Free Online Marketing Tools refers to any online software or portal that can be used to create, build, manage and promote an online business within the Internet marketing arena. It is true to say that almost every job completed by any piece of software could actually be done by hand. The software is typically designed to automate the process and therefore save considerable time for the user. I decided to create an online business using only free online marketing tools and resources from around the Internet.
I began by making a list of all the tools I expected I would need to create a professional looking website that would be attractive and easy for my visitors to navigate. I had already researched my subject matter and considered that my new website would be reasonably unique, although that is not necessary as the Internet provides such a huge market. I had in mind to begin with such tools as an HTML editor, a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) utility that would allow me to create source code, not just for a complete website but any little snippets I might require along the way. I would also need a decent image editor, or maybe more than just one, to create the unique visual effects that would add the attractive qualities to my website. I found a quality meta tag generator, a favicon maker, a button generator, text editor and one or two other free online marketing tools and I was good to go.
Now I'm ready to introduce one of the greatest free online marketing tools of them all! I decided to present my new website in Blog format. There are many reasons I chose to do that. There was a time when blogs looked very basic and uninspiring, but they served a purpose and the search engined loved them, as they were typically updated with new information often on a daily basis. Nowadays, with new updates, choice of skins and a plethora of plug-ins that will do almost anything, blogs can look much the same as regular websites, but they are easier to update, and the search engines still love them. Of the blog platforms available I chose WordPress, because of the high levels of versatility and support, and proceeded to download the latest version. WordPress boast a 5 minute installation for their blog software, and I can verify that is all it takes.
Within 5 minutes I had uploaded the blog software to my vacant domain, albeit a bare and uninteresting website, but I was ready and keen to begin work on the creative aspects of building my site.. The process that would, I hoped, set it apart from the rest. I perused the hundreds of different themes available for the WordPress platform, and in keeping with my desire to build my online business using free online marketing tools only, I chose a gorgeous free theme, the layout of which I considered would suit my needs perfectly.
Typically, when writing posts to a blog, they will appear 'on top' only until you write your next post. And therefore your latest post will always be the first to be seen by visitors. However, I wanted to write an introduction to my website that would stay there, above the fold, and guess what? I was able to find a WordPress plug-in that would do just that for me and keep my introduction post 'sticky' and always in full view. I took my time with that first introduction post, making sure it was informative, attractive and using images created using another of the free online marketing tools.. my favorite image editor.
I updated my new website every day with new and original content, using a free spell checker and an online thesaurus portal to help to keep my posts fresh and interesting to visitors. I added a favicon, which I thought might make my site look more professional and some fancy buttons linking to other pages on my domain, and I included one or two videos in my posts, all using free online marketing tools I might add.. My website had cost me nothing so far, but now I had to consider the promotional aspects of my online business and make sure I started getting visitors, without which, the whole project would be wasted. I found a great back-linking tool that had my new site listed in the Google search engine directory within 24 hours, and an online submitter that notified many other search engines of my new site.
There are many ways that free online marketing tools may be employed to promote and get any website noticed, which in turn will bring the targeted visitors that represents life's blood. Article writing for example is a great tool to promote if used correctly. Website directories, search engines and free online advertising sites are all great ways to improve a website's presence on the Internet. Twitter, Facebook and other social bookmarking sites can help too, and they are all free to join. There are a number of press release websites that are free to join and tell the world about new projects. It is difficult to pinpoint which of these free online marketing tools work and which don't but promotion in any form can't be bad, so I spend a little time on each.
Once you have a website that is attracting visitors, you can consider how you can monetize your online business and turn those visitors into profit. Again, the methods available, affiliate programs, selling advertising space on your site, sponsored search marketing etc. are all free to join methods of making your website profitable and many of these companies will gladly provide you with the free online marketing tools to help promote their links on your pages.
So here I was, one month into my new project and it was earning money. Not a great deal but there was a long way to go and I knew it would only improve as I added more content to my website. The great thing was, I had achieved it all by simply using a variety of free online marketing tools from around the Internet. Yes, there are some that don't work too good and indeed there are those that don't work at all, but if you are prepared to invest a little time on your favorite search engine, it is possible to find free tools to help with almost every aspect of Internet marketing. Good luck with your endeavors.
Trevor Taylor writes of his experiences in the Online Marketing arenas.
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By: Trevor Taylor
