This list of 57 Ways to Advertise Your Business for Free includes how to advertise your business online for free too. The list also includes ways to advertise your website for free, but you do not need a website to advertise your business online for free.
LIST OF FREE WAYS TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS
Submit your site to search engines:
For best advertising of your business or website, try and use many of these 57 free business marketing techniques below.
1)
14 Ways
to advertise your website for free (if you have a website) – working directly on your website
2)
26 Ways
to advertise your website for free online (but not working directly on your website) – note: these include marketing techniques for advertising your business online for free (so you don’t have to have a website)
3)
17 Ways
to advertise your website for free NOT online (OFFline ways to advertise your business for free) – note: these include marketing techniques for advertising your business OFFline for free (so you don’t have to have a website)
1)
14 Ways to Advertise your Website for Free
(if you have a website) – working directly on your website
These ways to advertise your website for free, working directly on your website, are about optimizing your site for Search Engines like Google, so that it can be more easily found in natural (free) search results – perhaps even on page one of Google search results!
This optimizing of a site or website page is also known as on-page SEO
(SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.)
a)
Get a website – even a totally free one that doesn’t even need domain registration and hosting.
b)
Choose a good domain name (or name if it’s a free Blogger blog) for your site, that contains a word or phrase in it that has search volume, but at the same time also relates to what your business or website is about
c)
Write unique content for your site that appears nowhere else online
d)
Give titles to the article or website pages, that contain a word or phrase in them that have search volume, but at the same time also relates to what the article or page of content is about
e)
Write long pages of content, of at least 400 words per page, but preferably as long as 700 words per page, even as long as 1 500 words per page
f.i)
Use the free Google Adwords Keyword tool or another keyword search volume checker to check the search volume of some keywords and phrases in each article or page of content published on your site, and note down what those search volumes are, both the broad search volume and the exact search volume
f.ii)
Edit your published article to include greater repetition of the phrases that have search volume, or to include some related phrases you didn’t have in your article before (you will be able to know what phrases to add by looking at the list of related phrases that comes up when you are using a search volume checker like the Google Adwords Keyword Tool and you see the list of related phrases (and their search volumes) that come up)
A note here: you may want to start with a list of keywords before doing even point b) above and perhaps even before point a) above (that is: check the search volumes of words and phrases related to your business, and jot them and their search volumes down – including those words and phrases that are related, that you see in the list beneath the word or phrase you checked.)
f.iii)
include some sub-headings in your article (that contain words or a phrase that relates to the rest of the content on the page, and that has search volume – use an h2 tag before and after your sub-headings if you can.
g)
Hyperlink one, two, three or more phrases (that have search volume) in your article (pointing the link to another page on your site that relates to the phrase you hyperlinked)
Note: The next ways to advertise your website for free, working directly on the site, may be related to only if you have a WordPress-powered site of your own (not a free Blogger blog or not a free WordPress.com site, but a site of your own that has a domain registered, hosting, WordPress installed and a free WordPress theme from WordPress.org added)
h)
add a title tag to each hyperlink (a title tag that matches the phrase you hyperlinked)
i)
add title tags to the navigation bar tabs (using phrases that have search volume)
j)
Upload one or more images to the page (that relates or relate to the business or content on that page) and put both image title tags and image alt tags on the image – use the same phrase in both title tag and alt tag – and that phrase should be or contain a phrase that has search volume
k)
Add a caption beneath each image – this can be a bit longer than the image title tag and image alt tag, but at least repeat the image title tag and image title tag
l)
Fill in the tags area of your WordPress blog posts – fill in words or phrases that are repeated the most on that page
m)
Add a WordPress SEO plugin like the Yoast SEO plugin, and fill in the meta title, meta description, and meta keywords for each page – just use the same title of the page for the meta title, and the first line and a half or so of the content for the description (assuming that you already gave the page a good title containing a phrase that has search volume, and assuming that the first line and a half or so of content also contains that phrase or related phrases.) For the meta keywords fill in the words or phrases that are repeated the most on the page. Learn SEO Quick and Easy – Do Your Own SEO and Save Money
n)
Whenever you get the chance to, write and add new unique (appearing nowhere else online) pages of content to your site
2)
26 Ways to advertise your website for free online
(but not working directly on your website)
note: these include marketing techniques for advertising your business online for free (so you don’t have to have a website)
These ways to advertise your website for free relate to leaving links on other sites, or at least your website address if some sites don’t allow hyperlinks or links. When people click those links on the other sites, they visit your website, or if they see the website address and the other information that you include with the website address interests them enough, they may still visit your site anyway.
