When somebody asks how to get their web site, “out there” there are several different routes you can go.  Depending on the type of web site you run or operate, the rules might be a little different, however there are three fool proof ways you can get it done.

Word of Mouth

You have a friend, that tells a friend, then that friend tells two more friends, so on and so forth.  That would be your word of mouth advertising in a nutshell.  It is possibly the best form of marketing you can do. Just tell your friends, family members and neighbors to check out your site and be sure to tell them why it would be helpful to them, or somebody they might know. Why is this method so effective? For starters, the people you choose to tell have a personal connection to you. They will listen to what you have to say because you have an established relationship. Those relationships are the single biggest piece of the business relationship puzzle. Secondly, your connections have friends and family that you would otherwise never have access to. And, like your relationship with your connection, they have a preexisting relationship with them. If you are familiar with Linkedin, these connections can be represented by first, second and so on, level connections. If your message is directed to the right people, is frequently updated with information that they have an interest in, those personal connections will pass on your message for you, reaching a much broader audience in a more personal way than any other method.

Advertising Services

The last fool proof way of getting your name out there is to use a service like Google AdWords or Facebook Ads to advertise your web site to the masses.  You don’t have to have a million dollar budget to get started.  Actually, Google AdWords makes it pretty simple to setup a budget to help you get the most bang for your buck.

Like-Minded Web Sites

Go out and find other web sites like your own, and see if you can exchange links and audiences.  For example, if you have a blog about being a pet lover, you might contact a pet store’s web site and ask if they can link to you, if you do a few blog posts for them.

I have a few clients that have had huge success when they can get their product covered by even a small news source. There are many news outlets that have a specific scope to their coverage, and there is sure to be one that covers your area. Locate these sources, contact them, tell them you exist, because just a simple mention on one of their daily blogs can result in hundreds of hits to your own site.

Cross-linking with other sites is a win-win situation. First, both site gain exposure from their respective audiences. Second, and most importantly, external links to your site ad legitimacy to your site in the eyes of the all-mightly search engines. The more sites that link to you, the more seriously those little bots will take you, and the easier they will find you.

Always make sure you try to give something back to those other people or like-minded web sites that support your own.

Finally, remember, to successfully promote your site, you have to have something for people to come to. Content, content, content is the order of the day. It can be as small as daily blog posts about something interesting from your industry or market, or it could be a fuller article centered around the themes of your site. What ever the topics, the more you update, the fresher the content will be for the search engines, as well as for visitors.

What other ways have you found to be good to help a new web site get off the ground?  I have listed some of my favorite fool proof ways here, but there are many more.  Be sure to list your favorite method in the comments.