Gone are the days when marketing strategies were driven by outbound marketing ploys such as newspaper, television, and radio ads. Nowadays, Inbound Internet Marketing Strategies are a "must have" for any small business struggling with obtaining a new customer base, as well as keeping their existing clientele.

If telemarketing and direct mail are more and more expensive and less effective marketing strategies, what can a small business do in order to bring in a new customer base while keeping their company's budget in tact? With inbound Internet marketing strategies such as SEO (search engine optimization) article submission, forum posting, and keyword optimized press releases - your business will undoubtedly flourish. And with the economically acceptable price tag that accompanies these services, your business' marketing funds won't be completely depleted. Read on to find out the top 3 ways your small business can reap the benefits that inbound Internet marketing sows.

# 1 Well-Written SEO Articles

Search Engine Optimization articles are keyword -rich articles. The key to a well-written SEO article is for the writer to ensure that the article doesn't sound like a laundry list of keywords. The article must flow naturally and remain informative to the reader. Most importantly, SEO articles should be regularly updated throughout your site so that your customers always have access to new webpage content.

Search Engine Optimization articles that can be found throughout your website will increase the chances of your site's link appearing in a search engine (Yahoo. Google, etc.) results. Be creative and thorough when choosing the keywords and keyword phrases you use when writing your articles. For example, if you are selling toys you want to cover all of your bases with keywords and phrases such as; toys, toys for babies, toys for toddlers, safe toys, environmentally safe toys, learning toys, etc.

# 2 Preparing and Submitting an Effective Press Release

When a company or web-based business begins offering a new service or product to the public, their first tactic is to announce their intentions via the various Medias available by submitting and distributing a press release. Press releases are a form of advertisement. This form of advertisement instructs the media to provide pertinent information to consumers regarding their new service or product. Doing so for the purpose of marketing is a great way to increase business traffic.

If a press release is effectively created, the media will carry this information over to all of the news-providing media available. Any media that considers the press release as newsworthy will add the news feed to their daily line-up to inform their consumers. Many of the larger search engine hosts such as Yahoo, Google, and AOL, provide news feeds as part of their home pages. The best constructed press releases will undoubtedly be advertised via these search engine's news feeds.

How does this process help increase the traffic to your website? First and foremost more and more consumers using the Internet to find out the most up-to-date information on new products and services. Additionally, the same consumers are most likely to follow through to your site when it appears as a result of a search using a search engine. They are the ones who inputted a certain keyword and are obviously interested in the subject which ensures they will want to know more.

# 3 Forum Posting

Press releases and SEO articles can also be submitted to the thousands of free article sites available online to increase the number of places your press release can be found as well as widen your prospective customer base. When you submit your keyword-rich article to these free articles sites there is also a possibility that the article will get picked up by other news media forms for their blogs, websites, and newsletters. These will even further the chances of increasing your website traffic.

Forums are the communication between people who share common goals or understanding of a specific topic or products. Forums are also used as methods to get answers about certain aspects of business and/or services as well as a means to keep abreast of the latest products/services' announcements. Because forums are used to correspond between Internet users and consumers, they can also be used as an effective method of search engine marketing.

To use forum posting to your advantage; you must first begin by generating a list of discussion boards, or forums that best fit your websites "personality". For example, if your site is selling a service that is of a more entertaining value you wouldn't want to post details of your business on a technical-like forum. Choosing forums that succinctly sum up the features of your website is also advantageous. Choose a discussion board or forum, for example that grasps the main concept of your services. Doing so assures you that your readers are already consumers interested in your type of product or service. Most importantly, do not forget to include your company's website address beginning with http:// so that the consumers can easily click-and-go to your site immediately if desired.