Your business requires customers for growth and survival. For getting customers, you need to promote your business well in a planned way. In contemporary times, businesses used postcards, brochures, and flyers to promote their business, but the possibilities are infinite in recent times. With the advent of the Internet, you have numerous options, and thanks to the free business advertising sites that help you advertise your business without charging you anything.
55 Ways To Advertise Your Business For Free On the Internet
Let us take a brief on a few websites that can help you in increasing brand awareness without charging any fee:
1) Google My Business
They provide free local advertising, and it is one of the important places to promote your business online. It is an actual listing in Google Search Results and even on Google Maps. The major benefit of listing here is that you would have the potential of being found with nearly 8 billion searches that occur each day. The best part about it is that you can register your phone number and physical location to the Smartphone app so that the users can easily reach out to you. Google My Business would aid in raising your SEO, tell potential customers more about your business, and create rich search results.
2) Twitter
One important thing to remember about Twitter is always mindful of what you post on this platform. It has tons of appeal and countless users to access and is perfect for establishing someone as a thought leader. Twitter has flourished a lot in the last couple of years, and you should not ignore this platform for marketing your business. A lot of college students, business people, politicians, and celebrities are on Twitter. Thus, if you post your ad here and people love your business, you would get re-tweets, followers, shares, and fame. There are more than 350 million active users on Twitter; therefore, you have a huge audience that you can reach out to it.
3) Bing Places for business
This free business advertising platform is by Microsoft platform and is the Bing version of Google’s local business offering. It facilitates you to add several business locations, photos, videos, and much more. The unique thing about this platform is that it takes you to another part of the internet-based market, plus it is not used as widely as Google, so it becomes easier for your business to rank better in search results and stand out. In addition, setting up a profile with them is very simple; all you need to do is create your profile and verify your company. Once this is done, then you can start advertising your business. Also Read: 60 Best Business Ideas for Women
4) YouTube
It is one of the best ways to promote your business for free on the internet. You can easily promote your content on YouTube and get a lot of attention, but you need to put some thought into doing it differently. Almost half of the searches on YouTube are done by ‘how-to,” so you can create videos on your product and services related to how-to. Do add your website’s link or email address in the description so that interested users can contact you. More than 1.3 billion people use YouTube daily, and around 5 billion videos are watched every day, so you can imagine what potential this platform holds. Thus, do not ignore this platform for advertising your business, as it can fetch you, numerous customers.
5) LinkedIn
The fact is that almost every professional and respectable business has its profiles on LinkedIn. You can host a blog on this platform as it would aid in streamlining your blogging into your B2B focused LinkedIn presence. It has more than 500 million users in membership. LinkedIn serves as a platform where people search for work, vendors, and partners. It can be one of the best free ways to advertise your business as it can help connect you with potential collaborators and clients. If you are a freelancer, then it is recommended for you to try LinkedIn Pro finder. Initially, start with the free version; later, you can upgrade if you like the services. In addition, it helps in getting leads from organizations seeking to hire an independent contractor.
6) Quora
You must have heard about Quora many times; it is a question-and-answer site. It is a forum-style platform that can draw attention to you and your business as well. You should enter into this massive and versatile audience for creating your name and brand recognition. The users of Quora might restrain outright promotion; you would need to create a solid network and credibility as that could bring forth a long-term way of advertising specific types of businesses. Remember one thing while promoting your product on Quora that dropping links in the conversation is not allowed and leaves a bad impression.
7) Digg
It is a news aggregation website that features articles that usually come from well-known news outlets; thus, getting your content on the first page might be challenging. It works on a voting system; for example, if the users like the content, they can vote for it and vice versa; thus, it changes the ranking quickly. Organizations that have successful blogs can share their posts on Digg for fetching outside traffic. There are millions of people using this platform; hence it is recommended to give yourself a chance and try advertising your products here. But, before you start dropping links on Digg, make a solid content marketing strategy as it would help your content get more attention. Also Read: 23 Best CPA Networks for Beginners
8) Town Planner
It is one of the best free ways to advertise your business, especially in smaller towns and communities. It serves as a comprehensive calendar for events, news, holidays, and all other types of promotions. This platform is not available in every town. Still, in case your enterprise is connected to the one that uses it, then this platform can be an excellent way of sharing information and advertising your business.