If you don’t have a website to link to, then what you can leave on other sites are your contact details like a telephone number, or an email address, or if you don’t want to display your phone number or email address publicly online for security reasons or privacy reasons, you can log into certain places from time to time to check your messages – or you may even be alerted via email when there are messages for you to go and read. Or perhaps you can link to your Facebook page or profile if you have a Facebook profile or page.
a)
Post ads on free classifieds sites. South Africans may want to consider using and including Vottle, Gumtree, Hotfrog, and OLX in their list of free classifieds sites. Try and write a unique ad for each of the free classifieds sites, of a decent length. Include some photos if allowed.
b)
Post ads on free business directories. List your business for free. South Africans may want to consider using and including Yalwa and SA Web in their list of free business directories. Once again, try and write a unique ad of decent length for each of the free business directories you list your business or website in, and include some photos if the business directory allows you to.
c)
Include your website address in your contact details of your Facebook profile
d)
From time to time link to an article or page on your site, from your Facebook profile – inbetween your usual Facebook profile status updates and sharing of your Facebook friends’ posts etc, so you don’t make your Facebook friends sick of just seeing links to your website
UPDATE 30 OCTOBER 2014
– you can also use a new site very similar to Facebook, called tsu
– you currently need to be invited to join – here’s my invite – tsu – Teresa Schultz
e)
Create a Facebook page and in the about section, link to your website
f)
From time to time, link to an article or page on your site, from your Facebook page
g)
Include a link to your website (or to a specific page on your website) when you upload photos to either (or both) your Facebook profile or to your Facebook page (if those photos relate to your website or your website page that you are linking to)
h)
Display your website link on your Twitter profile
i)
From time to time link to a page on your website, by leaving a tweet on Twitter
j)
From time to time link to a page on your website, by leaving a link on your Google Plus profile
k)
Include your website address or link on your Linkedin profile
l)
Leave a link and brief description of the page you’re linking to on social bookmarking sites like Stumble Upon, Delicious and Digg
m)
Join forums that discuss topics that relate to the content on your website or blog, take part in the discussions, and have your link to your site displayed beneath your comments and discussions
n)
Free Search Engine Submission
Submit your site to Google, Yahoo & Bing – Free!
o)
Add a signature area to your emails, or at least include a link to your site (or to a specific page or two on your site) in all emails you send
p)
Trade a service or product of yours for some free advertising space on somebody else’s site
q)
Give people who have provided you with a service or product (that you’ve appreciated or that has helped you or you business) a good testimonial that they publish on their site with a link to your site
r)
Upload interesting videos (that relate to your business) to YouTube or to other video sharing sites, and include your website address in the video, or include a link to your website near the start of the text description beneath the video
s)
Give away items for free, that have a link to your site displayed on or in them, or that at least have the text address of your website if you can’t display a link that can be clicked – items like free ebooks, free stock photos, calendar desktops, screensavers, or a website you have designed for somebody
t)
Include a link or links to your site in emails you send to your email or newsletter subscriber list
u)
Leave decent, lengthy and appropriate comments on other people’s blogs that have content related to the content on your own site, and fill in your name and website address (including the http:// at the start of it) then submit your comment. If it is allowed by the site owner, your name will be clickable and will take whoever clicks it to your site
v)
Join an ezine article site like Ezine Articles, write unique articles and include your website link in your author resource box
w)
Write guest posts for other sites (preferably for sites that have content related to the content on your own site) and include your website link in your author resouce box
x)
Share your best photos on sites like RedBubble or Flickr and link to your website from your profile, and even from the description area of each photo if it is allowed.
y)
Join Pinterest and inbetween pinning or repinning photos you like, pin a few of your own (that are also on your website) and include a link to that website page in your description beneath your pin. Also include a link to your website on your profile page on Pinterest.
z)
Join free online writing sites like HubPages, write and publish unique and good articles on HubPages and include a link in those articles to a specific page on your site that has related content. Also include a link to your website on your HubPages profile page.
