Nowadays, building a website is easy. There are plenty of website builders and hosting services that require no coding knowledge to use.
As the process becomes simpler, more people decide to build their own websites or even start their own online businesses. And with increasing competition, it can be harder to stand out, especially when you’re on a limited budget.
This article will share ten marketing strategies that require a minimal budget. Read on to see how you can promote your website without spending a lot of money.
1. Have a Good Web Design
Appealing web design can set a good first impression, making visitors interested in learning about your business and even returning to see more.
Also, unique websites often get featured by web design platforms like Awwwards and 99designs. So if yours is mentioned, it may lead people to visit your website.
An affordable website builder, like Zyro, helps you design a professional; website when you’re on a limited budget. It comes with key features, like a free domain for one year, unlimited storage, and SSL security.
Most website builders also offer designer-made templates, so you don’t have to create beautiful websites from scratch.
2. Create a Google My Business Page
A Google My Business (GMB) profile is one of the most effective free marketing methods, especially for local businesses. It helps you show up on Google Maps and Google’s result page, so customers can easily find more information about your business.
Follow these steps to create a GMB page:
- Go to Google My Business and click Manage now.
2. Fill out your business name, category, and service areas.
3. Complete the profile with a phone number and a link to your website.
On the GMB page, you have to include your address to help Google verify that your business is real. However, you have the option to hide the address from the public by selecting “I deliver goods and services to my customers.”
3. Practice Keyword SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a practice of increasing a website’s visibility organically.
Naturally include relevant keywords in your content to increase your website’s visibility. And to find the most effective keywords use tools like Moz Keyword Explorer.
MOZ provides in-depth insights about a keyword, such as monthly volume, keyword suggestions, and SERP analysis. Log in with your email address to use the free version, and you’ll get ten queries per month.
4. Create Your Own Content
Unique content is what will encourage visitors to return and search engines to rank you better. It’s the most important aspect of your website that will have a significant impact on the conversion rates.
Here are several content ideas to include:
- Infographics. Help attract readers with their visual and valuable information. Tools like Canva and Infogr.am are free and easy tools for creating infographics.
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- Blogs. Over 70% of internet users regularly read blog posts, which is a great reason to start your own and drive traffic. Use website builders that come with templates for a blog page or a CMS platform like WordPress.
- Videos. To save your website’s storage, consider embedding videos from third-party platforms, like Vimeo and YouTube.
5. Conduct Email Marketing
Email marketing helps notify subscribers about new content, limited offers, or other exciting information. To encourage them to visit, consider providing a sneak peek.
The Nature Conservancy is a good newsletter example. It creates a monthly email campaign named Great Places that wraps up top news in the month.
Email newsletter tools like Sendinblue and MailChimp are great for managing email subscribers and creating newsletters. They also provide a free version for a limited number of emails.
6. Post on Social Media
Social media can help promote your website to your followers. Consider repurposing the content based on the platform’s characteristics. For example, turn the written blog post into an interesting carousel on Instagram.
To start posting content, create a business profile on social media platforms that suit your business best, like Instagram and Facebook. Pick a platform where most of your audience is found.
Consider using relevant hashtags that are relevant to your topic. Hashtag generator tools, such as All Hashtag and Ingramer can help find the right hashtags.
7. Create a Facebook Page
A Facebook page offers features that can help you promote your website, like including a website address and sharing a post containing a clickable link. Moreover, your posts and links on the page can boost SEO as search engines will index it.
Here are several steps to creating a Facebook Page:
- Go to facebook.com/pages/create.
- Choose the type of page you want to create: Business or Brand or Community or Public Figure. Then, click Get Started.
3. Enter your business information, including name, category, and city.
4. Upload a profile picture and cover photo.
5. Create the page username. Consider using your website name for consistency.
6. Add business details, like a description and a link to the website. These will appear on your About page.
7. When you finish, click Publish.
8. Connect with Micro-Influencers
Micro-influencers refer to people on social media with a small following between 1,000 to 100,000 followers.
They generally focus on a specific niche and are considered specialists. As a result, they usually gather like-minded followers and have higher engagement rates compared to macro-influencers with a diverse audience.
More importantly, micro-influencers usually charge affordable rates for sponsored posts or even do them for free in exchange for product samples.
Influencer platforms like CreatorIQ and #paid can be very helpful in finding the right influencers. They provide essential information, like influencers’ audience profiles and reach metrics. If you have someone in mind, consider contacting them directly via email or a DM.
9. Submit the Website to Search Engines
When you build a website or create new content, it will show up on search engine results within a week or so. However, if you want to get indexed sooner, consider using free submission services like Submit Express and SubmitX.
There, manually fill in a form containing the URL, email address, and location. Avoid submitting the URL more than once a month because multiple submissions can be considered spamming.
10. Expand Your Network
Building a network can strengthen your presence as many people get to know you more.
Some recommended ways for networking are:
- Offering partnerships to other businesses. Reach a broader audience by sharing the content on the partner’s account. For example, McDonald’s teamed up with the Korean boyband BTS and shared the members’ photos on their Instagram.
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- Joining a local or online community. Provide access to the group members that potentially need your products or services. Platforms like Vibely or Meetup can be a great start to find a relevant community.
- Attending industry events. Expand skills and gather B2B contacts. Coworking spaces, libraries, or alumni organizations usually hold industry events.
Conclusion
It’s possible to promote a website using affordable marketing strategies.
First, you may count on organic marketing techniques, like optimizing content with SEO, creating relevant and useful content, and engaging with your audience on social media. Then, try to team up with other people, such as micro-influencers and other businesses.
Some methods may need third-party tools, including keyword research tools and hashtag generators. Don’t worry; many of them offer free versions.
After utilizing all of these methods, you are sure to bring more traffic to your site.
