WHERE TO START?

Before getting started promoting your web site, you should check that it is ready to receive its first visitors. If you don't take care of this previous step the mistake could ultimately ruin all your efforts:

• Make sure that your site is 100% finished: An incomplete web site will give a poor impression to your visitors. It will seem unprofessional or even abandoned. Test your site and fix any error, broken link...
• Make sure that your site has a decent amount of content: It's a bad idea to promote your site when it has just started its journey and it is almost empty. The starting content might attract visitors but it is unlikely that they will come back to your site unless they have some perception that it's a growing up-to-date source of content.
• Make sure that your site is search engine ready: Though search engine optimization is a wider concept and can be performed after the site is launched, you should check some points in anticipation: that your urls are indexable, that all pages are linked from other pages, that titles are descriptive, that your site has proper description and keywords meta tags (they still work for some minor search engines and directories, and in any case they won't harm), that you use important keywords in link texts... Postponing this task could harm your site in terms of indexation and search engine rankings.

SEARCH ENGINES

Most Internet users employ search engines to find what they are looking for, that's why it is important that your site has a good visibility in them. Search engines are the most important traffic generators on the Internet.

• Search engine submission: Submitting sites to search engines is an almost obsolete technique: major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN...) will find your site through links to it and minor ones are usually useless. However it is still worth a try to find relevant and popular search engines to submit your site to. As a general rule, a search engine will be worth the submission if it can bring your site traffic by itself.
• Search engine optimization (SEO): The set of methods used to make a web site attractive to search engines and improve its rankings in organic (non-paid) search results. The SEO techniques will alter some factors of your web site, both on-the-page (content, link structure, HTML...) and off-the-page (essentially links received from other sites) to this effect. Optimizing your web site and taking no risks on some penalized techniques (Black Hat SEO) will improve notably your search engine traffic and your web site visibility.
• Search engine advertising: Paying for search engine top listings (usually on a pay-per-click basis) for a number of specific keywords is an easy way to bring visitors to your site from the very first day. It can be considered as complementary to the natural search engine positioning, even in some cases (specially with highly competitive keywords) it can be used as a replacement for organic search t
  The Name Squeeze - Should You? Shouldn't You?
  This is a little “beauty” of an idea if you want to grow a massive list QUICKLY! But some are wary of trying it. They worry it turns customers away.Well here is what I think of that, if the person was never prepared to give you their email address in the first place then chances are they were just a tyre pusher not looking to buy anything from you anyways.I have tested both methods in a few different niches I have running. This is the type of result I received from using no “name squeeze” and actually using a “name squeeze”. I found that by using no name squeeze my sign up rate to my newsletter was around 20% when I started using a name squeeze I jumped up to 50%.Without a doubt this “name squeeze” begun to increase my sales dramatically. And not only through my emailing list but also from the initial “impulse buy”. From making my site so exclusive that you must enter an email address has made an impact on the “importance” of the hi
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• Make sure that your site has a decent amount of content: It's a bad idea to promote your site when it has just started its journey and it is almost empty. The starting content might attract visitors but it is unlikely that they will come back to your site unless they have some perception that it's a growing up-to-date source of content.
• Make sure that your site is search engine ready: Though search engine optimization is a wider concept and can be performed after the site is launched, you should check some points in anticipation: that your urls are indexable, that all pages are linked from other pages, that titles are descriptive, that your site has proper description and keywords meta tags (they still work for some minor search engines and directories, and in any case they won't harm), that you use important keywords in link texts... Postponing this task could harm your site in terms of indexation and search engine rankings.

SEARCH ENGINES

Most Internet users employ search engines to find what they are looking for, that's why it is important that your site has a good visibility in them. Search engines are the most important traffic generators on the Internet.

