The 5 Best Ways to Get Free Website Promotion

The thing to remember about free website promotion is that nothing is ever truly free. If you don’t spend money promoting your website, you’re going to have to spend time. So why waste time trying to market your website using methods that will only bring you minuscule returns, if any? If you're prepared to work on them, these five free website promotion techniques 

1. Work on website SEO.

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimizationand it's the best thing since sliced bread for promoting your website because it's easy to learn and apply the basics to your own website(s).

Through working on website SEO, you can improve the page rankings of your web pages and drive more traffic to your site. And isn't that the ultimate goal? Get started with my 7 Basic Rules of Search Engine Optimization.

Tip: If you are using non-text content on your web page(s), such as photos, image maps or JavaScript, include text in the ALT tag so the search engines have something they can read.

2. Reciprocal linking.

Having other people put a link to your site on their site is a great way to get free website promotion. 

Be aware though that getting inbound links to your website is not a numbers game; it's the quality of the links that really matters. So you want to focus your linking efforts on relevant quality sites. 

3. Write articles.

The basic theory of article marketing is that you write an article and then offer it for free to various websites, blogs, magazines etc.

Your article, of course, ends with a resource box or 'blurb' that promotes you and your website.

The beauty of this website promotion strategy is that if you get your articles published on popular, long-lived websites or in well-known magazines, they can be sitting there promoting your website for a long, long time with no further effort on your part.

However, there are catches. First, you have to be able to write well on a topic or topics that other people will want to read and/or publish. Second, you have to find the quality places for your articles to be published and persuade the people making the decisions to publish them.

Tip: Find the websites or magazines you want to be published on first, and then spend some time reading the content to see what type of material they might want and if there are any obvious holes in their content that you could cover. Then tailor your material to that particular site or magazine's needs.

4. Use social media.

Social media isn't just a great place to connect with friends and family; it's also a great place to promote your website and/or business as so many people are using it. For instance, a Nielsen study found that Internet users spend 21.3% of their time on social networking sites while PQ Media found the average U.S. Internet user spends around 33 hours per month on the Internet and about 8 of those hours on social media (5 Social Media Tips for Finding and Engaging Your Target Audience: New Research, Social Media Examiner).

Participating in social media can be a great way to get free website promotion as it can give you high visibility at low cost. To successfully market your website using social media, though, you’ll need a plan. Learn How to Create a Social Media Plan for your small business.

Tip: Different social media attracts different types of people. Before investing time in using a particular social media and building up a group of followers, make sure you've chosen the right social media for your marketing purposes. See how to pick the social media that's the best fit with your business.

5. Create/present quality content.

This is the catch – none of the techniques above are going to work very well for you if you don’t have quality content on your site – the kind of content that other people want to read and promote on their own blogs/websites and on social media.

So somewhere on your website, you need to have a blog and/or articles presenting content that is relevant to your target market.

Where will you get such content? Basically, you are either going to write it yourself or get someone else to write it. The "someone else" might be staff, hired writers or guest bloggers. Which approach you choose depends on your budget as well as your time and talents.

Writing your own blog can be a very effective way to market a website because by blogging about your subject, you'll get the chance to become an active member of the blogging community, building a web of relationships and links. And of course, your blog will be keyword rich, increasing your Search Engine Optimization.

Tip: Most blogs include the facility to make comments on posts. When you're reading another blog that's relevant to your topic, take the time to comment on a post (making sure that your comment says something that's equally relevant). It's another opportunity to promote yourself and your website for free – while getting known in the blogging community.

Consistency is Key

These are not the only ways to get free website promotion of course. But these are the best, and if you select several of these and concentrate on doing them consistently over a period of time, they'll yield the return in increased site traffic that you're looking for.

Should the government tax your email? One California official thinks so Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/27/should-government-tax-email/#ixzz2P2r5lo8p

Your property is taxed. Your income is taxed. Your investments are taxed. 

But ... your email?

