So I am starting a network of travel related sites and I have just completed my first one giving great information on the travel location including attractions, activities, restaurants, nightlife, and more. Now I need to figure out the best ways to market this type of site. I rather advertise completely free so I do not have to put more money into the site to get profit so tell me your thoughts.
Unfortunately you will always have to put some money into advertising unless you are going the free classified route such as craigs list or one of the many other free classified sites. What niche does this site cover and what is unique about it. Because I have an offline business my thoughts go to business cards. If there is an offer you can include on the card to draw them to the website that's a great advertising ploy. if you give some more details about the sites and what they are about maybe I can give a couple more offline ideas if you are interested. I'm just the opposite, I'm looking on how to do the online advertising. -Bob
Hi, I just did a Yahoo search "travel sites" and the result was over one BILLION, two hundred million. Even if you spend money, I think that "finding niches" will be a must, because of the competiton. If you do not want to spend money, then may I suggest that you use "Bum Marketing" Methods...you can type into search box and find plenty of help...some free. You might want to check out nichebotclassic (again use search box). It is a keyword search tool (free), that will give you information on the number of searches and also the competition. Look for High search and low competiton, use those keywords in free ads, articles, newsletters, blogs, web pages, etc. Be ready to write a lot of articles and have each one point to your site(s). You can also look at your top competitor's sites in html (view source) and emulate keywords and tags, etc. and even their design and content...do not steal (grin)...use their sites as a guide. Again, Bum Marketing or Travis Sago (inventor of bum marketing methods as such) into search box and you will find lots of help. Good Luck on your Internet Adventure. Much Success, George Pierce
No investment - No traffic. Only exceptional sites get traffic without paid advertisement. There are flocks of travel websites on the internet. Your unique content matters, your site should be intriguing, must be capable of generating returning visitors. Firstly, know where most of your traffic will be coming from. If you're targeting a specific group/state/country/continent, provide them with all the vital information. If you're targeting a specific state/group then advertise offline, magazine & newspapers will be the first option. Television advertising is another great way to bring traffic. But, they'll need good investment. Depends on your budget. Secondly, Online advertising - you've got loads to choose from. Adwords is one of the best. Submit to directories to get backlinks, forum signatures, purchasing signature space would boost your baclinks, offering more visitors to view your site. Hope it helped. Cheers