What is website promotion?
Someone once said that putting up an Internet site without promotion was like putting up a neon sign in your basement. You have a visible presence, but nobody knows you're there or where to find you. To get visitors to your site (Internet visitors are called "traffic"), you need to "advertise." This kind of Internet advertisement is called "website promotion," and there are many facets to it.

How can I promote my website?
Your first line of promotion is using your non-Internet promotional materials. Putting your domain name on your brochures, business cards, and flyers is one of the best ways to get traffic. Some companies rely completely on their other sales materials to promote their site.
To promote on the Internet, an important step is to submit your site to search engines and directories like AltaVista, Lycos, and Yahoo! (these sites will have instructions on how to submit your site). Make sure your designers know how to design your site so that it will come up as high as possible on search engine listings.

Are there other ways?
Plenty. There are banner ads, link exchanges, and META tags. There are email and newsgroup marketing techniques. There are too many methods to discuss, here,

Can I submit my site to the Search Engines myself?
Yes, if you are able to dedicate the time and resources to do so. You will also need to be aware of the different registration rules for each engine.

Do the Search Engines charge for registration?
In general, no. However some search engines and directories (such as Yahoo, Looksmart and AltaVista) do offer paid 'express' submission services, and it is necessary to pay for inclusion within the Inktomi search engine database.

How long will it take for my site to appear on the Search Engines?
Depending on the Search Engine, anything from a few days to several months.

Do I have to include links to other sites from mine?
Ideally, yes. Although the idea of giving your visitors an easy route out of your site may sound illogical, in practice sites which provide their users with additional resources and a 'way out' tend to be more successful because they are more useful. External links also assist the process of gaining 'reciprocal' links from other sites, which can be an important source of traffic in their own right and also help to increase your site's 'link popularity'. Link Popularity has a significant impact on Search Engine ranking.

I have a web site and people periodically visit the site, but I find that it is difficult to get people to visit the site again. What should I do?
Getting people back to your web site once they have left is one of the three key web marketing tactics. There are different ways of approaching this issue such as developing an e-mail database of your clients and associates and using a mass e-mail to inform them of new content on your site. One of the most important ways of getting users to visit your site regularly is keeping your site content "fresh".