award winning web design & development

There are millions of web sites trying to get listed in the top 20 spots of the major search engines.  That amounts to a lot of competition!  I say if you can’t get listed at the top, indirectly get to the top.

How do you do this?  Look up the top 20 web sites on the major search engines under the keywords and phrases people would find your web site. The key would be to then advertise on those web sites.

The most expensive way would be to buy ad space on those web sites.  If you don’t want to spend any money, you could use the ten strategies below. These strategies may not apply to every web site.

1. Participate on their discussion boards. You could post questions, answer other peoples questions, and join in on conversations. Just include your signature file and link at the end of your messages.

2. Ask the web site owner if they would like a free ebook to giveaway to their visitors. You could have them link to your web site or include your ad in the free ebook.

3. Submit content to their web site. You could write articles for their web site and include your resource box and link at the end of the article. If they publish it, you’ll indirectly be at the top of the search engines.

4. Write an excellent article review of their web site, products or services. Then publish the review on your web site. E-mail the web site owner and tell him or her about it. They may link to your web site so their visitors read it.

5. Ask the owner of the web site if they would want to trade advertising. If you don’t get as much traffic as they do, you could throw in some extra incentives.

6. Propose a cross promotion deal with the web site. You both could promote each others products or services together in one package deal. This means a mention and link back to your web site.

7. Give the web site a testimonial for their product or service. Include a little text link for your web site with the testimonial. You never know; it could end up on their ad copy.

8. Post your advertisement on their free classified ad section on their web site. You want to be sure you have an attractive headline so they will read your ad.

9. Post your text link on their free-for-all links page. You want to go back and post your link regularly so it stays towards the top.

10. Sign their guest books. You could leave a short compliment about their web site on their guest book. Just include your signature file and link at the end of your message.

1. Sell your product at a higher price. This increases the perceived value because people usually associate the higher priced product as being better.

2. Offer a free trial or sample of your product. This increases the perceived value because people think you’re confident in your product, so it must be good.

3. Include tons of testimonials on your ad copy. This increases the perceived value because you have actual proof of other people’s experiences with your product.

4. Load your ad copy full of benefits. This increases the perceived value because people think they are getting solutions to a number of problems.

5. Offer an affiliate program with your product. This increases the perceived value because people can also make money with your product.

6. Give people a strong guarantee. This increases the perceived value because it shows that you stand behind your products.

7. Package your product with a lot of bonuses. This increases the perceived value because people feel they are getting more for their money.

8. Get your product endorsed by a famous person. This increases the perceived value because people think that famous people wouldn’t want their name associated with a poor product.

9. Include the reprint/reproduction rights with your product. This increases the perceived value because people can start a business and make money.

10. Get the word out about your product and brand it. This increases the perceived value because people believe the brand name products have better quality.

Do you post to message boards, e-mail discussion lists, classified ads sites, FFA sites or newsgroups? People will usually read the subject line before they read your ad or message, so it’s important they get noticed. Below are ten simple, but powerful tips to get your ads or messages noticed.

1. Use extra white space creatively in your subject line. You can add extra blank spaces between your words or letters.

2. Combine capital letters with lower case letters. Use all capital letters in every other word or use a capital letter between every other lower case letter.

3. Add text symbols in your subject line. You could use them between words and letters. Start and end your subject with a text symbol. ( *, $, >,{,] )

4. Begin your subject line with the word “STOP!”. People have been trained their whole life to stop what they are doing when they see that word.

5. Ask people a question in your subject line. We all went to school and were repetitively branded to answer questions.

6. Use the word “FREE” in your subject line. Your offer should be attractive to your target audience. It could be free information, software, trials, etc.

7. Begin your subject line with an “online smile ”. People use smiles offline to gain people’s attention and to win their trust, why not use them online too.

8. Don’t use unbelievable claims in your subject line. People have or know some who has been ripped off and trained themselves to ignore those claims.

9. Don’t use all capital letters in your subject line. It is hard to read, looks unprofessional, and on the internet it’s considered a symbol for shouting.

10. Test different subject lines to see which ones draws the most traffic to your web site. Also, read the FAQ before posting a message or ad anywhere.

An online community could be a chat room, e-mail discussion list, discussion forum or other technologies that allow groups of people to communicate at your web site. When you have a popular online community it will increase your traffic and sales. Below are ten ways to attract people to participate in your online community.

1. Tell your visitors that you post a new, free offer every day, week or month in your online community. The free offers should be attractive to your target audience.