A California official is bringing new life to the argument that the Internet -- including emails -- is an untapped revenue resource that should be taxed to help local economies. 

Berkeley City Councilman Gordon Wozniak brought up taxing emails during a recent council meeting. He suggested the money collected, which would be part of a wider-reaching Internet tax, could be used in Berkeley's case to save the local post office. 

"There should be something like a bit tax," he said during the March 5 meeting. "I mean, a bit tax could be a cent per gigabit and they would make, probably, billions of dollars a year." 

Plus, he said, there should be a "very tiny tax on email." 

This idea goes beyond already-controversial proposals to tax e-commerce -- like buying used books on Amazon. This would be a tax on data. 

Wozniak told FoxNews.com the response to the idea has been varied. 

"Most people don't like the idea of taxing the Internet," he acknowledged. "There are a number of people who say it's a good idea, but some are saying it's impractical and there's no way to do it." 

Chris Edwards, an economist with the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute, is one of those people. 

"It's a terrible idea," Edwards told FoxNews.com. 

"The government doesn't need any more tax money. That's not the problem. The American government is spending more than ever." 

Plus, he said, a tax like this would hit "different types of industry in different ways." 

Local governments can't legally impose a tax on the Internet -- but Wozniak's idea is not as new, or perhaps as far-fetched, as it sounds. Amid concerns that the government could one day turn to the Internet for a new-age funding stream, Congress in 1998 passed a law called the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which bans Internet taxation. 

That law is set to expire next November. If that happens, Wozniak's proposal could someday turn into a reality -- but the likelihood is slim. 

Republican Sens. Kelly Ayotte and Dean Heller have already introduced legislation this year that would indefinitely extend the law prohibiting federal, state and local governments from taxing Internet access.   

The idea of a "bit tax" is the brainchild of Arthur Cordell, a former information technology adviser for the Canadian government. Cordell proposed the tax during a 1997 lecture at Harvard Law School. 

"While there are few kudos for proposing a new tax, the time is ripe to suggest positive and constructive ways of dealing with serious fiscal realities," Cordell said at the time. "The move to a new economy should be matched by consideration of a new tax base. A tax base that is growing.  A tax base that is at the heart of a new economy. A tax base that can be easily identified, one where collection is in few hands. A tax that is difficult to avoid." 

He, too, called it a "bit tax." 

Cordell did not return a request for comment from FoxNews.com. But he did tell a Los Angeles Times columnist this month that he still supports the Internet tax, saying, "it's needed more than ever as we get rid of brick and mortar stuff. ... eventually it's going to happen." 

The idea seemed to get an endorsement from the LA Times columnist, George Skelton, who suggested such a tax could even cut down on "spammers and scammers." Skelton suggested emails that run off the screen be taxed an additional amount, "just as a bulky letter costs more than a 46-cent stamp." 

Under Cordell's framework, the bit tax would impose a levy on each digital bit of information flowing through global networks. That means people could have to pony up a fee for emails, file transfers, electronic check transactions and more.   

And that could be just the beginning. 

Cordell said in 1997 that the new revenue could be used for schools, parks and health care, among other services. Critics of this idea, he argued, are interested in trying to "wrestle the state to the ground." At the time, he quoted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., "who wrote in a decision in 1904 that 'Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.'" 

Edwards disagrees. 

"Holmes said that during a time when federal taxes were 4 percent of the GDP," Edwards said. "Yes, taxes might have paid for a civilized society then, but that's not where we are now."

Mark Zuckerberg forming political group, source says

NEW YORK –  A person familiar with Facebook says CEO Mark Zuckerberg is forming a political group to address issues such as education reform, immigration and scientific research.

The person says the group will formally launch in the coming weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is not public. The San Francisco Chronicle, Politico and others reported on it earlier.

Zuckerberg, 28, has already used his Facebook wealth to address political issues close to him. He donated $100 million of Facebook stock to Newark, N.J., schools. He also has announced plans to donate nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity to fund health and education issues.

