Invested in a new website but are yet to see its benefits of bringing in more visitors, conversions or sales? A beautiful, responsive website on its own isn't enough – you'll need to promote it so your target audience can find it. With the festive season marking a slowdown for many businesses, this could be the perfect time to turn your attention to website promotion. Here are five free marketing activities to start implementing today. 

1. Develop your SEO strategy 

Optimising your website for search engines helps increase its visibility, achieve higher rankings in searches, and help potential customers find your business online. One way to do this is to include keywords (words that your audience uses when searching for similar products or services) within your website content. Use the free tool Google Keyword Planner to identify these. 
 
Good SEO isn't just about keywords, however. You'll also need to ensure your site is quick to load and mobile-friendly and that your content is high-quality, relevant, and addresses visitors' needs. This brings us nicely onto the next tactic! 

2. Update your blog 

Adding valuable and sharable content to your blog shows search engines that your website is up-to-date, plus more content gives you a better chance of ranking in search results. It also helps keep your audience engaged and establishes your site as authoritative and credible. 
 
Promote fresh material in your e-newsletter and on social media to attract new and existing audiences to your website. 

3. Create visitor incentives 

Offering incentives, like exclusive discounts, free tools or downloadable resources, can capture the attention of visitors and encourage them to return. It can also help with word-of-mouth referrals and enables you to build your email subscriber list. 
 
Money Saving Expert is a huge, well-known website, but it's an excellent example for demonstrating various types of free visitor incentives, from mortgage and tax calculators to its very own Credit Club, which helps people boost their credit score. 

4. Guest posting on reputable websites 

Guest posting is where you contribute original content to other websites in the same market as your business, e.g. via a blog post or interview. This strategy allows you to showcase your knowledge and expertise and expands your reach to the readers of the 'host' website. It's common practice to include a backlink to your website within the content or author bio section, thus helping drive traffic from the host site to yours. 

5. Encourage user-generated content 

User-generated content can be reviews, testimonials, images or videos, showing how customers use your products or services. Being able to tap into real experiences and opinions can persuade potential customers to convert. User-generated content also increases engagement, is cost-effective and frees up internal resources – you're effectively letting your community promote your business for you. 
 
You'll want only positive user-generated content to showcase your brand in the best light, so this strategy also involves keeping customers happy and delivering outstanding service – something all businesses aspire to. 

Continuously promote your website for best results 

A big part of creating a robust online presence is ensuring your website is well-maintained and up-to-date – all year round. Now's a good time to start if your business is about to hit a slow period due to the Christmas festivities. 
 
Consider the organic promotion strategies above. Optimise your site for search engines, create high-quality content and visitor incentives, and expand your reach through guest posts and user-generated content. 
 
Need help with any of the above? As a full-service web design agency covering SEO, social media, digital marketing and content services, we can help. Get in touch to discuss your requirements. 
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