10 means to promote a Web site

And to let it become popular! You have just created a Web site, nobody does visit it or on the contrary your site is old, but is very little known, how to make it reach notoriety? It is possible with some tricks, some of they requiring a little programming. Here is the list...

1) Add it to directories

Adding your site on directories is a solution of facility. However, when they make a smart campaign, webmasters get some visitors and a small gain in ranking. This is because they are restricted to ten directories, the best in the list. The category is chosen precisely. A long and comprehensive description of their site is provided, which emphasizes it and is different for each directory.

2) Propose a review of your site to magazines

Many magazines, and more frequently those devoted to the Web, propose a list of Web sites to be viewed. Propose yours. If your site is accepted and that it is presented by the magazine, the number of visits will be enormous. That will last only a time, but you will collect backinks which will continue to provide visits.

3) Propose a scoop

Digg-likes and sites of news publish a summary of articles or documents on the Web, accompanied by a link on the site to find the full article.
Write an original article, containing exclusive information if possible, you can take a walk on official websites and collect statistics that could be used as a basis for the article. You are not ensured to go in home page, but your text will be displayed at least in the list of the new contributions and that will make visits, plus a lot of backlinks to help your positioning in results of search engines.
List of digg-like sites.

4) Add RSS feed

If your site is based on a CMS (Content Management System) like Wordpress or Dotclear, it is enough to click on a button to obtain the RSS file. Otherwise you can create this file with the Ara editor too, provided on this site, and with which is built the RSS feed of scriptol.com.
It will also be necessary to add on the home page a meta tag, as indicated in the chapter "Making the feed visible"? of the manual, so that navigators see the feed.
An RSS feed is not suitable for all sites, but particularly to those that provide new or new products.
An editor of RSS feed.
A mailing list requires registration by users. This is another way to inform about what's new on the site, by sending emails automatically. There are ready to use scripts too.

5) Show yourself on Maps

This is obviously not free, but very useful for a site linked to a business with a physical shop. The presence on the map is the best possible advertising.
The Submit your content page from Google gives also a liste of services where you can promote your content.

6) Make a plugin or a theme for a CMS, or a Web component

Make a mod for phpBB, a plugin for Wordpress, Dotclear, or any other CMS. Write a script for you, create something which you would like to add to the CMS that you use, and when it works perfectly, put it in the form of a plugin, and post it on the site which will give the necessary instructions to do so. If your script is useful many visitors will come on your website.
For same software and without needing to program but with an ability in design art, share a theme. You ensure that you have the last version of the software, and give it a new look. Here also the site will indicate to you how to package and to distribute it. However, do not put in the theme links to your site, because you do not know who will use the theme and you could get many toxic backlinks.

Update 2013: The world is changing and phpBB is no longer so relevant, even if it remains Wordpress. In 2013, you can create components to extend HTML 5 with X-Tabs or Polymer, frameworks described in the list of frameworks.

7) Create a theme or template or an extension for Firefox

The authors of the best extensions for Firefox receive an amazing number of visits. There are tools to help to create an extension, but a little programming will be necessary. Some idea should be found at first, a functionality which you would like to add to the navigator and put you at work. Your site will quickly become popular.

8) Create a page on Facebook

Facebook and Twitter or LinkedLn are the most modern way to promote a site. It usually takes time before obtaining a hearing on Twitter. But it is a source of traffic in several ways. When you are following other accounts, you let them know you. Then the search engine brings you visitors. Then your followers will ensure the promotion of your updates. (All this jargon is familiar to regulars of the site).
The account on Twitter for scriptol.com is Scriptol.

9) Launch an ad campaign

Register on the an advertisement site. Choose the prepaid option then transfer the amount which you wish to spend, and it will never be asked you more than what you decided to pay.
Fix also the maximum amount which you want to pay for a click. You do not pay the impressions and there is usually one click for 200 impressions. Thus, if you define a maximum price for a click of 10 cent, you pay 10 cents each times 200 Net surfers see your advertisement!

10) Tip from webmasters

Ever found a site with a broken link, while your own site offers the same content than that was linked and is still alive? Send an email to the webmaster, show him the broken link and give him the replacing link. It is a service for both. More tips on How to get backlinks.