uk marketing

hi
i am putting together a site and want to market it predominantly in the UK
pretty much as there will only mainly be uk people who will use it

whats the best way
whats the quickest way
whats the easiest way
whats the cheapest way

of doing this

cheers

 

Uk hosting, .co.uk domain, links from other uk sites in terms of search engine visiblity.
For direct traffic - obviously promotion and links on the blogs and forums (blog comments, forum sigs and just asking directly if it's okay to promote your site) where your intended visitors 'hang-out'

If you've got some money you could also have an adwords campaign targeted to the UK only.

 

do marketing in niche part only (means on UK based only)
and targetUK keyword in title, description, keyword, content

 

The problem with targeting 'UK' too heavily as a keyword, is that people in Great Britain tend not to search for it. If they've decided to specifically look for something in their own country, they may search for 'British' (or English, Scottish, Welsh, N.Irish), Britain, Great Britain, or the city or county they are in.

 

1. You have to research your keywords in google uk adwords to select the best keywords that are mostly used by uk searchers. This will also help you choose the right domain name for your site.

2. Better also to use a domain name with .co.uk extension and host it in uk server.

3. Get backlinks from sites with .co.uk domain or sites that are hosted in UK server.

 

i am on a uk server, but got a .com ... suppose i can get the .co.uk as well though and alias them together

 

Get some T-shirts printed up and wear them - I found that coffee mugs work quite nicely too

 

hehe
UK population grows to 60,975,000
thats a lot of mugs

i am getting the back of my car graphic'd up with the web address and a breif description

 

Can you give us a clue as to what sort of site it might be? I mean is it something that people in the UK search for or will it be marketed through word of mouth etc?

Also check the local spellings of words in the UK compared to the US because we (yes I an English - from London to be specific) spell things CORRECTLY!

As for the things people have already said I don't think they make a huge amount of difference; I have many .co.uk domains but they are all hosted on a US server and the majority of the links come from non-uk sites and yet they do just as well as I had hoped. Having a .com is also not a problem and is in fact much more brandable (just look at the big UK companies - they all tend to use .com anyway).

If you want to give any more info I can try and help you out with a few specific suggestions.

 

Is the site live, now?
Would you consider letting me promote your website, through an audio advert professional made... all for free ?

I would need to see your website first, and that goes for any UK webmasters looking into this thread, I'm on the lookout for UK and Irish websites to promote.

If your interested please do contact me, we can have something running asap. See my signature to the right for examples of what we do...

 

I have found that .co.uk sites perform better when targeting the UK than .com sites. Obviously this only relates to SERPS. Also, you will find that search results vary from google.com and google.co.uk, and also when you use the UK only search filter. Then, the .co.uk sites really make a difference.

 

Hi the site isn't live yet, i am trying to find a way to promote an affiliate scheme so that anyone who does help me with it can earn a little but back from it

its basically going to be an online carboot sale, or garage sale or classifieds what ever you call it in your country

i want to start it in the uk and then if necessary cross promote it world wide .. problem with worldwide is someone buying a tv wont want to send it half way round the world, and as i live in the uk it seemed the best place to start

i dont want to cut any corners on this though i want it all to be legitimate traffic and users so that nothing is wasted which is why i am looking for as much information, advice and help as possible

i am one by one selling off all my other projects to concentrate on this one thing with a hope I can quit my job and have this for my living

 

This is quite a tricky niche to enter in my opinion as there are many free classifieds sites out there even for the UK. You are going to need to come up with a USP (unique selling point) to attract the sellers and buyers.

Or you could maybe start a network of specialist sites with classified listings for particular niches, examples being one specifically for new or used bikes (these are always popular on classifieds), photographic equipment, gaming consoles or games etc. I think this may make it easier to get loyal visitors who come back again and again but it might be more difficult to create critical mass of each site. If you do go down this route, make it so that if you sign up on one then you are signed up for all of them.

 

"i am getting the back of my car graphic'd up with the web address and a breif description"
I've heard lots of people getting good results with advertising boards placed at busy junctions and other locations. Some local authorities turn a blind eye but others take them down and then fine the poster.

 

Start with your local area first, then spread your wings more as the site grows. Keeping it local will mean that most items posted are within collection distance. You need to test the theory and concept before you roll it out too far.

Just out of interest, whereabouts in the uk are you? I'm in South East (Surrey).

 

up north east in Hull (5 miles from Humber Bridge)

we are getting some leaflets / brochures printed for the site and going to go round the local carboots and hand them out to the freezing cold fortune seakers and bargain hunters, as well as the boot salers. We have also contacted the producers of carbooty on BBC regarding a form of sponsorship or endorsement