In February he hosted a campaign event in his Palo Alto, Calif., home for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Best Buy to give Samsung Apple-esque in-store mini-stores

A number of Best Buy stores will soon feature a special section dedicated to showing off tablets, computers, and smartphones from one of the world's top mobile device manufacturers: Apple's chief competitor, Samsung.

Following a path first walked by Apple, Samsung will be getting its own mini-stores inside Best Buy locations, according to Geek.com. Information on what the new Samsung sections of Best Buy's mobile departments will look like is as yet unavailable, but the retailer is said to be preparing a roll-out of Samsung mini-stores in select Best Buy locations in the near future.

The first wave of Samsung stores will be based in high-traffic Best Buy locations and timed to the release of the Samsung's newest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4. Those high-traffic locations will soon receive instructions to remove two aisles next to their mobile departments in order to make way for a new Samsung store. 

The mini-stores will feature large, Samsung-specific signage and room to demo a number of Samsung products. In addition to the Galaxy S4, Samsung produces a range of other tablets and mobile computers, so the additional space may well be taken up with those wares. A second wave of mini-stores will spring up later in the year, and eventually every Best Buy store will have its own Samsung store inside.

For Best Buy, the move could help further establish the retailer as a player in the mobile segment and reverse trends that have seen Best Buy struggling as consumers increasingly opt for Internet-based shopping. For Samsung, the mini-stores will get its products in front of more eyes and more-importantly further cement the company as a rival to Apple, the only other device manufacturer with such a significant, exclusive space carved out on the Best Buy show floor. 

Samsung has its own retail locations, but they have yet to achieve the foot traffic, profitability, or cultural cachet of Apple's signature stores. A reporter visiting a new Samsung store in Sydney, Australia — located just a block from the Sydney Apple Store — described Samsung's store as "uncannily Apple-esque."

Apple's 'iRadio' to reportedly launch this summer, report says

In a report regarding the overall state of web streaming music, otherwise known as web radio, a music industry executive told The Verge that Apple's entry into the sector is not a matter of if, but when.
According to The Verge's report, Apple will launch its own web radio service dubbed "iRadio" this year, and is supposedly looking to rollout the system this summer.

The publication goes on to say "multiple" music industry insiders have claimed Apple has made significant progress toward securing streaming rights from Universal and Warner, two important labels representing numerous popular artists.

"iRadio is coming. There's no doubt about it anymore," one of the sources said.

It was reported earlier in March that the launch of Apple's as-yet-unannounced service has been held upby royalty rate negotiations. Apple reportedly offered to pay 6 cents per 100 songs streamed to content owners, which is half the 12 cents per 100 songs music streaming powerhouse Pandora pays. 

Record labels believe Apple should pay the rate set by the Copyright Royalty Board for companies that don't own broadcast operations, which comes out to about about 21 cents per 100 songs. That is still lower than the 36-cent rate Spotify reportedly pays out and in line with terrestrial radio-backed iHeart, which pays 22 cents per 100 tracks.

While there has been no official word from Apple regarding a so-called "iRadio," much attention has been given to the iTunes maker's entry into the segment. In September of last year, the Wall Street Journalbroke news that work was being done on an Apple-branded custom music streaming solution similar to Pandora. At the time, it was thought that Apple would leverage its significant music related resources and vast installed user base to drive interest for the service, which would possibly be integrated into a new or existing iOS app.

Backing up the theory are "Radio Buy" user interface buttons found in the iOS 6.1 update, suggesting the tech giant is looking to make a move in the near future.

iMessage 'denial-of-service' attack crashes devs' iOS Messages apps

A recent spate of prank texts sent to a group of iOS developers has revealed a limitation in how Apple handles data sent through its iMessage service, which in some cases can crash the app if the incoming message is too long or contains overly complex characters.

