13 Creative Ways to Promote Your New Website and Get More Traffic

Launching a new website is always an exciting milestone. You’ve worked hard to get your site designed, developed, and filled with valuable content. But don’t relax just yet – the real work begins after your website goes live. Without a solid promotion strategy, even the best website can fail to attract an audience.

I’ve launched my fair share of websites over the years and promotion is something I’ve messed up more times than I can count. But I’ve also learned a lot about website promotion along the way. In this post, I want to share 13 foolproof tactics that I and other website owners have used to promote new websites and drive more visitors.

Start With the Basics – Optimize for Search Engines

The first thing you need to do before promoting your new website is make sure it is fully optimized for search engines like Google This process, known as SEO (search engine optimization), makes your site easier for Google to crawl and index The better optimized your site, the higher it will rank in search results for relevant queries.

Here are a few key areas to focus your SEO efforts:

• Use target keywords – Do keyword research to find terms and phrases that prospective customers are searching for. Use these keywords appropriately throughout your site content.

• Create unique meta descriptions – Meta descriptions give search engines a summary of what each page is about. Make them compelling to earn more clicks.

• Optimize page speeds – Sites that load faster perform better in search results. Compress images, minify code, and leverage browser caching to improve speeds.

• Enhance website architecture – Make sure your site has a logical architecture with simple, descriptive URLs. This helps search engines understand your structure.

• Create internal links – Link relevant pages and content together using anchor text with target keywords to boost page authority.

SEO is complex, but even just these few basics can help new websites start ranking higher and building organic search traffic.

Spread the Word on Social Media

Social media is an invaluable tool for website promotion. Here are some smart ways to leverage your social profiles and followers to get the word out:

• Create a teaser campaign – Post teasers leading up to your launch to build excitement. Share glimpses of your new design, features, etc.

• Announce the launch – Inform your followers when your site officially goes live. Ask them to like, share, and visit.

• Run a social media contest – Give away prizes to followers who share or interact with your launch posts. This expands your reach.

• Post valuable content – Share blog posts, videos, and other content from your new website to provide value to your audience.

• Use hashtags – Use relevant hashtags like #newwebsite or #launchday to help people find your posts.

• Advertise – Put some budget behind social posts as ads to reach more of your target audience.

Getting the word out on social media will help convert your existing followers into engaged site visitors. It also expands your reach so you can start growing an audience around the new website.

Send Announcement Emails

Email is another impactful way to tell people about a new website. Here are some tips for crafting effective announcement emails:

• Share with your email list – Send an email to your subscriber list announcing the launch and highlighting key information.

• Team up with partners – See if relevant businesses will share your launch email with their email list to expand reach.

• Offer an incentive – Give subscribers a discount code or free gift for checking out the new site. Sweeten the deal.

• Show off the website – Embed images, GIFs, or videos within the email to give a preview of the new website.

• Make it personal – Address people by name and speak directly to their interests to craft a more engaging message.

• Follow up – Send another email a week later reminding people to revisit the site if they haven’t already.

Well-designed launch emails typically see above-average open and click-through rates. They are a simple way to tap into your existing audience and get more visitors to your new website.

Guest Blog for Niche Websites

Guest blogging is one of my personal favorite tactics for website promotion. By contributing posts to niche blogs and websites in your industry, you can tap into an already-engaged audience.

Here are some tips to make the most of guest blogging opportunities:

• Pitch relevant blogs – Find sites that align closely with your brand and would interest your target customers.

• Provide value – Write posts that offer real value to readers, not just promotional pitches. Share your expertise.

• Link back to your site – Include links back to your new website where relevant to introduce readers to your content.

• Get social shares – Ask the blog owner to share your post on their social media to expand the reach.

• Repurpose content – Turn one great guest post into multiple by tailoring it to pitch to other websites.

• Build relationships – Focus on building genuine relationships with the website owners you guest post for.

Guest blogging is a great way to get your website in front of new audiences. Just make sure the content you create is valuable and relevant to each website you pitch to.

Run Retargeting Ads

Retargeting ads help you reconnect with website visitors after they leave your site. For example, if someone visits your site but doesn’t complete a purchase, you can show them ads around the web to remind them to come back.

Here are some tips for running effective retargeting campaigns:

• Install tracking pixels – Place Facebook, Google, and other retargeting pixels across your new website to track visitors.

• Create custom audiences – Build audiences in your ads platforms based on site behavior like visiting specific pages.

• Design relevant creative – Tailor your ads with messaging that picks up where the visitor left off on your site.

• Offer incentives – Provide discounts or perks in your ads to entice visitors to return and convert on your site.

• Set up automation – Use tools like HubSpot to automate sending customized email follow-ups when people leave your site.

• Remarket site-wide – Don’t just focus on shoppers. Remind all website visitors about your latest blog posts, content, etc.

Retargeting helps you turn fly-by site visitors into returning and engaged users. Make sure to customize your approach based on what types of visitors you want to bring back.

Leverage Influencers and Brand Advocates

Influencers and brand advocates can be powerful allies when trying to get the word out about a new website. Some smart ways to leverage them include:

• Send pre-launch kits – Provide exclusive sneak peeks for influencers to build pre-launch buzz.

• Ask for sharing – Directly request or pay influencers to post about your new website on social media, blogs, videos, etc.

• Collaborate on giveaways – Team up with influencers to promote contests or giveaways around your launch.

• Invite them to contribute – Ask influencers to guest blog on your new website to lend their credibility.

• Comp their services – Offer free access to your products/services in exchange for promotions.

• Amplify their content – Reshare any positive content influencers create about your new website.

Influencers want to produce content their own audiences will value. Giving them exclusive access and incentives helps make promoting your launch beneficial for everyone.

Present at Local Events

Local events like networking meetups, conferences, and trade shows are great places to spread the word about your new website. Here are some tips for making the most of events:

• Send event kits – Provide organizers with branded stickers, pins, flyers, or other swag to help promote your brand presence.

• Set up a booth – Rent a booth, hand out flyers, collect emails, and directly engage with attendees.

• Bring signage and presentation slides – Display pull-up banners, signs, branded slides/handouts that include your new website URL.

• Speak or sponsor – Landing a speaking slot or sponsoring an event guarantees exposure for your website.

• Network – Don’t just pitch your website. Establish valuable connections with attendees and partners.

• Follow up – Send emails, discount codes, and other useful follow-ups to event participants.

Local events allow you to directly interact with and build relationships with potential website visitors and brand evangelists. Get out from behind the computer screen and leverage events to drive website traffic.

Run Local Awareness Campaigns

Your website promotion strategy shouldn’t ignore local marketing opportunities. Some ideas for generating local website buzz include:

• Print flyers – Design simple but eye-catching flyers with a call-to-action to visit your new website. Distribute around town.

• Advertise locally – Buy paid ads in local newspapers, magazines, organization newsletters,