• Search engine submission: Submitting sites to search engines is an almost obsolete technique: major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN...) will find your site through links to it and minor ones are usually useless. However it is still worth a try to find relevant and popular search engines to submit your site to. As a general rule, a search engine will be worth the submission if it can bring your site traffic by itself.
• Search engine optimization (SEO): The set of methods used to make a web site attractive to search engines and improve its rankings in organic (non-paid) search results. The SEO techniques will alter some factors of your web site, both on-the-page (content, link structure, HTML...) and off-the-page (essentially links received from other sites) to this effect. Optimizing your web site and taking no risks on some penalized techniques (Black Hat SEO) will improve notably your search engine traffic and your web site visibility.
• Search engine advertising: Paying for search engine top listings (usually on a pay-per-click basis) for a number of specific keywords is an easy way to bring visitors to your site from the very first day. It can be considered as complementary to the natural search engine positioning, even in some cases (specially with highly competitive keywords) it can be used as a replacement for organic search
  Surefire Email Marketing Strategy
  If you've been selling real estate for a while you know that the secret to success is generating leads, and lots of them. Equally important is the ability to replenish them.Why not simply advertise for them?For one thing many agents assume that they must have listings to advertise, but that's the farthest thing from the truth. In fact, it's as easy to generate prospects with the listings of other agents as it is your own.Now, I assure you that I didn't just suffer a bump on the head, but think about it for a second. Do you think agents in your office would be upset with you for advertising their listings? Probably not. In fact, they may be downright ecstatic about it, because they know that the more exposure their listings get the more successful they'll be selling them.And most importantly why would they be upset about you spending your money to make them money - you, too of course.So, they probably won't care on
  es are descriptive, that your site has proper description and keywords meta tags (they still work for some minor search engines and directories, and in any case they won't harm), that you use important keywords in link texts... Postponing this task could harm your site in terms of indexation and search engine rankings.

SEARCH ENGINES

Most Internet users employ search engines to find what they are looking for, that's why it is important that your site has a good visibility in them. Search engines are the most important traffic generators on the Internet.

