Free Ways to Promote Your Website

In modern era of total digitalization and googlization of everything, it is important to find ways of being competitive online. Of course, professional promotion and marketing costs a lot of money, which some companies have scarce amounts of, especially the ones that were unexpectedly hit by the digital world (newspaper/ magazine industry). Couple students, who are trying to create a digital start-up or ambitious entrepreneurial individuals trying to make a name for themselves online, often don’t have deep pockets either. Thankfully, for those disadvantaged with low budgets, there are lots of free ways to promote their website/blog online. The article on Outbrain.com “7 Best Techniques to Promote Your Website for Free” introduces some of the best advices on the topic, which I am going to briefly summarize in this blogpost.[1]

1.     Search Engine Optimization (Google Keyword Tool Planner www.googlekeywordtool.com)

To understand what this free tool does you have to first understand what a keyword is. A keyword is any word or short phrase that describes a website topic or page- The more a keyword is used by searchers and websites the more attraction power it has.[2] The keywords are added to the titles, headings or content of your website/webpage. The way the tool works is that after typing the keyword you want to use in website’s title or description, the tool will give you a list of words similar to yours, the frequency at which it is searched and how much competition or value it has in the opinion of the advertisers. With the help of that tool you can find keywords that have low competition and high search frequency, which are the most optimal conditions for your page being discovered.

2.     Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pininterest, Instagram)

The best way to interact and create a community with the user base of your website. Also, a really good way to get instant feedback and spread free-of-charge ads of promotional products (in case your website is retail based) or discount in services (for service-based websites) to the audience that is interested in your product.  Such internet phenomenon as Bunz Trading Zone (http://bunz.com), where people can locally trade anything for anything with no cash involvement, have organically grown just through local Facebook groups. It grew from couple people trading random items with each other - to 72 locally-based Facebook groups, 40,000 members and 600 transactions a day in 3 years.[3]

3.     Submit the URL of your website to Search Engine directory.

You can add your website manually to Google’s or Bing’s directory so it appears in the search query. You can also do that with any new content on your website. For Google http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl. For Bing http://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster.

4.     Branding with URL signatures

In any email, text or social media communications include your Website’s URL in your signature. This will increase the recognition of your website, as well as increase the amount of links pointing to your URL page. A creative, rememberable and relevant website name is extremely important for people to actually click on it. So make sure you spend some time thinking what your URL looks like and get an opinion of third parties about it.

5.     Links

Create partnerships with other websites or blogs that are related to the products or services that you offer on your website. The more links that point to your website, the higher will be the ranking of your website in the search query. For example, if there is a very influential blogger or social media personality, whose audience would be interested in your product, you can reach out to that individual and ask them to mention your website in their next blogpost. Of course, a lot of times they would ask for something in return, but sometimes, when the blogger is just passionate about your product, they would be happy to mention your website for free. However, you have to make sure that your website is linked to high-quality websites and that there are no irrelevant links pointing to it or going out from it. Also be careful of not being too hasty about  making links, if there are too many links pointing to your website all of a sudden, your website might be banned from the search engine.

6.     Quality Content

Having a constant flow of fresh and relevant content on your website is the best promotion you can do for yourself. If you write a quality article or blogpost on your website, people will pick up on it and you will get more and more links pointing to your article, which brings customers to your website. Quality content is the kind of thing you can also share on Social Media to increase your visibility. For example, posting any industry related articles on LinkedIn will make sure to get some traffic to your website.

7.     Google Local Business (https://business.google.com)

In the case where you have a physical location together with a website, placing your business on Google Local Business Platform (which basically means you are putting it on Google Maps), will make it really accessible for your potential customers. Nowadays, so many smartphone users just go on google maps and type in “whatever near me” and google displays all the relevant results in that area right on the map. If your business is in the area and the customer clicks on it, they can access your website, look up directions or call you right inside the Google Maps app. All those functions you get for free from Google.

So there you go - 7 free perks that everyone should consider implementing into their website before going for paid promotion platforms like Google AdWords. Those tips aren’t only important to know for those, who do not have enough liquid cash for paid advertising, but also for companies who just want to cut some major costs. All the listed tips don’t require any specialized knowledge, therefore almost anyone can implement them, without bothering to understand complicates SEO algorithms.

By Yauheni Baldziusau

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[1] Outbrain Inc. (2016). [Intermediate - 108] 7 Best Techniques to Promote Your Website for Free. [online] Available at: http://help.outbrain.com/customer/en/portal/articles/1575129--intermediate---108-7-best-techniques-to-promote-your-website-for-free [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016].

[2] Googlekeywordtool.com. (2016). Google Keyword Tool. [online] Available at: http://www.googlekeywordtool.com [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016].

[3] The Globe and Mail. (2016). At Bunz Trading Zone, you can swap old items for a sense of community. [online] Available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/at-bunz-trading-zone-you-can-swap-old-items-for-a-sense-of-community/article28819549/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2016].

From crowdsourcing to viral comedy

Crowdsourcing is viewed to be a brilliant digital marketing concept, inviting the public to engage in the project and develop a personal connection to it in order to accelerate the research process. The intended result of crowdsourcing is to introduce and invite a personal connection to the target audience. It's also a good way for a brand to gain e-reputation/general earned publicity through blog and social media sharing. Such was the thinking of Britain’s Natural Environment Research Council when in March 2016 a contest to name a new 300-million polar research vessel was announced. The public was invited to vote online for the name of the future NERC ship, as well as learn about the mission to conduct critical research on global warming, melting ice and ecosystems in the arctic waters.

