How can you get more visitors to your website? What can you do to stimulate traffic? Here's a checklist of 25 items you need to consider. Many of these you may be doing already; others you meant to do and forgot about; still others you've never heard of.

LINKING STRATEGIES
Links to your site from other sites drive additional traffic. But since Google and other major search engines consider the number of incoming links to your website ("link popularity") as an important indicator of relevance, more links will help you rank higher in the search engines. Google has a measure called PageRank that reflects the quantity and quality of incoming links. All links aren't all equal. Links from trusted, popular sites help your site rank higher than links from lower traffic sites.

01. Submit Your Site to Key Directories, since a link from a directory will help your ranking and get you traffic. A directory is not a search engine. Rather, it is a hierarchical listing of sites sorted according to category and subcategory. Be sure to list your site in the free Open Directory Project, overseen by overworked volunteer editors. But if you don't get listed right away, don't be impatient and resubmit, or you'll go to the end of the queue. A link in this directory will help you a lot. Yahoo! Directory is another important directory. Real humans read submissions, so be careful to follow the instruction given. Hint: Use somewhat less than the maximum number of characters allowable, so you don't have wordy text that will tempt the Yahoo! editor to begin chopping. Yahoo! Directory Submit requires a $299 annual recurring fee to have your site considered for inclusion within seven business days. Other paid business directories that might help are About.com and Business.com. Remember that Jendee Web Design Services submits every client who purchases a new website design to 25+ prominent search engines.

02. Submit your Site to Trade Organization Sites and Specialized Directories. Some directories focused on particular industries, such as education or finance. You probably belong to various trade associations that feature member directories. Ask for a link, even if you have to pay something for a link from the organization, it may help boost your PageRank. Marginal directories, however, come and go very quickly, making it hard to keep up, so don't try to be exhaustive here. Beware of directories that solicit you for "upgraded listings". Unless a directory is widely used in your field, a premium ad is a waste of money, but the (free) link itself will help boost your PageRank and hence your search engine ranking. Free Directory Submission is a directory submission tool that many have used with good success. You complete a listing form and they submit your listing to all the appropriate directories. It's a timesaver and works well. All they ask in return is a link back to their website.

03. Request Reciprocal Links. Find websites in your general niche and request a reciprocal link to your site (especially to your free service, if you offer one). Develop an out-of-the way yet accessible page where you put links to other sites so you don't send people out the back door as fast as you bring them in the front door. Your best results will be from sites that generate a similar amount of traffic as your own site. High-traffic site webmasters are too busy to answer your requests for a link and don't have anything to gain. Look for smaller sites that may have linking pages.

When you locate sites, send a personal email using the contact email on the site or to the administrative contact listed in a Whois Directory. If email doesn't get a response, try a phone call. Warning: Only link to complementary sites, no matter how often you are bombarded with requests to exchange links with a mortgage site that has nothing to do with your teddy bear store. One way Google determines what your site is about is who you link to and who links to you. It's not just links, but quality links you seek. Reciprocal linking is hard, tedious work, but it doesn't cost you a dime out of pocket! Keep working at this continuously, a little bit at a time. Patience and persistence will get you some good links, so keep at it.

04. Write Articles for Others to Use in Websites and Newsletters. You can dramatically increase your visibility when you write articles in your area of expertise and distribute them to editors as free content for their email newsletters or their websites. Just ask that a link to your website and a one-line description of what you offer be included with the article. This is an effective "viral" approach that can produce hundreds of links to your site overtime. You'll find lots of information on how to do this from the most popular article marketing site, EzineArticles.com. When you create a free membership account, they begin sending you instructions and ideas each week. Content formation can be difficult to compile, so be sure to seek the advice and assistance of Jendee Web Design Services if you need it!

