There are numerous tactics from a Marketing perspective when it comes to promoting your website. Depending on your services/products and the industry you work in, the strategy will vary. As with all things Marketing related, it’s not an exact science.

At Merkley Marketing Group, we like to simplify the assortment of tactics and breakdown our approach into two distinct paths for our clients:

• The “Quick & Economical” Way
• The “Extended” Way (takes time &  money)

The “Quick & Economical” way

Here are 7 ideas for those with limited budgets and resources looking for quick results:

• PRESS RELEASE ON WEBSITE: Assure there’s a prominent link to the article on the homepage somewhere. The best place to post is your Blog page. We can help with that!
• VOICEMAIL MESSAGE: Ask your employees to include a message about the new site in their voicemail message.
• ON HOLD MESSAGE: Announce your new website on your on hold message.
• E-MAIL SIGNATURES: Ask your employees to update their e-mail signatures with a message and URL (e.g. Visit our NEW website – https://newwebsite.com).
• COMPANY EMAIL: Send out a company-wide e-mail.
• FACEBOOK: Post a Link to the press release on your Facebook page.
• TWITTER: Tweet the news.
• LINKEDIN: Update the status on your company’s LinkedIn page.
• ONLINE DIRECTORIES: Submit your company & website to directories (Google, Yahoo). We can help with that!

The “Extended” way

Have some time and a budget? Here are a handful of ideas for those looking for more strategic solutions:

• ONLINE PRESS RELEASE: Submit a press release to a PR website (PRWEb.com is a good one). We can help with that!
• EMAIL MARKETING: Reach out to your database of customers through E-mail Marketing announcing the launch & its new features (and why exactly they should visit!). We can help with that!
• DESIGN A CREATIVE FLYER: Provide these handouts where the opportunity arises (e.g. Trade Shows, client/vendor meetings, PR events). We can help with that!
• BUILD A SECTION ON YOUR WEBSITE: (e.g. yourbusiness.com/newfeatures) providing users with a tour of “What’s new?” Highlight key areas, provide FAQ’s & don’t forget feedback forms! We can help with that!
• VISITOR INCENTIVES: Provide an incentive(s) to visit the site. If you’re launching an e-commerce website, provide things like coupons and free shipping deals in your announcements. If you’re offering a service, give something away in exchange for a user’s information (White Papers, Free Website Analysis, Trial Account, etc.) People like free items and the more incentive you provide to visit your new website, the more viral activity will be generated. We can help with that!
• CAR SIGNAGE: Create a car decal or have your website address, logo or tagline painted onto your vehicle. Every time you drive somewhere, you are exposing your business to countless new consumers, unlike other methods in which you may be advertising to the same people over and over again. We can help with that!
• CORPORATE LITERATURE: All of your company’s business cards, letterhead, envelopes, faxes and invoices should display your website address, as well as appropriate email addresses. We can help with that!
• COMPANY APPAREL: Similar to the promotional items listed above, t-shirts, polos, and hats can all work to promote your company’s web address while serving as a nice bonus gift for your employees and clients. Just make sure the clothing remains tasteful and clean so that people will be thrilled to display your wares. We can help with that!
• SIGNAGE: If you have signage in public places like malls, make sure to place your website address in large letters on your signage. This is an excellent way to have potential customers see the type of work that you do, become interested, and then visit your website to learn more. We can help with that!
• BILLBOARDS:  Same as above, more people are looking at website addresses versus a phone number these days. A person I spoke to just tonight who is a very non-tech person said he even realized that and it is now the FIRST thing he looks for and never pays attention to a phone number anymore on a billboard. If you have a website and have bought billboard advertising do not miss the chance to promote your online billboard (website). We can help with that!
• MAGNETS:  Want to keep your logo and website in front of people? Hand out refrigerator magnets in your place of business. People use magnets to hold up pictures, menus, etc so it is a constant reminder when they go to the fridge. We can help with that!

Whatever path you choose, don’t underestimate the opportunity here.

Embrace your opportunity by committing at least a few hours to do some economical activities, and for those with further resources take it a step further and hire us to help execute some or all of these website marketing ideas. We would be honored to work with you!