Internet web site promotion is one of those things that make you go "hmmm"

Seriously, there are so many ways to promote a website that reviewing options for internet web site promotion and ultimately choosing a route for promoting your website can be mind boggling. It will much easier for you to decide which internet web site promotion techniques are in your best interest if you have an overview of the many options that are available. Providing an overview that will enable you to make better decisions for your internet web site promotion is my goal for this article.

Following are some simple explanations of common internet web site promotion tools and techniques

1. Publishing a newsletter

Publishing a newsletter is an internet web site promotion technique that helps you to collect email addresses for opt-in email campaigns as well as keeping you connected with previous website visitors resulting in continuous web site promotion to qualified individuals who have chosen to subscribe to your newsletter.

2. Email marketing

Many internet marketers have found that email marketing is a powerful web site promotion tool. The main thing to avoid with email marketing is SPAMMING, which is sending unsolicited email messages to recipients. For email marketing to be effective and legal you have to have an opt-in list, a list of email addresses for people who have chosen to receive email marketing messages from you or on the topic you are addressing.

These opt-in lists for internet web site promotion can be obtained through your newsletter or website, or can be purchased from third-parties. However, if you purchase opt-in lists from third-parties, always make sure that you know how the addresses on the list were collected to ensure that they truly are targeted, opt-ins.

3. Offering freebies

Because of human nature, people love free stuff - free products, free information, free graphics, free services, anything free is hot so offering freebies can be a good internet web site promotion technique.

Publishing free articles that are of interest to your target market, or better yet, giving away free articles with the right to republish, is an excellent internet web site promotion technique as long as the article contains information that will direct readers to your site and republishing rights clearly state that the information cannot be altered or removed prior to republishing.

4. Classifieds and e-zine advertising

Just like in the "real" business world where classified ads and magazine advertisements are good promotional techniques, classifieds and e-zines can be a great internet web site promotion medium. There are a number of category specific classified ad sites on the internet through which you can purchase classified advertisements. There are also e-zines which are effectively electronic magazines, as well as newsletters, that offer classified advertising services.

5. Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization is a technique that optimizes your website so when submitted to the search engines, it will get indexed with a good rank. Effective search engine optimization requires ongoing monitoring and adjustments to maintain your rank in the search engine results. Though obtaining and maintaining a good search engine ranking can be difficult, it is undoubtedly the most effective internet web site promotion technique because prospects that are looking for your products, services or information will use the search engines to find you.

6. Shopping bots

Shopping bots are nifty internet web site promotion tools because they help shoppers to find the best deal for whatever they are shopping for. They actually give shoppers a comparison of various websites that are offering the products or services with a brief description of the offering and the price. Effective use of shopping bots as an internet web site promotion tool will send qualified shoppers that are ready to buy to your website.

7. Pay-per-click advertising

Pay-per-click advertising is an internet web site promotion tool that enables you to bid on keywords that will put your website in the top ranking in search engines.

8. Viral marketing

Viral marketing is one of the easiest and most inexpensive internet web site promotion techniques. By including information about your website at the end of email messages and other correspondence to your contacts, the information will be spread through a network of your contacts to others they come in contact with.

9. Newsgroup participation

If used properly, industry-based newsgroups can be awesome internet web site promotion channels. By participating in a newsgroup you can build your reputation as an expert in your field as well as building trust-based relationships with those interested in your products or services.

10. Press releases

Press releases are often underrated as internet web site promotion tools. Press releases are actually sent to the media to break news about your company. An effective press release that captures a reporter's attention has the potential of producing massive media coverage that will be good for your internet web site promotion.

11. Link campaigns

Link campaigns are relatively inexpensive ways to accomplish internet web site promotion. The main point is to get relevant websites to put your link on their site so their site visitors can follow it to your website. This can be done through a reciprocal link agreement, a link exchange where you put their link on your site in exchange for them putting yours on their site, or by paying for the placement of your link. Providing high quality content that is of interest to another site's customers is also a great way to get others to link to your site.

12. Banner ads

Banner ads are ads that you buy that are displayed on other websites. At one time they were thought to be an incredible internet web site promotion technique, but over time they have diminished in value. Even so, banner ads can still be used for internet web site promotion.

13. Affiliate programs

When you have your own affiliate program, you basically accomplish internet web site promotion via affiliates who advertise your products and services for you for a fee. The fee structure for an affiliate program is sometimes based on a commission of sales from an affiliate's referrals or on a pay- per-visit structure for visits to your site that result from the affiliate's efforts. Affiliate programs aren't only a great internet web site promotion technique; they are also an incredible tool for multiplying your sales through increased marketing efforts that essentially cost you nothing.