Although there are many ways you can promote your web site and develop traffic, this article will focus on the most effective marketing and promotional techniques.

Writing and Publishing Articles

Writing and publishing articles in the area of your expertise is one of the most effective ways to promote your business online. What's more, if you have the ability to write, it won't cost you a dime!

The concept is simple. You write an informative article and allow it to be freely published on the Internet with your resource box and a link to your web site included.

Writing and publishing articles has a number of benefits:

* You will develop a steady stream of web site traffic from those who read your articles.

* You will receive inbound links to your web site, which will assist you in increasing your search engine ranking.

* You will build trust and credibility, as your article will promote you as an expert in your field.

* You can promote yourself, your business and your web site completely free.

There are many email article announcement groups and directories on the Internet that will enable you to post your article completely free. What's more, most of these resources will enable publishers to publish your article in their ezine and/or on their web site, which can provide you with massive free promotion and traffic.

Even if you aren't confident in your ability to write your own articles, there are many writers online you can hire to write your articles for you.

Visit http://guru.com, http://rentacoder.com, or http://scriptlance.com to find a writer for your project.

Internet Forums

Participating in forums that target your market is another effective way to promote your business. No matter what type of business you're promoting, chances are, there are online forums with people who share your interest.

You can find suitable forums by using any search engine and typing in your topic with the word 'discussion' behind it. Ideally, you should look for forums that are spam free, moderated, and have a lot of active members.

Prior to posting to any forum, please ensure that you read the rules and fully understand them. Although blatant advertising will be prohibited, most forums will allow a signature file.

Participating in forums has a number of benefits:

* You will receive traffic from those who read your posts.

* You will receive inbound links to your web site, which will assist you in increasing your search engine ranking.

* You will build trust and credibility, as your posts will promote you as an expert in your field.

* You can promote your business completely free.

For best results, try to participate in three to five forums, making at least one post per day in each.

Google AdWords (Pay-Per-Click)

Google AdWords provides a simple way to purchase highly targeted text ads that are displayed with the search results, regardless of your budget.

Studies have shown that highly targeted keyword advertising produces an average of four times the industry standard clickthrough rate.

Google AdWords enables you to have complete control over your ad and how much you'd like to spend. You can open an account with a credit card and with no minimum deposit required. Once you place your ad, it can begin running almost immediately.

Google AdWords provides Internet marketers with a cost-effective advertising solution.

Ezine Advertising

Ezine Advertising is an effective form of online advertising. Not only is it effective, but it can also be very inexpensive depending upon the size of the publication.

The key to using ezine advertising effectively is to target your audience and track your response. You must test the effectiveness of both your ad and the publication in which you're advertising. This will enable you to determine which ads are pulling the most response and which publications are providing you with a high response rate.

When selecting an ezine to buy advertising, make sure you select an ezine that targets your potential customer. In other words, if you were selling health products you wouldn't want to advertise in a 'marketing' ezine. You would want to advertise in an ezine that focuses on health.

The Directory of Ezines (http://directoryofezines.com) provides a complete online searchable database of ezines that accept advertising. This directory contains all of the information you'll need to know to effectively place your ads. However, please note, there is a small fee.

Although this list of promotional strategies is far from complete, they will provide you with a great place to start and assist you in quickly obtaining a steady stream of targeted traffic to your web site.