3)
17 Ways to advertise your website for free NOT online
(OFFline ways to advertise your business for free)
note: these include marketing techniques for advertising your business OFFline for free (so you don’t have to have a website)
Free business advertising is not as easy as it first sounds, but learning how to advertise your business for free in creative ways can be quite fun. These ways to advertise your business for free (or to advertise your website for free) should help you to start thinking creatively:
a)
Make handmade business cards from materials you already have at home, keep them in the car, in your bag, and in your pockets, and hand them out to everyone you talk to
b)
If your business is that you sell products or a product, include your website address or contact details on the products, or at least on the packaging.
c)
Go walking on the beach and write your website address in the sand
d)
Join a group that helps spread the word about your business by word of mouth if you do the same for them
e)
Ask your flea market or craft market friends (who have products at least slightly related to your products or services) to display your website address or contact details at their flea market or craft market stand in return for a free product or free service of yours.
f)
Check what your local laws are, and if all is fine, paint your website address on a wall of your house (a wall visible from the street)
g)
Give talks related to what your business is about
h)
Use paper you already have at home or at work to print simple A6 size flyers you can pop into people’s postboxes, or leave on the counters of businesses that allow you to
i)
Use paper you already have at home or at work to print simple small posters you can put up in places that allow free advertising on their walls eg some shopping centres, smaller shops, community notice boards of some shops, clinics, waiting rooms
j)
Use paper you already have at home or at work to print simple small posters you can put up on the inside of the back windscreen or back side window of your car
k)
Give away some hours of your services for free, or a product or two, at events that have lucky draw prizes and need prized donated – make sure you clearly name your business or website on the outside of the prize envelope or product packaging
l)
Recycle materials at home, or use natural free items found in your garden or at the beach, make something cute or handy, attach your website address, and give tons of them away for free, wherever you go
m)
Use scrap materials from home to sew simple dog jackets to give to your friends for their dogs, obviously including your business name or website address on the dog’s clothing
n)
Put a simple poster on the door of your apartment, house, or on the front gate or front wall
o)
Open your mouth – keep your eyes and ears open for people around you who might sound like they could make good use of your business product or service, and speak to them
p)
Get really creative and do some artwork – using paints you already have at home – on some tshirts, hats, scarves or other clothing you already own – wear them out and about often, and also get creative with the clothing of your children, parents, siblings, spouse, cousins, friends and even pets
q)
Display your business name and website address in large letters on your shopping bag, so that even when you go shopping in clothes that do not display your website address, your bag could make a great conversation opener while waiting in a long boring queue.
There you have it – 57 ways to advertise your business for free – if you can use many or all of these free business marketing techniques, that’s a lot of free advertising. Hopefully this list will have given you even more free advertising ideas.
It can be tough starting a new business or trying to get more customers or clients for your existing business. Even if you have a really good product or offer and deliver a really good service, that is all of no use to you unless many people know about your products or services. You need to advertise. So, if you have the time, why not advertise for free?
For your information:
If you do want to spend a little money rather than spend time doing all your business advertising yourself, we do offer a few website help services that you may be interested in.
Even though you do not need a website to advertise your business online for free, when thinking of ways to advertise your business for free, and while learning how to advertise your business for free, you may discover that it may be a good business advertising idea to actually get a website, even a free website.
Although one way to advertise your business for free would be by getting a free website like a free Blogger blog ( sites or blogs that have an address ending in blogspot.com ) through your free Google account, we recommend getting your very own website right from the start.
Website set-up for R300
If you do feel that you’d rather have a bit of help, we have a variety of website packages that may suit you. If you already have a domain registered and already have hosting for your site, the least expensive of our website packages would cost you R300.
© Copyright Teresa Schultz 2011, 2012, and 2013
