People running businesses usually want or need to know what the best way to advertise a business online is. Well, many ways exist, but some of the more effective ways to advertise is by using the free methods. Not only will these methods help get the word out that the business exists, but it will also save money that most small businesses and start-ups do not have to spend on marketing and advertising.
Forum Signatures
One of the best-known ways to advertise a business online is by using forum signatures. However, sometimes they are used too often that the signature could be flagged as spam, so the trick is to use forum signatures in the right way. For example, do not simply jump into any forum and any forum thread to leave a short, one word reply.
Instead, start out with forums that are related to the business itself. A cloud computing business would have very little to no reason of leaving a signature with its business website link there in a makeup or cosmetics forum. Once the business owner has found the perfect forums, he can jump in and reply to threads with relevant information. Then, start leaving a signature with his business link attached, and in some cases where possible, the phone number to the business. Eventually, traffic will start flowing into the business website and calls will begin to come in from the forums.
Free Classifieds
Free online classified ads are another great way to advertise a business online. Thousands of free online classified ad websites exist in which a business owner can write an ad for display online. Not only can the business owner write a two or three line description of the services offered, but he or she can also leave a link to the business’ website, an address, and phone number of the business.
Classified listings work just as regular keyword and “Sponsored Results” ads do, that is when people search for specific keywords on the internet, those listings will eventually come up in the search results. The increased viability from using classified ads to advertise a business online can oftentimes garner added website traffic, increased calls to the business and overall, increased ROI, especially if the classified ad was free.
Overall, online advertising can take a lot of time; however, when the added benefit of increased website traffic, increased sales calls, and an overall increase in sales, the initial time investment is seen as a worthy one, because no money was spent to advertise a business online using these methods.