05. Issue News Releases. Find newsworthy events and send news releases to print and Web periodicals in your industry. The links to your site in online news databases may remain for several months and will temporarily improve traffic to your site and increase link popularity. Use a online news release service such as Free Press Release. Placing your website URL in online copies of your press release may increase link popularity temporarily. Two additional linking strategies, discussed below, are to ask visitors to bookmark your webpage and to develop a free service, which will greatly stimulate links to your site.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Our next type of website promotion comes from the mushrooming field of social media, in which people are encouraged to interact with each other, and respond to each other's blog postings and comments. You should be aware of four types of social media: (1) blogs, (2) social networking sites, (3) social bookmarking sites, and (4) forums. Don't be upset if the distinctions between types of social media tend to blur. Social media help promote your site by sending direct traffic, producing links to your site, and generating awareness.

06. Begin a Business Blog. Want links to your site? Begin a business blog on your website, hosted on your own domain. If you offer excellent content and regular industry comment, people are likely to link to it, increasing your site's PageRank. Consistency and having something to say are key.

Here are some tips on blogging:

● Identify your audience. A basic precept of any business is just as essential with your blog. It's critical to pinpoint your audience and, in the process, decide what you're going to say that will make them read what you write. It's really a process of elimination - what's not being covered by someone else? What's your unique spin? If you don't have an original voice, why is anybody going to read it?

● Decide where your blog should live. Next up is determining where to locate your blog. There are numerous software packages that let you add a blog section to an existing website. A more automated and perhaps easier option is a blog hosting site (with a link from your website bringing visitors over). Here, the setup is easy, as the site usually provides preformatted designs and other options from which you can choose. In particular, watch for features that may be helpful in building traffic, such as trackers that identify recent posts and the most popular message threads.

● Start talking. At this point, bringing your blog live will mean little more than placing your thoughts, observations and insights into the blog for others to read. But to really kick start your blogging traffic, don't just vent marketing-speak about how great your business is, or chatter about news and current events for which you offer no expertise. Instead, aim for a fresh, unique take. Provide a perspective that is heartfelt, compelling, and has the potential to help you market yourself and your business. One way to get up to speed on what to say is to read other blogs and, in turn, offer your own viewpoint on an industry or business topic for which you know something about. It's not a matter of competing with other blogs, but one way to attract other bloggers to your site is to start reading other blogs and commenting on what they're writing about.

● Get into the practice of "blogrolling". Getting regular visitors to your site isn't just a matter of fresh, insightful commentary. Building traffic between blogs is another central element to luring repeat visitors. Here, "blogrolling" is an effective tool. This, in essence, is a set of links on your blog site that identifies other sites on the Internet, related to your business, industry or expertise, which you find valuable. Developed in conjunction with a fresh voice, blogrolling encourages a steady back and forth between various sites, including other blogs. Write commentary about what other bloggers have written, then link to them. That really gets you into the overall bloggers' pool.

● Emphasize keywords. Search engine hits are another element of generating traffic. One strategy to attract search engine interest is through careful use of keywords in both your headlines and blog copy. For instance, if your topic focuses on marketing a business overseas, use of the words "marketing" and "overseas" as often as possible and in varied permutations can help push your blog site toward the head of the search engine line. Stay on one topic, so your content is focused on keywords. That, and link to other blogs on the subject.

● Keep it fresh. One cardinal snafu that can bring down even the best intentioned of blogs is stale content. Nothing is more discouraging to prospective readers than returning to a blog site to find old or outdated material. So, be prepared to work at keeping your blog as fresh and current as possible.That doesn't necessarily mean regular entries as lengthy as a Michener novel - indeed, many engaging blogs are built of short, concise messages. But make a commitment to update your blog on as regular basis as your schedule reasonably permits. You need to develop what is described as a ruthless persistence toward posting, particularly if you disseminate the blog's address, and customers or suppliers come to depend on the information. People view blogs as daily information vehicles, not once in a while musings on a stray issue. Think of blogs as a conversation, and that will help with the daily focus.

● Watch your traffic closely. Don't make the mistake of feeling locked into your blog's initial topic. Monitor the amount and quality of the traffic you receive. If things seem slow or stagnant, don't be gun-shy about varying your themes or subjects to boost interest. But don't stray too far from your business or expertise. Investigate how effective the [publishing] platform you choose to blog in is. Some do nothing for my search visibility.

