Friday, May 6, 2005

10 Web Promotion Strategies

Web sites don’t usually come in version numbers like desktop software did. Which is probably why the “Beta” label gets so much focussed on – what a great way to announce your site one more time because you dropped it. What are some other ways to make your site more popular and keep the memes active?

1. Make a funny game in Flash. People will like it and link to it. Maybe you think “But the game needs to be highly clever and original for people to link to it”, but the truth is, no, it doesn’t. Just check several newsletters or emails from your colleagues and see the games they link to!
2. Create a contest. If you have money, the best way to spend it is probably to create a contest of some sort. Just think of the recent “Win an iPod” hype which got linked from all over the web.
3. Do something crazy on video, and upload the video. While I’m not exactly sure that’ll work (I never tried), I get the feeling most web watchers love funny videos.
4. Get a blog. Blog.
5. Redesign your web site. Possibly this is necessary anyway, but at least it shows people you’re alive and working to improve.
6. Re-announce something old as new, but change a minor detail to get away with it. OK, I’m kidding – but there’s some truth to it; even details which changed may be considered linkworthy by some, so why not announce them? Big companies do this all the time using press releases.
7. Provide a real URL for everything. Don’t make a pop-up, don’t add too many parameters, don’t make the address to long, don’t use frames, or a sub-page within a Flash or DHTML, don’t redirect, or forget to include that permalink. Only with a URL can people spread the word. “Email this page" forms are no surrogate.
8. Keep it real, truthful and personal. Whatever you do, don’t lie, because the web has too many experts in all kinds of fields, and their connected time in researching you will find even the smallest bug.
9. OK – drop that Beta.
10. Continue to be original and find new outlets for your ideas. But don’t spam – get into a conversation, and listen as well (that should be half of every conversation).

10 Web Promotion Strategi ... by Philipp Lenssen | Comments (0)

>> More posts

Advertisement