2. Regularly schedule experts or famous guests to participate in your online community. You could design it to be a virtual class or a question/answer session.

3. Post testimonials on your web site from people that have participated in your online community. The testimonials could be about what people have learned or liked while participating in it.

4. Don’t allow blatant ads in your online communities. If people decide to visit your online community and see a ton of ads they most likely won’t be back.

5. Post all the benefits of participating in your online community on your web site. You could write it like you’re writing an ad for a product you’re selling.

6. Submit your chat room, e-mail discussion list or discussion board to online community directories. You can find them by typing ” the community type” with the word “directory” in any search engine.

7. Create an e-zine just for people who participate in your online community. Allow them to subscribe for free. When they receive each issue, it will remind them to come back and participate in your community.

8. You (the owner of the online community) should participate regularly. Post information that will benefit the other people. This will show them you care about your online community members.

9. Have plenty of people to monitor your online community. They could remove postings that turn away people like profanity, spam and other off- subject postings.

10. Your online community should contain user friendly features, like a search option for archived discussions, easy posting or chatting options, email updates or digests, etc.

1. Think of ways to get your site or business on the the news. You could sponsor a fundraiser, break a world record, hold a major event, etc.

2. Hold a contest on your web site. Give other web sites the option of offering it to their visitors. This’ll multiply your advertising all over the internet.

3. Tell your potential customers that your ordering system is highly secure. Also, reassure them that you take every effort to protect them.

4. Carry business cards with you wherever you go. Have your web address printed on them. You can hand them out to anyone you meet.

5. Contact national radio stations to ask them if they are looking for guest speakers. Tell them your area of expertise; maybe they’ll book you for a show.

6. Join clubs related to your area of business. You could trade leads with other businesses. Learn new ways to run your business and sell your products.

7. Think of a domain name for your web site that’s easy to remember. If you can’t find a good one left, use your actual birth name.

8. Position your web site at the top of pay-per-click search engines. You will only pay your set amount for each clickthrough you get to your web site.

9. Allow your visitors or customers to increase your traffic or sales. Ask them how you can improve your business, web site or product.

10. Team-up with other e-zines that have the same target audience. Combine subscriber bases and then publish one e-zine together to increase subscribers.

1. You can get ad copy ideas by studying similar product’s advertising material. Collect their sales letters, classified ads, web ads, e-mail ads, etc.

2. Know exactly what you want your ad copy to accomplish. It could be to qualify prospects, make sales, generate leads, attract web traffic, etc.

3. Make a complete list of your product’s benefits and features. Begin your ad with the most important benefit either in your headline or first sentence.

4. Make your ad benefits as specific as possible. Include exact numbers, percentages, times, colors, smells, sounds, descriptive adjectives, etc.

5. List all the ways your product is different from your competition’s. Include all the differences in your ad copy that are better than their product.

6. Use graphics, pictures and drawings of people actually using your product to solve their problem. Include a picture that also shows the results.

7. Make a list of your target audience. Write down what reasons would attract them to purchase your product. Include those reasons in your ad copy.

8. Include any proven facts in your ad copy. They could be customer surveys, scientific tests, product reviews, etc.

9. Tell your audience what kind of support they’ll get after they buy. It could be free consulting, tech support, free servicing, etc.

10. Ask people at the end of your copy why they decided not to buy. This will give you new ideas on how to produce a more profitable ad copy.

1. Know the value of the product before you bid. If the product is brand new, check to see what price retailers are charging for it. If the product is used or reconditioned, you will want to pay way less than the retail value.

2. If the product’s description or picture isn’t detailed enough for you, contact the merchant to get more information before you bid. You don’t want to take a chance to waste your hard earned money.

3. Know the highest price you will bid for the product and stick with it. Don’t get caught up in a bidding war; you may end up paying more than the product’s worth. Don’t forget to add in the shipping price with your bid.

4. Visit a few online auctions before bidding because some merchants auction the same product in many auctions. You usually can purchase the product for a lower price in a unpopular auction because there are less bidders.

5. Know the time the auction begins and ends. You also want to know how long it will take to ship. If you need the product by a certain date, you’ll want to estimate the time it will take to receive it.

6. Know the payment options the merchant accepts before you bid on their product. If they only accept checks or money orders, it may take even longer to get the product because the payment has to clear. If they accept credit cards make sure they have a secure server.

7. Know if the merchant offers a warranty or money back guarantee or before bidding on a product. You don’t want to get stuck with a product that does not work or you’re not satisfied with.

8. Online auctions will, sometimes, allow you to check the merchants history with their auction. Check to see if people have complained about the their products or business practices before you decide to bid.