● If you have a blog on a third-party blog site, occasionally find reasons to talk about and link to your own domain.

07. Become Part of a Social Media Community. Some of the best online communities for business include Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In addition, you may want to participate in a social bookmarking community in which members share with each other information about websites, articles, or news items that they like (or don't like). These include Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, and Google Bookmarks. Search engine spiders troll these sites looking for links to something new and relevant. You can usually place a link to your website in your profile, but the biggest gain comes when other people mention you (which generates traffic to your site), link to you (which increases your PageRank and brings traffic), or bookmark you (which increases your PageRank and brings traffic). One important reminder, don't join a community to spam them or talk incessantly about your business. Like any community you must listen, comment, and make a genuine contribution for the good of others. Don't hog the conversation. Otherwise, your self-serving links and comments will hurt your reputation. By the way, to get started, why don't you visit our social media pages and like us on Facebook, join us on LinkedIn, add us on Myspace, follow us on Twitter and friend us on YouTube. Thank you!

For your convenience, Jendee provides a complete list of today's most popular Social Media communities.

08. Promote Your Site in Online Forums and Discussion Lists - "old school" social media. The Internet offers thousands of very targeted email based discussion lists, online forums, and groups made up of people with very specialized interests. Use Google Groups to find appropriate groups. Search online for blogs or other forums. Don't bother with groups consisting of pure spam. Instead, find groups where a serious dialog is taking place. Don't use aggressive marketing and overtly plug your product or service. Rather, add to the discussion in a helpful way and let the "signature" at the end of your email message do your marketing for you. People will gradually get to know and trust you, visit your site, and do business with you. Please utilize the Online Forums & Discussion Boards listed in our Business Resources section.

09. Ask Visitors to Bookmark Your Site. It seems simple, but ask visitors to bookmark your site or save it in their Favorites list. I use a widget called AddThis. When you put the AddThis JavaScript on your webpage, it automatically determines the title and URL of that page. When visitors click the button on your page, they are automatically taken to a page that allows them to choose which bookmarking service they prefer, and then pre-populates the appropriate form with the title and URL of your webpage. If you have good content that people want to bookmark, this can generate hundreds of links to your site and significantly raise your rankings. While you're at it, would you be so kind as to Bookmark Jendee.net. Thank you!

TRADITIONAL STRATEGIES
Just because "old media" strategies aren't on the Internet doesn't mean they aren't effective. A mixed media approach can be very effective.

10. Include Your URL on Stationery, Cards, and Literature. Make sure that all business cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your company's URL. And see that your printer gets the URL syntax correct. In print, we recommend leaving off the http:// part and including only the www.domain.com portion.

11. Promote using traditional media. Don't discontinue print advertising that you've found effective. But be sure to include your URL in any display or classified ads you purchase in trade journals, newspapers, yellow pages, etc. View your website as an information adjunct to the ad. Use a two-step approach: (1) capture readers' attention with the ad, (2) then refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place an order. Look carefully at small display or classified ads in the back of narrowly-targeted magazines or trade periodicals. Sometimes these ads are more targeted, more effective, and less expensive than online advertising. Consider other traditional media to drive people to your site, such as direct mail, classifieds, post cards, etc. TV can be used to promote websites, especially in a local market.

12. Develop a Free Service. It's boring to invite people, "Come to our site and learn about our business". It's quite another to say "Use the free kitchen remodeling calculator available exclusively on our site". Make no mistake, it's expensive in time and energy to develop free resources, but it is very rewarding in increased traffic to your site and a motivation to link to the site! Make sure that your free service is closely related to what you are selling so the visitors you attract will be good prospects for your business. Give visitors multiple opportunities and links to cross over to the sales portion of your site.

EMAIL STRATEGIES
Don't neglect email as an important way to bring people to your website. Just don't spam, that is, don't send bulk unsolicited emails without permission to people with whom you have no relationship. Many countries have anti-spam laws.

