If you've got a small business, product or service that you are trying to promote in an effective and affordable
way, you have probably already found out that television advertising, even locally, can be way too expensive to produce and air. Newspaper and magazine ads may be more affordable, but still too expensive to approach as just a casual expense and their effectiveness can be questionable depending on what it is you are promoting. A local paper may not have a very deep reach into your target audience and a national magazine may reach customers that are too far away. The obvious solution and one that can be both affordable and effective is the Internet.
way, you have probably already found out that television advertising, even locally, can be way too expensive to produce and air. Newspaper and magazine ads may be more affordable, but still too expensive to approach as just a casual expense and their effectiveness can be questionable depending on what it is you are promoting. A local paper may not have a very deep reach into your target audience and a national magazine may reach customers that are too far away. The obvious solution and one that can be both affordable and effective is the Internet.Advertising on the Internet can get expensive too though, and it is up to the business owner to decide how to best leverage the multiple advantages the Internet offers. Once again, the balance between expense and effectiveness is often determined by the nature of what you are selling. However, you can spend a lot of money on the many different types of Internet campaigns that are out there, and there are rarely any guarantees of positive performance up front. The main methods of advertising on the Internet today still have their roots in traditional print ads. You can purchase links, banner ads or even pay for "advertorial" content as ways to promote a product or service, but beyond those traditional approaches there are several good ways to advertise or promote your business for free, or at least very close to free. And if you can't find a free way to advertise your business efforts on the web, there are also free or very low cost ways to maximize what Internet presence you may already have.
Not every idea will be appropriate for your type of business, but the important thing is to think creatively and be willing to experiment as the Internet is a flexible tool that can be quite affordable when approached correctly. One easy and free way to maximize your advertising efforts is to list your Web site address on everything you can including phone books, brochures, flyers, and direct mail pieces.. You can print your URL on your letterhead, business cards, and on your office door too. You can also make sure your URL is included on every email you send by adding it to your e-mail signature. At the same time, it can also be helpful to insert keywords that describe your business into the HTML < META > tags on your Web site pages in order to increase your visibility on the search engines and put your business name at the top of customers' search results. Be sure to repeat the keywords in the text of your Web site's homepage too.
Reciprocal links and reciprocal ads are another free way to help businesses facilitate an exchange of hyperlinks. If you are willing to allow a company to insert links to their products on your site, that company may also allow you to insert links to your products on its site. Swapping free banner ads can be accomplished the same way, but you need to make sure the reciprocal ads are actually relevant to the type of business you are in or you won't get any benefit from the search engines.
Free online directories are another affordable opportunity to promote your business too. This entails submitting your site to every directory, specialty listing, and yellow page listing you can. The directories need accurate and pertinent listings or they will not provide their users with what they are searching for. Your submission can get pushed down in the results listings and lost in the mix over time after a directory gets so large and info-filled it becomes cumbersome to use, but at least the price is right. Don't overlook the many different business and industry associations on the web that also need new listings to maintain their relevance and accuracy. Remember that the Internet is a two-way thoroughfare when it comes to promoting businesses on the web today. The info on the web that tells users more about the availability of a business or service will serve both the business, and the person searching for the information too.