. Use your network of friends and family to spread the word – Is it too much to ask your brother, uncle, or girlfriend to mention your website on their own social networks? Ask them to post your link on their profile(s) or to check out your site once in a while. If you get the right person to endorse your product or service, you can instantly gain recognition and a significant new group of followers.
6. Design and Provide Library Bookmarks – You can promote your website while at the same time contributing to local bookstores and libraries. Although libraries usually have a surplus of these cheap pieces of cardboard, you can create an interesting design with your company logo and the URL of your site to attract all of the knowledge-hungry bookworms.
7. Create Customized Merchandise - Use CafePress or another custom printing service to create t-shirts, mouse pads, stickers, leotards, or anything else with your company’s logo or name. Ask your designer to make the merchandise look cool so that people will buy it despite the advertisement. You can also get your employees to rep your customized gear at the office and on their personal belongings.
8. Write your URL on Dollar Bills – While this method for attracting new visitors to your website is considered defacing US currency and is technically illegal, the rewards may be worth the punishment. Money is constantly changing hands between new people in different locations from different backgrounds, making it a very effective medium to advertise your company’s website.
9. Use Your Pet as a Walking Advertisement – Your dog will not mind a quick hair cut, but the people who see him will definitely notice. A cat, dog, rabbit, or any other pet can be converted into a walking advertisement with personalized pet clothing or by shaving the company website or logo into their fur. Just make sure that you know what you are doing before you get a call from PETA.
While the traditional methods for promoting and advertising your website are often quite effective, sometimes they aren’t enough to get your site to the next level. The nine tips listed above will surely attract the attention you need to get new visitors to your website and increase exposure. Though some of the methods described here are slightly unusual and can be controversial, they all can be accomplished with little to no budget, making them viable options for any web-based company. Source: the Web
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