People running businesses usually want or need to know what the best way to advertise a business online is. Well, many ways exist, but some of the more effective ways to advertise is by using the free methods. Not only will these methods help get the word out that the business exists, but it will also save money that most small businesses and start-ups do not have to spend on marketing and advertising.

Forum Signatures

One of the best-known ways to advertise a business online is by using forum signatures. However, sometimes they are used too often that the signature could be flagged as spam, so the trick is to use forum signatures in the right way. For example, do not simply jump into any forum and any forum thread to leave a short, one word reply.

Instead, start out with forums that are related to the business itself. A cloud computing business would have very little to no reason of leaving a signature with its business website link there in a makeup or cosmetics forum. Once the business owner has found the perfect forums, he can jump in and reply to threads with relevant information. Then, start leaving a signature with his business link attached, and in some cases where possible, the phone number to the business. Eventually, traffic will start flowing into the business website and calls will begin to come in from the forums.

Free Classifieds

Free online classified ads are another great way to advertise a business online. Thousands of free online classified ad websites exist in which a business owner can write an ad for display online. Not only can the business owner write a two or three line description of the services offered, but he or she can also leave a link to the business’ website, an address, and phone number of the business.

Classified listings work just as regular keyword and “Sponsored Results” ads do, that is when people search for specific keywords on the internet, those listings will eventually come up in the search results. The increased viability from using classified ads to advertise a business online can oftentimes garner added website traffic, increased calls to the business and overall, increased ROI, especially if the classified ad was free.

Overall, online advertising can take a lot of time; however, when the added benefit of increased website traffic, increased sales calls, and an overall increase in sales, the initial time investment is seen as a worthy one, because no money was spent to advertise a business online using these methods.

Every business owner knows that advertising their business is critical to running a profitable business. It does not matter whether this business is internet-based (online) or a ‘brick and mortar’ business, a business needs to regularly advertise its products and/or services. Advertising is what draws customers to any business. If customers are not aware of your business, how will they be able to purchase the products or services you offer?

What then are the ways to bring your business to the attention of your prospective customers? We will be looking at this mostly perspective of a business that is internet-based. However, the same methods can be easily used to advertise an ‘offline’ business. We will be looking at four different ways of advertising your business to get the attention of customers

Pay Per Click (PPC Advertising)

Since Google came out with their search engine in the late 1990s, PPC advertising has never been the same again. With PPC, your text advertising is displayed to online searchers on the particular search engine (Google, Bing, etc.) and you pay for each click made by the searchers. Early on PPC was a very profitable means of advertising your business. However, in recent times, it has become increasingly challenging to run profitable PPC campaigns using the search engines. Many business owners have found out that running a profitable PPC campaign is better left to professional PPC management companies,

Facebook PPC

With the introduction of Facebook PPC in 2008, PPC advertising underwent another revolution. Users have found Facebook PPC to be more relevant and profitable because of the high levels of targeting that is possible. Users can target their audience by various attributes such as age, sex, interests etc. Facebook PPC has really exploded in the last few years. As a result many online business owners are moving their PPC campaigns from Google & Bing to Facebook PPC to experience the high Return On Investment (ROI)

Online Classifieds

Based on the format of traditional newspaper classified advertising, online classifieds are also useful for generating leads for the business owner. This method of advertising has also become an increasingly popular method of advertising your business. There are various online classified advertising websites all over the Internet. You can find relevant classified websites through a Web search. Make sure to include your niche to get more targeted results.

Press Releases

Press Releases are also useful in advertising your business. Press releases are especially suitable for new product launches and/or new services. There are a large number of Press Release agencies. It is highly advised to have an expert write your first release to you so that you can have good idea how PRs are written and formatted. One great thing about Press Releases is that you can continue to receive referrals and traffic for a long time from the same Press Release. This is due to the fact that for a fee Press Release agencies will help you distribute your Press Release to a massive database of Press Release Agencies sites and other news sites.

Anticipate a buyer search criteria and categorise your business accordingly

It is important to file your business for sale advertisement in such a way that it grabs the attention of the maximum number of relevant business buyers. The more types you file your business under, the better your exposure will be.

If you are selling a pub that serves food, for instance, it is worth filing the business under not just ‘pubs’, but also ‘pubs and hotel property’, ‘restaurants’, ‘taverns’ and ‘bars’, as your likely purchasers will be searching for a business for sale under all or some of these categories.

It is also worth including key information such as the postcode, street or town where your business is located in your description text, so that any business buyer using the keyword search facility will find your business in their search results.

Honest figures will help your business to sell

In order to sell your business successfully, it is vital that you give your potential buyers a sensible indication of the kind of living they can expect to earn from the business. New business buyers aren’t just relocating from a street or village that they are familiar with; in most cases they are also walking away from the financial security of a monthly paycheck to become their own employers. This constitutes a daunting step into the unknown for a lot of people, and the more data you can reassure them with in your advertisement, the better your response levels will be.

You can include the turnover, gross profit and/or net profit figures on a weekly, monthly or daily basis with an advertisement, and it’s advisable to include at least one of these figures as a bare minimum if you can. Other figures that are worth mentioning in your advertisement are footfall / shop frontage (if it is a retail business), traffic levels (if it is an online business), demographics on the local economy (if it is a service-led business) and lease length / rent review dates (if it is a commercial property).

Your figures may be highly confidential, in which case it is perfectly acceptable to write ‘turnover and profit figures available on request’; The most important thing to do is to acknowledge the figures in your advertisement; if you don’t, it can look suspicious or unprofessional, and it can stop potential buyers from taking you seriously and enquiring about your business for sale.

Pricing your business for sale :

To get your business to sell quickly, it is important to price your business sensibly. An overly ambitious asking price might feel like a safe place to negotiate down from, but if you price your business too high, your potential buyers might not come across your advertisement in their search, as it will fall outside of their price range. If you price the business at a value lower than you are prepared to accept, you could find yourself inundated with buyers who you are not prepared to sell to, wasting your time and theirs. Remember that the price at which your business is sold is ultimately dictated by your acceptance – or refusal – of an offer; at the initial stages, your priority is to generate as much valid interest as you possibly can in your business for sale.

Take a look at comparable businesses for sale on websites listing businesses for sale and pick an asking price that is in line with what looks to be current market values. If you are unsure of what your business is worth, you can get a free business valuation from business agents or websites advertising businesses for sale.

Choose business-related photos that help your business to sell

Your existing promotional material may be remarkably effective at bringing customers through your doors, but you are dealing with a very different target market when you are selling a business. The business itself is now the product, and your ‘customers’ in this case will be looking for signs of prosperity, security and success. For instance, a photo taken inside your premises at peak times showing a busy shop floor will give potential purchasers more incentive to enquire than a beautifully-crafted logo on its own. Try to take photos that show off the passing trade and ‘bustle’ of your business.

Choose the right place to advertise your business for sale

Advertising your business for sale online is a great way to get maximum exposure. The price to advertise online is also less expensive than on print newspapers and magazines.