13. Install a "Signature" in your Email Program to help potential customers get in touch with you. Most email programs allow you to designate a "signature" to appear at the end of each message you send. Limit it to 6 to 8 lines: Company name, address, phone number, URL, email address, and a one-phrase description of your unique business offering. Look for examples on email messages sent to you.

14. Publish an Email Newsletter. While it requires a commitment of time, creating a monthly email publication is one of the most important promotion techniques. It could be a newsletter (ezine), list of tips, industry updates, or new product information - whatever you believe your customers will appreciate. This is a great way to keep in touch with your prospects, generate trust, develop brand awareness, and build future business. It also helps you collect email addresses from those who visit your site, but aren't yet ready to make a purchase. You distribute your newsletter inexpensively using email marketing services such as AWeber and Constant Contact. If you have a very small list, some of these services let you use their services free until you grow larger. Blogs are very popular, but don't really replace email newsletters. You have to go to a blog to read it, while an email newsletter appears in your inbox asking to be read.

15. Aggressively Ask for Email Sign ups. If you want to get subscribers to your email newsletter, you'll need to work hard at it. Include a subscription form on every page of your website. Promote sign ups through free whitepapers, ebooks, or other products. If you have a local business, ask customers to sign up for your email list to get "special Internet only offers". Also ask other businesspeople when they give you a business card if you can send them your email newsletter. While only the email address itself is necessary, you can also ask for a first name, so you can personalize the newsletter and the email subject line with the recipient's name.

16. Send Transactional and Reminder Emails. A transactional email is sent to an existing customer to initiate, remind, confirm, or thank the person. Be creative. If you keep careful records, you can send emails to customers on their birthday to remind them to return to your site. Subscription confirmation emails can also mention several popular products. You might remind customers that it has been three months since their last order and ask if it's time for a refill. Thank you for your purchase emails can offer a coupon to bring your customer back for a future sale. Use your imagination, but don't pester your customers. You're there to serve them, not the other way around.

17. Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers. Your own list of customers and site visitors who have given you permission to contact them will be your most productive list. Send special offers, coupon specials, product updates, etc. They often initiate another visit to your site. If you have a regular newsletter, you can include many of these in your regular emailing.

18. Exchange Email Mentions with Complementary Businesses. You might consider exchanging email newsletter mentions with complementary businesses to reach new audiences. Just be sure that your partners are careful where they get their mailing list so you don't get in trouble with the anti-spam laws in your country.

MISCELLANEOUS STRATEGIES
Here are a couple of strategies that don't fit elsewhere.

19. Announce a Contest. People like getting something free. If you publicize a contest or drawing available on your site, you'll generate more traffic than normal. Make sure your sweepstakes rules are legal in all states and countries you are targeting. Prizes should be designed to attract individuals who fit a demographic profile describing your best customers.

20. Devise Viral Marketing Promotion Techniques. So called viral marketing uses existing communication networks to spread the word exponentially. Word of mouth, PR, creating "buzz", and network marketing are offline models. Promotion strategy #04 above, "Write Articles for Others to Use for Website and Newsletter Content," is a kind of viral approach. The key to the best viral marketing, however, is create something that generates buzz and is so cute / fascinating / fun / bizarre that it gets passed by viewers to their friends via email and social networks - thousands of times - so that it propels more and more people to your website, and, hopefully, helps enhance your brand, produce sales, and ultimately boost profits. Internet marketers often seek to launch viral campaigns on Digg or YouTube. Digg is a social bookmarking site with such power, that if enough people "Digg" you, you appear on the Digg front page and receive a huge number of visitors in a few hours. If your video goes viral on YouTube, you could get tens of thousands of visits to the site you promote in the video. However, viral marketing is difficult to do well.

