Sure, buying ads and spending money on marketing is definitely a great way to get the word out, but there are also very effective ways of advertising for free! Here are some examples:

1. Traffic Exchanges

Traffic exchanges are a great way to get the word out. Most of them are free with an option to purchase more traffic. Here are a few of my favorites:

• StartXchange
• TrafficG
• FunnyFarmTraffic

2. Link Exchange Networks

My personal favorite. Link swapping is a great way to advertise and it’s a win-win situation. Here are a couple of sites that handle all your links for you, so all you have to do is paste some html on your site.

• Fun Page Exchange
• Txtswap

3. Forum Marketing

Join forums with discussions relevant to your website then ask or answer questions in the forum with a signature attached to each of your posts with your website link on it.

4. Classified Advertising

If you sell products and/or services on your site, consider free classifieds like Craigslist and Kijiji. Tons of people visit these sites every day!

5. Search Engine Submission

To be a top dog you must get your site submitted to search engines like Google and Yahoo. Try SubmitExpress, They’ll submit your site to engines for free.

6. Articles

Write articles like this one containing information people would like to read, and put relevant links to your site. Search engines will index your site better if you have pertinent information on them.

7. Banner Exchanges

Banner Exchange Networks are a great way to get your site advertised! Here are the ones I have had the best luck with:

• 1800banners
• AdExchange

8. Toolbars

Toolbars are a great way to advertise. If you have a toolbar with relevant links, games, etc. people will download them and they will be installed on their browser with a link to your site. A great site that offers free toolbars is Conduit.

9. Flyers

Make flyers with information about your site to post locally; it’s a cheap way to get the word out around town.

10. Email

NOT SPAM. Have a signature on your email accounts with your website on it. Spamming usually just gets people upset and that’s just not good business.

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Whether you’re promoting your website through link exchanges, newsletter ads, banner ads, or any other method, here’s a few key reasons why promoting content links instead of your home page can bring you more traffic:

Content Adds Value

If your website is an arcade website, you are competing with thousands of other websites that are very similar in content. If you can get web surfers straight to the games they’re looking for, you save them time and capture their attention. For instance, a link to play Tower Defense (or a group of content links) adds more value than an ad that says “Click Here to Visit Our Arcade”.

Content Is Less Intrusive

There’s a lot of advertising messages on the Internet today. Most viewers know what ads look like and regularly ignore them. Promoting your site as content cuts through this barrier. Without the negative gut-response that a typical advertisement usually creates, the viewer can be a lot more receptive. Instead of trying to convince someone to visit your web page, wouldn’t you rather point them in the direction of content they may already be interested in?

Content Is Unique & Effective

Using content links is a unique, effective approach to getting your website more attention. Instead of trying to promote your entire site, you can break it up into smaller, bite-sized pieces. You don’t need to convince potential viewers that your website is the best site for them; all you need to do is promote the content they’re looking for.

Fun Page Exchange is a content-based link exchange program for arcade & humor sites, with over 1,500 members. Start getting more traffic today at http://www.FunPageExchange.com

Whether your website is full of arcade games, funny videos, or any other type of content, here’s a few tips that will help you get more traffic without breaking the bank:

Have Viral Content

Giving your visitors a reason to share your content is the best way to get more hits to your website. Some examples of viral content include:

• Information: Valuable content can be viral if it provides a good resource for people to recommend.
• E-Cards: The viral nature of e-cards is built right into the content; e-cards’ value comes from sending them to friends and family.
• Funny Content: Funny jokes, videos, or pictures that are too hilarious not to share!

Find a Niche

If you’re running a cookie cutter website with content available on many other sites, it’s worth finding a niche within that content. This is a great way to increase traffic for niche keywords that are not as competed for. Some examples might include:

• An arcade site with just classic-genre hits
• A site containing funny sports videos
• A website full of funny road signs

Don’t Scare Them Away!

Pop-up ads and banners with sound may give you short-term revenue, but they’re a bad idea for the long run. Some visitors will block your pop-ups with software, and the rest will end up irritated. Give your viewers one more reason to return to your website and recommend it to others. If you don’t scare them away, they might actually come back!

Keep Them Informed

Providing updates with an opt-in email newsletter is an inexpensive way to increase return traffic substantially. If your website is updated regularly with fresh, interesting content, use a newsletter and keep them coming back.

Fun Page Exchange is a content-based link exchange program for arcade & humor sites, with over 1,500 members. Start getting more traffic today at http://www.FunPageExchange.com