How to Promote a Website Online When Your Budget Only Covers a Slice of Pizza

29.08.2018 | SEO, Useful Tips

Vladyslav Aliinyk, SEO Specialist
at the internet marketing agency Destra

Without a position on the first page of search results, it’s impossible to catch a client from the digital pond. Everyone already understands the importance of promoting their services online, but the task has become more complicated. Competitors have taken up strong positions on the first page of search results and won’t let anyone in. Massive financial investments are needed — but the budget is tight. It’s time to figure out how to optimize a site and, with your own efforts, lift it from the Mariana Trench to the first page of search results.

Action Plan for Website Promotion

Each stage has its time. Newbie SEO specialists often grab at every tool and trick they find online, chaotically trying to apply everything at once to their site. Don’t do this. Such an approach only leads to mistakes and wasted time.

An effective sequence of actions:

Clearly define your target audience.
Select and filter relevant keywords.
Create and polish the website structure until it shines.
Fix technical errors.
Fill the site with content that captivates and leaves no questions unanswered.
Leave traces (links) everywhere and encourage their multiplication.
Start a company blog and present yourself across every available social network.

If the correct order of steps was disrupted during the creation of the site, or if some of these actions weren’t done at all, fixing the situation will be much harder. If all the work and sequence were followed but there are still no results, it means the effort wasn’t enough. The semantic core needs to be expanded tirelessly, with no expectation of ever stopping the work.

Website Promotion: Free, Slow, but with Fire in Your Eyes

According to the marketing platform HubSpot, 60% of all organic traffic goes to the giants holding the top three positions in search results. So how do you promote a website if the leaders already dominate tens of thousands of commercial queries? The answer is simple — target low-competition keywords. After all, there’s still 40% of millions of users who can be lured to your site with more specific search phrases.

If you select long-tail keywords of three or more words for your pages, it’s much easier to rank in the top results — especially if they clearly match your business activity and the content on the page. The more unique long-tail queries you use across your site, the wider the audience you’ll be able to attract.

Use Google Ads Keyword Planner to compile a list of precise, multi-word queries. If you offer a specific service, look for equally specific queries in the statistics. If you find at least 50 searches per month for one, that’s your golden traffic. These visitors won’t just be passersby — they’ll be genuinely interested consumers.

The main thing is to publish engaging, valuable content that genuinely helps users. Otherwise, even long-tail keywords won’t save you. If the site meets search engine requirements, has proper internal and external optimization, and the content convinces users to stay, growth in rankings is inevitable.

If your company can meet specific customer needs, look for and implement similar keywords on your site. With them, the chances of getting a request or a call are higher than from high-frequency, expensive queries.

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All the Social Networks of the Known Universe

Instead of having just one search result position, your site can take up 5–6. And each of these positions can be strengthened. Users move from link to link, share posts, and leave comments — and Google loves it. The more interconnected links the search bot sees, the easier it understands the value and usefulness of your company.

However, it’s not enough to simply create official pages on Instagram, Facebook, VK, Twitter, and Google+. They need to be actively maintained, filled with content, and used to introduce the audience to your services.

Google My Business

A secret (well, not really) service from Google itself. Google My Business helps companies briefly present themselves to local consumers.

As shown in the example, Yura didn’t neglect the advantages of the service — unlike his competitors. He listed his diner’s working hours, marked the address on the map, and provided a phone number. The city’s residents rewarded him with high ratings and described his culinary creation as “the essence of life force,” “food of the gods,” and “a shawarma of legend.” If that’s not success, what is?

Expert Communication on Forums

If your business operates in a field that requires deep knowledge, participate in forums. They are still thriving when it comes to finding expert answers from professionals. Become that professional for the community: showcase your expertise, help solve problems with concise advice. Within a week, you’ll start building authority.

Once you’ve established credibility, you can begin adding links to your website and directing forum members to your office for solutions. If the links are relevant and genuinely helpful, moderators won’t remove them.

YouTube Channel

Entrepreneurs often dismiss video content as an option when they see the professional production quality on popular bloggers’ channels. But it’s important to understand that no one expects a regular business to film in a studio with a full crew.

If your channel features videos of the production process, conversations with clients, or product reviews — you’ll find an audience. Even if every video is shot on a budget smartphone.

Useful Email Newsletter

At the initial stage, an email newsletter doesn’t require any investment. There are plenty of free services online with simple, user-friendly interfaces. They allow you to create modern, eye-catching emails by simply dragging and dropping elements into place.

Until you reach 1,000 subscribers, you won’t have to pay a cent. If your emails are engaging and valuable, you can gain that number of subscribers in just a couple of months. The key is to stay consistent and not abandon the effort.

Collect Feedback from Clients

Experienced internet users have stopped trusting written reviews online. The only truly convincing proof of a product’s or service’s value is a live video testimonial.

If you already have satisfied clients, ask them for help. In return, you can offer a discount on their next order or free service.

How to Promote a Website with Pure Enthusiasm: Budget-Friendly Tricks

Don’t worry if a client looks a bit nervous on camera or lacks charisma. That nervousness will only make the testimonial feel more authentic. To avoid ending up with vague phrases like “good, fast, competent,” prepare guiding questions in advance. It’s best to ask them before recording and then have the client repeat their answers on camera.

The service is free and offers a wealth of opportunities. For example, you can publish photos of your business, staff, and products directly in search results. When someone enters a branded query, an information block appears on the right-hand side. You also get access to statistics on calls, clicks, and routes mapped by users. It looks professional and boosts traffic.

There are countless ways to promote a website with zero spending. However, results only come after long, diligent, and flawless work. In 9 out of 10 cases, the time invested this way doesn’t pay off. It’s usually more profitable to invest that time into developing the business itself. I’m not saying this to push you toward ordering services from Destra — I just don’t want your enthusiasm and expectations of golden mountains to crash against harsh reality.

Even internet marketing agencies sometimes turn to external studios to promote their own websites. For the simple reason that the team is too busy working on client sites, leaving no time for their own. If you have the drive and the ability to dedicate at least 10 hours a week to developing your site, go for it. But always keep in mind that your competitor might have 2–3 SEO specialists who collectively spend 60 hours a week on their site — and they won’t hesitate to use long-tail queries either.

For those just starting their journey in online business promotion, last week we published an article in the blog titled “How to Write Articles for a Website: Basics and Key Terms.”