PAID ADVERTISING STRATEGIES
None of the approaches described above are "free", since each takes time and energy. But if you want to grow your business more rapidly, there comes a point when you need to pay for increased traffic. Advertising is sold in one of three ways: (1) traditional CPM (cost per thousand views), (2) pay per click (PPC), and (3) pay per action (PPA) or cost per action (CPA) approaches. Examples of the latter are affiliate program and lead generation programs. Banner ads get such a low click-through rate (0.2%) that we don't recommend paying much for them. Banner ads typically cost about 50¢ to $1 per thousand page views, except on targeted sites. Do some small tests first to determine response. Then calculate your return on investment (ROI) before spending large amounts. Here are some methods to explore:

21. Advertise in an Email Newsletter. Some of the best buys are small text ads in email newsletters targeted at audiences likely to be interested in your products or services. Many small publishers aren't sophisticated about advertising and offer very attractive rates. More effective (and more expensive) is to send out an appropriate solo email to the targeted list's subscribers. These often get a good response.

22. Begin an Affiliate Program. Essentially, a retailer's affiliate program is a CPA program that pays a commission to other site owners whose links to the retailer's products result in an actual sale. The goal is to build a network of affiliates who have a financial stake in promoting your site. If you're a merchant, you need to (1) determine the commission you are willing to pay (consider it your advertising cost), (2) select a company to set up the technical details of your program, and (3) promote your program to get the right kind of affiliates who will link to your site. Software and service companies are available to facilitate the process. The problem is getting enough affiliates who will actually work hard to promote your products or services. These "super affiliates" will probably consist of only 1% to 3% of your total number of affiliates.

23. Purchase Pay Per Click (PPC) ads with Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, or Microsoft AdCenter. This strategy is way down the list, but it is vitally important. Most Internet businesses will want to explore using Google AdWords to drive targeted traffic to their websites. These PPC ads appear on the search engine results page, typically both above and to the right of the organic or natural search engine results. Since they are keyword-driven, they can be quite relevant to what a searcher is trying to find. Your ranking in this list of paid text ads is determined by (1) how much you have bid for a particular search word compared to other businesses, (2) the click-through rate on your ad, and (3) your Quality Score, which reflects the relevancy and quality of your ad and the landing page it points to. PPC ads can be a cost effective way to get targeted traffic, since you only pay when someone actually clicks on the link. But we strongly recommend that you study this carefully and expect a learning curve before you invest large sums of money in PPC advertising. Here's a list of Marketing & Advertising Resources you can look into and use.

24. List Your Products with Shopping Comparison Bots and Auction Sites. If you're an online merchant, you'll want to consider this. Shopping bots compare your products and prices to others. Some work on a PPC (Pay Per Click) basis, others on a CPA (Cost Per Action) basis, perhaps with a listing fee. Bots to consider include mySimon, BizRate, PriceGrabber, and Shopping.com. Shopping sites that include comparison features include: eBay and iOffer. You can find more Shopping and Auction Sites in Business Resources. You pay to acquire first time customers, but hopefully you can sell to them a second, third, and fourth time, later on.

25. Rent targeted, commercial email lists. The last website promotion technique we'll mention is renting targeted email lists. We abhor "spam", bulk untargeted, unsolicited email, and you'll pay a very stiff price in a ruined reputation and cancelled services if you yield to temptation here. But the direct marketing industry has developed targeted email lists you can rent - lists consisting of people who have agreed to receive commercial email messages. These lists cost $40 to $400 per thousand or 4¢ to 40¢ per name. Do a smaller test first to determine the quality of the list. Your best bet is to find an email "list broker" to help you with this project. You'll save money and get experienced help for no additional cost. Realize, however, that due to the high cost of renting lists, many businesses won't generate enough businesses to justify the cost. Run the numbers before you invest.

Whew! That's it. We certainly haven't exhausted ways to promote your site, but these will get you started. To effectively market your site, you need to spend time adapting these strategies to your own market and capacity. Right now, why don't you make an appointment to go over this checklist with someone from Jendee Web Design Services? Make this checklist a jump start for your new internet marketing strategy.

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About the authors: Jeanette Iurato is the owner of jendee.net and provides customized low cost web design for small businesses. Jeff Wuorio is a veteran freelance writer and author based in southern Maine. He writes about small business management, marketing and technology issues. Dr. Ralph F. Wilson is widely recognized as one of the top international authorities in the area of Internet marketing.