However, it is common for internet based naming contests for pranksters to hijack the campaign and promote comically unsuitable names. In the past few years, internet contests such as Mountain Dew’s “Dub The Dew” and Lays’ “Do Us a Flavor” campaigns have PROMOTED names such as “Diabeetus and “Kettle-cooked excessive debt”. Following the pattern, the overwhelming majority winner of NERC’s contest was “Boaty McBoatface”. And, like in the other hijacked contests, the winning name was deemed unusable. The vessel was respectfully dubbed “RRS Sir David Attenborough” and the crowdsourced opinion overlooked. So, was this contest a failure?


The original intent of the campaign was to give the public “ across the UK the opportunity to feel part of this exciting project and the untold discoveries it will unearth”, as stated by Science Minister Jo Johnson at the campaigns announcement. Although not in the most direct way, exactly this was achieved. Through virtue of the comical name, as of May “ the #BoatyMcBoatface hashtag had reached 214 million Twitter users, and that 60,000 people had viewed videos about the research vessel’s mission”. (The Atlantic, 2016). Furthermore, the viral name expanded the viewers of the campaign. It was now activly seen across social media by conosours of internet humor - primarily young people - on a global level. Not only were people now informed of the NERC project, the brand positioning became one of lighthearted, warm and humorous. According to Duncan Wingham, climate scientist and NERC’s chief executive, the campaign was an “incredible success”.

While the monumental interest in the campaign gave momentum to the projecy, the following steps brought it to a halt. Boaty McBoatface was in a unique position - for anything to go viral is a an unpredictable and rare occurance. A government organization, the NERC debated the final decision with the House of Commons’ Science and Technology Committee. Many ideas were discussed on how to “capitalize in the long term on the formidable Boaty ‘brand’”, such as “a video stream to chronicle the submarine’s “many adventures”. But ultimatly, instead of using the captured audience of “ hundreds of thousands of people who voted, and the millions more around the world who followed the Boaty McBoatface saga “, the choice was made to rename the ship after British naturalist David Attenborough. This resulted in general disappointed and further lack of interest from the global public.

To conclude, the case of NERC’s McBoatface is highly amusing and cautionary. It demonstrates the risk taken when seeking free media coverage. But it also demonstrates that granted a degree of flexibility, massive viral comical coverage can lead to significant brand awareness with a positive emotional connection. However, the response to such a campaign is also very important. Viral internet humor gains public interest incredibly fast, but only for a limited time. The digital marketing team must recognize that at this time, a response of embracing the humor is necesaary to maintain any further connection and public interest




Source: The Lessons of Boaty McBoatface
Image: Natural Environment Research Council
By Nadiya Kutishcheva & Staël Anicet

Google and Twitter get back together?

Earlier this year Twitter officially announced that Google got the full access to the tweets. Let’s make it a bit clearer for us what changes this partnership can imply.

Image source: Recode

What does it mean?

In other words when you google anything, Twitter content may appear in your search engine results. You’ll get more relevant information from Twitter users especially in regards to the latest news and events. 

How does Twitter benefit from this?

Though being easy-to-use, fast and a lot of fun, only 19% of U.S. population ages 18+  use Twitter. It lags behind Facebook, being the leader, Linked, and younger social media platforms Pinterest and Instagram. 

 

Image source: PewResearchCenter

For Twitter this partnership can provide many advantages according to Neil Patel fromSearch Engine Land.  First, the traffic of users will increase, as the visibility in search results will go up. Second, the more attentions is driven to the tweets, the more ad profits Twitter will obtain. Finally, there will be more engagement from the side of users and new sign-ups. It sounds good, right?

What about Google?

One of the key strengths of Google is to provide users with the most relevant content and have all the information users may ask for. The tweets will fill the gap and bring more relevant content about the latest events, reactions and comments about them, what makes the search engine results even more valuable.

How businesses should take this news?

The tighter relationship between Google and Twitter means a lot for digital marketers and companies. If you’ve already been active on Twitter and did a good job – even better for you! You’re on the right track, though Twitter should take even more space in your overall online marketing strategy.

Also, you should be more consistent and smart about using #hashtags, as Google’s algorithms will be focused on that. #Hashtags become searchable and visible keywords. Learn how to use them and do it on regular basis. The more engaged you are, the higher the chance that your tweets will appear in search engine results as you provide valuable content.

Moreover, consider the use of images, but don’t overwhelm your followers with them as they scroll their news feeds. Images may drive the engagement, as the study shows. 

Most importantly, keep track of your data and measure how your social media activities influence your business. The key to success is to understand the developments going on in online media channels and implement right strategies in order to get the most out of them. Last but not least, as always make sure that your activities are in line with your company’s goals.

Even if you haven’t been engaged on Twitter, no worries! There is always time for you to become a part of it. However, it’s high time to stop procrastinating.

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. So, stay engaged, learn from best practices and definitely consider Twitter as an important part of your digital marketing. This partnership is a green light for Twitter and a new chance for businesses.

By Elena Arkhangelskaya and Pontus Tjernberg