9. It’s important to place a bid early in the auction to show other bidders you are interested in the product. If someone does out bid you, don’t be afraid to out bid them. Remember not to go over your maximum bid price.

10. Another reason to know when the auction ends; you can place a last minute bid. The other bidders may not be keeping track of when the auction ends or may not have the time to bid again.

1. “Bookmark This Web Site Now” Tell your visitors to bookmark your web site. They may see your web site listed in their bookmarks and visit again. You should also give then a good reason to bookmark your site. For example tell them you add new content everyday.

2. “Subscribe To Our Free E-zine” Tell your visitors to subscribe to your e-zine. When they subscribe you’ll capture their e-mail address. Every time they read your e-zine, it will remind them to return to your site.

3.” Participate On Our Discussion Board” Ask your visitors to participate on your online discussion board. By participating they will meet other people. By meeting other people, they will  revisit your web site on a regular basis to stay in contact with them.

4. “Sign Our Guestbook” Ask your visitors to sign your guest book. When people sign your guestbook you may get valuable feedback or constructive criticism on how to improve your web site. This may help you increase traffic to your web site.

5. “Use Our Free Content On Your Site Or In Your E-zine” Allow your visitors to use your articles on their own web site or in their e-zine. Just ask them to include your resource box. This will spread your advertising all over the internet.

6. “Refer This Our Web Site To A Friend” Ask your visitors to refer your web site to a friend(s). They may know someone that would benefit from visiting your web site.

7. “Fill Out Our Online Survey” Ask visitors to fill out your online survey or questionnaire. You could use it to get valuable feedback on ways to improve your web site to increase traffic.

8. “Enter Our Contests” Ask your visitors to enter your online contest or sweepstakes. People love to win stuff, and they will visit your web site to try.

9. “Give Away Our Freebie To Your Visitors” Allow your visitors to give away your online freebies to people that visit your web site. Include your ad on the freebie and those freebies will multiply your traffic.

10. “Join Our Affiliate Program” Allow your visitors to make money selling your products or services. This will increase your traffic because they will link to your web site.

One of the best way to increase your sales is to offer your potential customers a special offer. It could be trial offers, discounts, purchase awards, etc. Below are ten sizzling offers you could use to sell your products like crazy.

1. You could offer your potential customers a free sample of your product. If the sample proves what you claim, there is a high chance they will buy it.

2. You could give your potential customers a free trial of your product or service. Tell them you won’t bill them for 30 days.

3. You could offer your potential customers a rebate after they buy your product or service. They will feel they are getting a good deal.

4. You could offer your potential customers a monthly payment plan. Tell them they can pay for your product or service with three easy monthly payments.

5. You could reward your potential customers if they buy a specific number of products. Tell them if they buy 3 or more products, they will get one free.

6. You could reward your potential customers if they spend over a specific dollar amount. Tell them if they spend over $100, they get a 10% discount.

7. You could hold a holiday sale for your potential customers. Tell them everything on your web site is discounted up to 50% on Thanksgiving Day.

8. You could hold a buy one get one free sale for your potential customers. Tell them if they buy one product, they get another product for free at the same value.

9. You could hold a special $1 sale for your potential customers. They’ll come to your web site to buy your product for only a dollar, but may buy other products.

10. You could offer your potential customers a bonus coupon when they buy one of your products. It could be a coupon for another product you sell.

1. End your slow sales periods by planning ahead. Plan to add extra bonuses, hold a sale or package your product with other products.

2. Make more commissions off the affiliate programs you join by giving your personal endorsements for the products. They usually pull more sales than ads.

3. Speed up your internet access. You can get your online business tasks done faster which will help you stay ahead of your competition.

4. Allow people who do not have time to explore your site to download your web site in ebook format. This will allow them time to view it offline.

5. Use tons of headlines and sub headlines on your web site. This will keep their attention and keep them at your web site longer.

6. Take advantage of popular fads. If something is popular at the current time, put up a web site about it. Just promote your main site on the fad web site.

7. Allow your prospects to chose between a retail or wholesale price. Charge people a membership fee to always get the products at wholesale cost.

8. Allow other related web sites that don’t have a chat room to link to yours. They’ll get use of a free chat room and you’ll draw extra traffic to your site.

9. Increase the perceived value of your free stuff or bonuses by including the retail dollar amount the freebie would normally sell for.

10. Create your own web ring. You will gain highly targeted traffic to your web site and others will link to your site because they’ll want to join the ring.