9 Strategies to Promote a New Website.
Before You Start
Once your website is published and you’re ready to promote it, I recommend installing Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools on your site. This requires setting up a Google account and opting into these free services then adding some code to the site and hosting account. After these tools have been added to the site, you should log into your new Google account and browse through the data to get a feel for things. Make sure everything is installed and working correctly so you can monitor the traffic and effects of your campaign.
Where to Begin
As for promoting the site you need to set goals and a budget and build an action plan around it. Until you start promoting the site it’s just a nice promo piece to compliment your offline marketing, but if you want to drive new business through the site, that’s a different ballgame.
Market Testing
A very effective technique to include in your campaign is using Google Adwords for testing keywords, content, placement of graphics, text and other components. This will allow you to quickly determine what people are looking for in your industry and make adjustments to meet the demands of those potential clients.
Please read Keyword Research – How To Manage Your Own SEO Campaign to learn some very effective methods for building a good keyword list.
Press Release
Another thing to consider once your site is ready, is distributing a press release about the launch of the new website. The release should include some hype about the company along with information about the site and why it was built (keeping up with technology, greater exposure for the company, etc.) and should be distributed to as many outlets as possible, both offline and online.
Email Marketing
If you have ever considered implementing an email marketing campaign, this can certainly help with. Most effective email campaigns are in the form of product announcements, event invitations and other PR type of correspondences. If these are in-line with your ideas then I would highly recommend it. But again, have an action plan and come up with a strategy before jumping into it.
Several of my clients choose Newz Lab for a cost effective, feature rich email marketing solution.
Social Media
Obviously Social Media is a powerful tool to use and Facebook is definitely at the top of the list for driving some traffic to your site. While FB should definitely be integrated into your campaign there are a few other tools including Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and a few others that can be a great source of Internet traffic for your website.
Please read Using Social Media to Increase Traffic and Help SEO for more info on this topic.
Promotions and Coupons
Promotional discounts are great for increasing repeat business and acquiring new business. Again, be sure this would play into your goals and fits with your business model, but it can be very effective if implemented correctly.
Customer Referrals
Referral rewards for customers who bring new clients to your doorstep is a powerful technique and usually results in the lowest cost per customer acquisition. This may not be good for all businesses, but fits nicely into most and could be a low cost strategy.
What’s Next
Lots of ideas to think about but each should be carefully considered and weighed against the others. If you can swing a decent budget for your campaign, it might even be helpful to consider bringing a professional PR / Advertising firm on-board. I happen to be close friends with some of the best marketing minds in Las Vegas so give me a call if you are considering this option.
So when your site’s ready, call together your team of trusted advisers for a strategic meeting and devise a plan. Then kick off your campaign, monitor those analytics, make adjustments in your campaign as needed and continue testing and tweaking for maximum results.