Free publicity for your business

Shrewd business owners keep their costs to a minimum, because it helps to reduce risk. Yet one area where it can be difficult to do so is marketing, where some methods can be costly. However, there are several highly effective ways to raise your profile and market your business that require no investment other than time and effort. 

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Attracting search traffic from search engines such as Google is the most cost effective way to publicise a business. Time spent learning how to optimise a website to maximise traffic from Google is time very well spent. 

Fundamentally, there are two optimisation factors: content of your website; and quality and quantity of incoming links. While getting onto page one for competitive phrases is very difficult, creating quality content and being on the look out for linking opportunities can make a significant difference to website traffic. Remember that each visitor to a website is a potential customer.

Local search

Local search services such as Google Maps, Yelp and Qype are free to register and can provide a steady stream of web traffic. This traffic is particularly relevant to location-based service providers such as shops, but any business can register. Local search results are now also appearing on Google’s main search page for location-based searches.

Social media                                                

Online social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are hugely popular. If used properly, they can both generate web traffic and help to position a business as a leader in its chosen field.

Blogging

In case you don’t know, a blog is the part of a website where users can post their opinions. Blogging is highly effective form of communication because it facilitates a two-way conversation between a business and its customers. Customers can be kept up to date with product news and leave their comments. You can either become active on other people’s blogs or have your own on your business website. Major search engines such as Google give preference to frequently updated content, so regularly give high search placement to blog postings. Blog posts are also published via RSS feeds, which enables readers to subscribe to the content.

Twitter

For those who don’t know, Twitter is a micro-blogging website upon which users can post 140-character updates (‘Tweets’) about what they are doing or have done. The site has many millions of followers all over the world. Twitter is a great way for a business to raise its profile and communicate with its customers. By following customers, businesses can respond to their questions and get an insight into their needs. By following your Tweets, customers can learn about latest news and offers.

Facebook

Businesses can create their own Facebook pages, enabling them to interact with a massive online community. Businesses can publish several kinds of content about themselves on their page in the form of posts, photos and video. Facebook users (including customers) can add their own content/comment and become a fan of the page.

Press releases and PR

Journalists are always on the lookout for interesting things to write about and many stories come directly from press releases. You don’t need to be a professional PR agency to get press coverage. You can write your own press releases (you’ll find guidance here on the Start Up Donut) and email them to relevant journalists and editors at publications you target.

• Trevor Ginn blogs at www.trevorginn.com and in his spare time runs the online baby shop Hello Baby and Internet consultancy Vendlab.