• Search engine submission: Submitting sites to search engines is an almost obsolete technique: major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN...) will find your site through links to it and minor ones are usually useless. However it is still worth a try to find relevant and popular search engines to submit your site to. As a general rule, a search engine will be worth the submission if it can bring your site traffic by itself.
• Search engine optimization (SEO): The set of methods used to make a web site attractive to search engines and improve its rankings in organic (non-paid) search results. The SEO techniques will alter some factors of your web site, both on-the-page (content, link structure, HTML...) and off-the-page (essentially links received from other sites) to this effect. Optimizing your web site and taking no risks on some penalized techniques (Black Hat SEO) will improve notably your search engine traffic and your web site visibility.
• Search engine advertising: Paying for search engine top listings (usually on a pay-per-click basis) for a number of specific keywords is an easy way to bring visitors to your site from the very first day. It can be considered as complementary to the natural search engine positioning, even in some cases (specially with highly competitive keywords) it can be used as a replacement for organic search
  Why the Yellow Pages is the Small Business's Best Friend
  I sold Yellow Page ads for 25 years. During that time, I dealt with mostly the local “mom and pop” type businesses. The reason was simple. The large companies chose the more expensive media to promote their national chains. So Home Depot would have their ads in the Sunday newspaper as a flyer and of course on TV and radio. But I worked with people like Fred’s Ace Hardware, and they were delighted to be listed under a dozen headings in the directory. That’s because they knew something that the “big box” boys didn’t. When the guy down the street needed paint or a screen replacement, they would head for the Yellow Pages to see who had what. Sure, everyone knows Home Depot but not everyone shops there. It may be because they are TOO big. The parking is harder, the products more spaced out and tougher to find, the salespeople difficult to track down, and the lines are longer at the checkout. For whatever reason, some people will still shop at the Ace Hardwa
  engines is an almost obsolete technique: major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN...) will find your site through links to it and minor ones are usually useless. However it is still worth a try to find relevant and popular search engines to submit your site to. As a general rule, a search engine will be worth the submission if it can bring your site traffic by itself.
• Search engine optimization (SEO): The set of methods used to make a web site attractive to search engines and improve its rankings in organic (non-paid) search results. The SEO techniques will alter some factors of your web site, both on-the-page (content, link structure, HTML...) and off-the-page (essentially links received from other sites) to this effect. Optimizing your web site and taking no risks on some penalized techniques (Black Hat SEO) will improve notably your search engine traffic and your web site visibility.
• Search engine advertising: Paying for search engine top listings (usually on a pay-per-click basis) for a number of specific keywords is an easy way to bring visitors to your site from the very first day. It can be considered as complementary to the natural search engine positioning, even in some cases (specially with highly competitive keywords) it can be used as a replacement for organic search
  Job Hunting Tips: Taking Care of Yourself
  Looking for work is generally a miserable undertaking. No matter how much education and experience you have, you are in a powerless and vulnerable position.You spend days preparing for an interview, trying to build up your self-confidence, create a relaxed, competent demeanor to disguise the turmoil and anxiety inside, and practice answers to questions you hope the interviewer will ask.Is there any way to feel really calm as you approach the receptionist, uncomfortably aware that there are other people waiting, perhaps applicants for the same position? Sit down, take a deep breath, and listen to your inner voice.Welcome the anxiety that is coursing through your veins. It is a free, non-addictive stimulant that is going to keep you on your toes and keep you hyper-alert throughout the interview. Remind yourself that without that anxiety, you would present yourself as lifeless and flat.Remember the lists you have made: of your p
  .) and off-the-page (essentially links received from other sites) to this effect. Optimizing your web site and taking no risks on some penalized techniques (Black Hat SEO) will improve notably your search engine traffic and your web site visibility.
• Search engine advertising: Paying for search engine top listings (usually on a pay-per-click basis) for a number of specific keywords is an easy way to bring visitors to your site from the very first day. It can be considered as complementary to the natural search engine positioning, even in some cases (specially with highly competitive keywords) it can be used as a replacement for organic search traffic. Though big advertising solutions like Yahoo Search Marketing and Google AdWords will generate the most traffic to your web site, you should concentrate not only on major search engines, but also on specific theme-related ones. Moreover, price comparison search engines are specially efficient for sales sites.

LINK BUILDING

Some years ago Google revolutionized the search industry by taking into account web sites' incoming links in its ranking algorithm. This improved the quality of search results and also made them more difficult to manipulate, as they weren't based exclusively on on-the-page (easily modifiable) factors. Sooner or later all major search engines adopted that measure, making link building strategies more important than ever. Of course links are also valuable for the simple reason that they drive direct traffic to your web site.

• Directory submission: There are only a couple of major directories: Open Directory Project and Yahoo Directory. The first one allows free site submissions while the second one doesn't. Beyond those two, there are thousands of less important directories, most of them with paid submissions. Unless you have an unlimited budget, submit your web site only to those directories that are really popular or that are very relevant to your content (niche directories). Otherwise all your money and effort won't be profitable.
• Link exchange: A very common practice is to arrange reciprocal link exchanges with other web site owners. While it is an easy and sometimes effective way to increase your site's link popularity, it is also risky. Search engines are driving their efforts to ignore (maybe even penalize) what they consider "artificial linking", that is, linking that isn't naturally and spontaneously built. So you should avoid massive link exchanges and concentrate on just a few of theme-related sites.
• Link purchase: Some web site owners won't be willing to exchange links, but to sell them instead. This is common in popular and heavily trafficked sites. Analogically to the previous point, you should analyze in each case if the purchase is worth the risk.
• Link baiting: This newly coined term refers to the strategy of offering specific content to your visitors with the (only?) intention of generating interest and gain links. Anything controversial, humorous... This term is a bit unpopular right now but, what is the difference between "link baiting" and the classic "content is the king"? Probably just the intention, not the action. In any case, link baits or "hooks" are a very effective li