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 1 Seldom
Discussed Method Of Web Promotion
by: Mark Terry
So you've made the perfect
web site (in your eyes at least) and that all-important traffic is out
there just waiting to visit you. You've done your research and followed
the usual methods for making people aware about it, and you're now sat
there twiddling your thumbs, regularly checking your traffic analysis
tracker in case you get a sudden surge of visitors. Of course, unless
you're a big business with a mass of promotion behind you, those days of
overwhelming traffic are quite a way off. So while you wait for your
search engine submissions to reap their reward is there anything else
you can do to help yourself?
Simple answer. Yes there is
and it's a method that isn't discussed much. What is it I'm talking
about?
Forums. No don't run away
just yet. Not only will you develop a small amount of traffic in the
first few days of launch (a couple of hundred visits easy) but you'll
gain a lot of invaluable feedback about your site that can allow you to
make changes before the search engines kick in. What could be better
than free reviews?
First things first. If
you're unfamiliar with forums they can best be described as the communal
discussion area of a web site. If you've never used one before don't be
afraid they're not as scary as they seem. Go have a look at a few to see
for yourself, read some of the topics and look at the messages people
have posted. Nobody is going to jump out at you and ask what you're
doing there. Honest.
Right, now that you're
confident you can post a message on a forum, you should be aware that
you can't and shouldn't post a message about your wonderful new web site
on every forum you come across. If you've had a look like I suggested
you'll notice that most forums are split into sections that cover
different areas related to that particular web site. Therefore, if you
want to tell people about your site you need to look for forums that
will accept this sort of entry.
It isn't hard to think
about where these magical forums might be. You'll want to look at
computer magazine sites, webmaster sites, web review sites, that's just
for starters, I'm sure you'll come across more once you get going. The
process is then simple; find one of these sites, have a look to see if
they run a forum, then check the forum to see if they have a section
that allows for your site to be submitted for review by other members.
If you're new to this then
keep things simple with just a simple post at first. Just ask people to
look at your site and give you some feedback. The best things to
remember with forums are to be polite and friendly in your posts. Most
people will usually have something positive to say about your web site
despite all the criticisms they may also give. Even if you get lots of
praise you'll often be surprised at the smallest tips that you get that
can make your site look that little bit more professional looking. Once
you've done a couple of forums and noted the general response, use your
different forums to be more specific. Ask about your navigation, ask
about the content, ask about the colours, or whatever else may be
bugging you.
Some forums ask that you
look first at one or two other members sites and give some feedback of
your own before asking for yours to be looked at. This can help you in
that it may show you how to critique your own site by looking at what's
wrong with someone else's. Also if you do need to give some feedback
look at the list of posts and pick someone whose reply count is low or
non-existent. They'll be pleased that you've responded and may pay you
the same compliment by looking at yours.
This brings me to another
point regarding the reply/view count. Most people who go to the forums
(especially newbies) are more likely to look first at the posts that
have a decent reply and/or view count. It's a psychological thing, the
post looks popular so you want to see what's so interesting. With some
forums you can use this to your advantage (just don't abuse it). Be
aware of the forums that show an increase in the reply/view count
everytime someone (including you) adds a message. If you find one make
sure you visit your post to respond to anybody's comments and add a
message to keep the count going. It's a bit sneaky I know but like I
said don't abuse it and you'll gain a slight advantage for getting
people looking at your site.
Now don't expect thousands
of visitors from the method detailed in this article (unless your site
is so good that everybody starts talking about it) but for every person
that responds to your request for feedback you'll get loads more that
just visit your site who for whatever reason don't reply. At the end of
the day it's all about getting the ball rolling and anything you can do
to proactively promote your web site has to be considered. So best foot
forward and get exploring all those forums.
About The Author
Mark Terry is the webmaster of WorkTheSystem. This site provides a
series of simple guides that show the different methods of making
some extra money on the internet.
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