They were assigned the task of "modestly" boosting the site's visibility on search engines and increasing its traffic at work.
(https://media.licdn.com/dms/image/D5612AQF9n3SKaGcAug/article-cover_image-shrink_720_1280/0/1679868884822?e=2147483647&v=beta&t=QfBr2bPaawpvA39HIjvrv2UB1twZK70Hm5XkTRk2bZY)
However, there is no budget allocated for promotion.
The website is fresh and has recently been launched.
So, how can one promote a website without incurring any expenses?
Promoting a website without incurring any costs involves a combination of organic search engine optimization (SEO), social media promotion, content marketing, and other free strategies. Here are some suggestions:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
Use relevant and popular keywords in your content, but be careful not to overuse them.
Utilize meta-tags appropriately and ensure that your website's URLs are SEO-friendly.
Create a site map and submit it to search engines.
Use the Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to check the visibility status of your site and address any potential issues.
Maintain a blog with high quality, original content that uses the trending keywords in your vertical.
Use internal linking wisely to keep users on your site longer.
Offline SEO: Work on generating backlinks from reputable sources. Reach out to industry bloggers and influencers and ask them to link back to your site in their content. The higher the number of high-quality backlinks, the better your SEO ranking will be.
Social Media: Leverage free social media platforms. Create profiles on major social networks like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others. Use these platforms to share your content, engage with users, and drive traffic back to your website.
Community Participation: Actively participate in community sites that are relevant to your business like Quora, Reddit, online forums, and Facebook Groups. Provide valuable input and subtly promote your website where applicable.
Include your website URL everywhere: Make sure to mention your website in your email signature, your bio on social media profiles, and any online directories you are listed in. Also, give out business cards with your website URL on them.
Content Marketing: Create different forms of content such as blogs, infographics, videos, etc. Good, original content will help your website rank better on search engines and is more likely to be shared on social media, thereby increasing website traffic.
Guest posting: You can consider writing guest posts for other blogs in your industry. Most blogs will allow you to include a link back to your website in your author bio or within the content where it's sensible.
On-page SEO: Speed up your website, make it mobile-friendly, and ensure navigation is clear and easy.
Image SEO: Also, don't forget to optimize images for search engine crawlers.
Local Listings: If it's a business website, make sure to get it listed in free business directories and local listings like Google My Business, Yelp, Bing Places, etc.
Email Marketing: Collect email addresses from your visitors (make sure it's GDPR compliant) and regularly send them updates, offers, and new content. Make sure these emails entice users to visit your website.
Webinars & Online Workshops: Hosting webinars can be a great way to share knowledge and engage with users. People usually need to sign up to join a webinar, providing you with their contact information for future marketing purposes.
Podcast Appearances: Try to collaborate with podcasts related to your industry. As a guest on a podcast, you'll get the chance to share your expertise and may be able to mention your website.
YouTube Videos: YouTube is the world's second largest search engine. You can create helpful content related to your business and promote your website through it.
Create Infographics: Infographics are shared three times more often than other types of content. Create engaging and interesting infographics contextualized to your content, and encourage people to share them.
LinkedIn Publishing: Post remarkable content on LinkedIn and link it back to your website.
Collaborate with Influencers & Bloggers: Offer some service, product, or content to influencers in exchange for a mention, review, or backlink to your site.
Use HARO (Help A Reporter Out): Help a journalist by providing valuable insights and become a source for an article. You might get a mention and a backlink in return.
Press Release Submission: Take advantage of free press release submission platforms and submit press releases whenever your company has news to share.
Create a Free Tool or Service: If you have the skills or resources to offer a tool or service relevant to your industry, this can drive substantial traffic to your website.
Implement Schema Markup: Schema markup makes your website more readable to search engines, potentially improving your search engine rankings and attracting more traffic.
Testimonials & Reviews: Providing testimonials for other websites or companies and asking for the same can also drive traffic. When you write a testimonial, you often get a link back to your site.
Leverage Analytics: Use Google Analytics to understand where your traffic is coming from and which keywords people are using to find you. This will help you refine your SEO strategy.
Create a Resource Page: Resource pages are often linked to by other websites and are a great way to provide value to your site visitors while also increasing your visibility.
Answer Questions in Niche-Specific Forums: Find forums that cater to your industry or niche and become part of the community. Not only will you be able to promote your site directly, but you'll essentially be marketing yourself as an expert in the field.
Share Slides: Create slideshow presentations of your content and share them on sites like SlideShare. If you manage to intrigue viewers, they may visit your site for more information.
Conduct Keyword Research: Use SEO tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest for researching high-volume, low-competition keywords which your website can target.
Conduct Competitor Analysis: Analyze what other businesses in your area are doing to attract visitors to their website and use that information to refine your strategy.
Wikis & Directories: Submit your website to industry-specific directories and make relevant contributions to wikis. Make sure to always include your website link where it fits.
Start a Podcast: Starting a podcast related to your niche can be an effective way to direct listeners to your website for more information.
Engage Users with Interactive Content: Quizzes, surveys, or games can create user engagement, resulting in longer site visits and more shares.
Commenting on Related Blogs: By commenting on blogs within your industry, you not only gain visibility but can also include a link to your website.
Cross-Promotion: Partner with another business for mutual promotion. You could share each other's content or even run a joint promotion.
Produce Case Studies: Detailed case studies can attract visitors seeking in-depth information, attracting quality traffic.
Target Long-Tail Keywords: Long-tail keywords have less competition making them easier to rank for.
Take a look at schema-org markup for the website.
Optimize the site for fast loading speed using pagespeed.
Ensure registration of the site on Google Webmaster and follow their recommended steps.
Ensure that the site is free of errors.
Review and fix any issues with the headers, description, and optional keywords. Confirm that tables are in table format and lists are in ul format.
Include sitemap.xml, robots.txt, dublin.rdf, and .htaccess files.
Integrate Yandex Maps and Google Maps. If included, the website will gain more visibility on Yandex Catalog.
Next, register the website on various platforms, preferably avoiding explicit content websites and focusing on platforms related to the website's niche.
Moreover, registering the website on trading platforms may lead to potential customers reaching out, but this aspect does not directly impact SEO.
I would argue that money is indispensable because an informational website requires articles, which must either be written or purchased. If you choose to write them yourself, it will likely be during your free time, which can quickly become tedious and boring.
However, even if you decide to handle some tasks on your own, as a non-programmer, there will still be nuances in the code that need to be corrected, and this may require payment.
Moreover, while there are many free options for linking, even for my own information-based website, I have encountered situations where I had to pay for a low-quality 500-character article on someone else's site. I am not overly selective when it comes to spam on other sites.
Thus, expenses are inevitable in any case.
Google Search Console
AnswerThePublic
Semrush
Screaming Frog
Yoast SEO
Ahrefs
Google Analytics
Google Trends
Backlinks