As reported to The Next Web, iOS app developers iH8sn0w, well known for his jailbreak tool, and Grant Paul were among those targeted by a type of denial of service (DoS) attack that overwhelmed their respective Messages inboxes with a load of automatically-generated transmissions. 

The two devs believe the messages to have been sent one after another from the Messages app on OS X, with a simple AppleScript effecting the barrage that prompts a victim to constantly clear notifications and text.

“What’s happening is a simple flood: Apple doesn’t seem to limit how fast messages can be sent, so the attacker is able to send thousands of messages very quickly,” Paul said.

iH8sn0w mocked up a proof-of-concept AppleScript to demonstrate how such an attack may work. If Apple doesn't limit the influx of messages, a user's app will quickly become filled with what amounts to piles of spam. 

As vexing as a continuous string of nonsense can be, a real issue arises when extraordinarily long or complex messages are received. This can cause Messages on iOS to crash because it can't process and display the massive amount of data correctly. According to the developers, the app will force itself to close and won't be able to re-open because it can't properly render the text. 

While no surefire solution has been found to remedy a crashed Messages app, the publication suggests "playing around with sending a regular message, then locking the phone and activating the message notification until you’re able to time it right to delete the message thread that’s causing the problem." Paul effectively employed this method to delete the offending text and regain control of the app.

It should be noted that if an attacker gets ahold of a user's iMessage handle, the only option may be to disable that account temporarily. If a user's phone number is compromised, iMessage itself might have to be turned off.

The attacker's identity is unknown at this time, but the messages appear to have originated from a Twitter account used to sell UDIDs and provisioning profiles. Disposable email accounts were being used to send the spam, making it difficult to simply block the culprit as they can simply open another and continue the assault.

Apple has yet to issue a response to the recent development.

iPhone 5S to launch June 20, go on sale July, claims report

A report from Japanese Web Site MacFan seems the first to suggest a specific date for the launch of the next iPhone.

Apple will unveil its next iPhone on June 20 and kick off sales in July. At least, that's the claim from Japanese Mac enthusiast site MacFan.

Marking its 20th anniversary as a Mac-oriented Web site, MacFan suggests that the next-generation iPhone will take the stage at a Apple event on Thursday, June 20. The new iPhone will then go on sale a few weeks later in early July, as reported by Electronista.

The report further claims that Apple will launch the much-rumored low-cost iPhone in August and target it as a pre-paid device for developing markets such as China and India.

Electronista dubs the rumor plausible but doesn't indicate where or how MacFan got its information.

A June or July launch timeframe for the iPhone 5S has been proposed by other Apple watchers and even a couple of analysts. Apple did release the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 during the June and July period and only switched to fall for the iPhone 4S and 5.

How does MacFan's claims stack up with other recent rumors?

• Apple analyst Gene Munster expects the iPhone 5S to launch in late June, followed by the low-cost model in the September quarter.
• KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes Apple will announce the next iPhone in Juneand offer it for sale in July.
• Japanese Apple blog Macotakara said earlier this month that production of the next iPhone had already gotten off the ground.

MacFan's report does echo those of other sources, though it's gone farther out on the limb by suggesting a specific launch date. And like most rumors, that one should be taken with a grain of salt.

A June 20 event would come hot on the heels of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, which typically runs throughout the second week of the month. In the past, Apple actually used WWDC to announce new iPhone models, including the iPhone 4, 3GS, and 3. So, if Apple returns to a June iPhone launch, an announcement during this year's WWDC seems the more likely timeframe.

Whatever the date, a summer debut for the next iPhone could be a good strategic move on 

Apple launched the iPhone 5 last September in large part to end its September quarter with a bang.

But the company then proceeded to unveil a new iPad, the iPad Mini, a new iPod Touch, and other refreshed products in October. If Apple continues to stack all its product launches in the fall, it leaves the company with little to announce the other three quarters of any given year.

Apple could generate even more attention for its new products if it spaces out the launches throughout the year, in essence a return to its older strategy.