• Website promotion starts with website design: Your website needs to provide useful, original, and well organized information that people need, like, and want to go back to. Work and rework the content of your pages.
• Focus on giving: Visitors will come back to your website if it provides them with something useful and easy to find. Information, tips, and ideas are great and do not cost you much.
• Periodic content modifications: Give a reason to people to come back to your website. Create a newsletter, on-line promotions, discussion boards, games, create some hype!
• Publish articles: Publish quality informational articles to blogs or free electronic magazines such as EzineArticles.com and include links back to your website. People interested by your article will go to your website for more information and details.
• Good web page layout: Keeping your website layout simple and standard will help visitors finding what they need and they will thank you for that by coming back to your website.
• Email signatures: Email signatures are a few lines of text that automatically get attached to each email you send. Include your website name on those email signatures so everybody that you send emails to know about your website.
• Conventional mailing campaign: Contact your suppliers, customers, partners, retailers, etc. Offer them web only promotional items so they go to your website. Be careful: What works for conventional mailing programs does not always convert well to the Internet where unsolicited mail is often associated to junk and may project a negative image of your company.
• Local business listings: Small business listings are often available through the chamber of commerce, town hall, or other municipal and regional organizations. Most of these services are free. This is especially important for small companies that do most of their businesses locally. Get listed! (How to use the local search directories?)
• Classified ads: Write ads on free classified websites such as Backpage.com, Craigslist.org, and USFreeAds.com with links back to your website. Don't not expect massive results, but it is free.

Please do not hesitate to contact Alco Web Design if you have any questions about how to build initial website traffic for free.

Alain Houle, President
Alco Web Design LLC - http://www.alcowebdesign.com
N1337 Westgreen drive, Greenville Wisconsin 54942
920-850-4642

There are hundreds of local search directories and it is not practical to register your business to all of them so you should focus on the major ones.

• Note 1:  All of these directories will list your business for free but most of them will try to upsell you paid offerings. It is not clear what value you get for the additional money so I would stay with the free listing.
• Note 2:  Do not overlook other specialized search directories that may apply to specific businesses; dentists and lawyers are good examples. To find them, Google your keywords and city\town and see what comes up.
• Note 3:  Several of those local search directories will try to verify and validate your listing from multiple sources. Make sure your business information is consistent between your offline publications, your website, and the local search directories you sign up to.
• Note 4:  When updating your business listing, do not forget that you work with LOCAL search directories. Follow this link for more details on how to create successful local listings for your website.

Here is a list of the top local search directories: Google Places, Yahoo! Local, Bing Local, SuperPages, YellowBook, YellowPages, Yelp, Citysearch, Merchant Circle, Topix, Insider Pages

Please do not hesitate to contact Alco Web Design if you have any questions about how to use the local search directories.

Alain Houle, President
Alco Web Design LLC - http://www.alcowebdesign.com
N1337 Westgreen drive, Greenville Wisconsin 54942
920-850-4642

This article provides free, simple, and comprehensive information, hints, tips, and tools that will allow you to create a successful website. If you have time to learn, this article will show you how to get the best of your website and how to run a successful internet business.

• Type of website: Take the time to clearly identify the purpose of your website. What is it for? Who is the audience? Do you want to keep in touch with existing customers, attract new ones, provide information, or sell on-line? What do you want to do? If it is not clear for you it won't be for your visitors.
• Web pages text: A useful and content rich website will convince your visitors about the seriousness of your business and will invite them to return to your website. Plan ahead and don't make your content an after fact. Work and rework the text of your web pages, especially your home page.
• What pages are needed:  Your main page will be used to provide a quick snap shot of your business and of your website. Your about us page will provide detailed information about your company, key individuals, etc. Your links page will link to partners, affiliate, or other resources. Your FAQ page will answer common questions. What other pages will you have?
• Good web page layout: Keeping your page layout consistent, simple, and standard will help visitors finding what they need and come back to your website. Think thoroughly about the navigation through your website. If you can, use a horizontal navigation menu and use the full width of the page for the content of your website. Keep it simple, make it easy.
• Overall look: What do you want your website to look like? Is there something on the Internet you like or don't like? What colors do you want to use? How do big companies with unlimited budgets do? How do your competitors do? Be careful, copying the work of others is illegal. What can you do better?
• Pictures, logos, and artwork: Find pictures, logos, and artwork for your web pages. Save time and money by scanning printed documents you might already have. Use a digital camera and take your own pictures. Many websites including Microsoft offers great royalty free pictures.
• Proofing everything, take your time: Your website affects the image you project. Typos and careless mistakes immediately label you as sloppy and unprofessional. Pricing errors might be costly. Click on every button and double check everything. Make sure everything is perfect and fully functional prior to go live.
• Your website designer knows very little about your business: Are you working with somebody on your website design project? No matter how good your website designer is, he or she knows very little about your business. Your input is VERY critical to the success of your website. Be EXTREMELY concerned about the results if you are not deeply involved with the design of your website.
• Provide constructive feedback: Work closely with your web designer and play an active part in the review process. Be honest, clear, and specific. Make suggestions, be picky: This is your business, your website.
• Domain name and hosting: Get your hosting and domain name registration from a reliable quality provider. These days, small business packages are available for less than $25 per year. Shop around.
• ​Building website traffic: Congratulation, you are on-line. This is a very important first step but now you need visitors. Good news, several traffic building techniques are very simple and can be implemented for free.

​Please do not hesitate to contact Alco Web Design if you have any questions about how to create a successful small business website.