9) MerchantCircle
It is another free network that focuses on small businesses that are looking to connect with local customers and other local small businesses. It is a great tool if you want to do local promotion. You should not miss this platform to promote your business as it has more than 100 million potential customers and over two million small business partners. To help build your business, MerchantCircle boosts your listings, posts business blogs, and renders many free marketing tools such as digital footprint expansion, SEO assistance, etc. You can also register your online store on it and use the platform at its maximum potential.
10) Yellow Pages
It is a well-organized version of the same Yellow Pages that your grandparents used to flip through for finding what they needed. Yellow Page is a respected institution that served as the premier business directory couple of years ago. You can do a free listing on it, plus they also have premium options as well, in case you wish to expand or opt for more advanced features. You would be amazed to know that Yellow Pages has more than 70 million visitors across its associated listing yearly. For putting your ad, all you need to do is just follow their simple register and done.
11) Facebook
Who does not know about this platform? It is one of the best platforms to advertise your business and get a great response. You can do this easily by putting promotional offers or new services banners as your Facebook cover photo or profile picture. Facebook offers its users copious tools for promoting websites and posts. When you create your business page on Facebook, ensure to select the right category for your business and fill in the required information, especially the ‘About’ section. It makes it look informative and professional. You can start with the free version and opt for the paid ones if you get a good response. Also Read: 14 Ways to Earn Money from Facebook
12) Mapquest/Yext
Mapquest has recently partnered with Yext to expand its services like adding your business address, phone number and locating your business. You might not know that Mapquest was the platform that helped people with Mapping before Google Maps into existence. Its features are similar to Google Maps, but the major difference is that they focus more on exploring instead of finding directions. Mapquest is an excellent platform to add your website as it still shows up with Google Maps, and a lot of people are using it.
13) Instagram
Yet another trending platform amongst youngsters, you cannot miss out on advertising here as you can connect to millions of potential customers and clients. On Instagram, you can share images, videos, and music, and its app is available on iOS, Windows, and Android. You have a chance to connect to more than 1 billion people through Instagram, and it is the perfect platform to give people an insight into what you do and offer. It might not be successful for every type of business, but it is recommended to have a presence on Instagram as it will rule the market for coming years.
14) Citysearch
This platform is best suited for bars, restaurants, spas, hotels, and other types of businesses. They are partners to various well-known brands like Expedia, MerchantCircle, and Urbanspoon. They have an app as well, and you can access the listings with the help of that. The good part about this website is that they have made a list of businesses that are searched more by people, and they are places under the tab ‘best of‘ lists that fall under 20 categories. For getting started with Citysearch, you would have to register your business and location. Once the registration is completed after that, you can post an ad there.
15) Apple Maps
It is a great website to advertise your business for free on the Internet. It is similar to Google Maps and might be a big competitor to it in coming years. Apple Maps comes pre-installed on all iOS devices, and as per the reports, it gets over 5 billion requests in a week. This means that if you do not promote your product here, then you are missing out on a lot of potential traffic. Promoting here means getting a share of Apple users’ market, and you can create a strategy on how to promote it in a better way so that more and more people see your ad and contact you. You need to have a free Apple ID if you want to list your business on Apple Maps. Also Read: 100 Weirdest Websites That’ll Make You Confused
16) Manta
It links small businesses with its potential market by using online tools such as Google Ads and SEO. Manta is a small business directory and is an excellent place to promote your business, especially if you have a small business in America. The fact is that you would not find a better directory than this as it gets millions of unique visitors each month, so promoting here can fetch you pretty good results if done in the right way. People love using it because Manta offers organizations with particular industry categorization that makes it easy to navigate the website.
17) Vimeo
It serves as a platform for video content creation and sharing, just like YouTube and Dailymotion. You can use this platform for making your business and website popular as their major focus is on monetizing video products. Vimeo is the first platform to support H.D. videos, which made it so famous, and brands still use it today. You can advertise for free on Vimeo but using the monetization tools is chargeable, so you can choose them as per your business requirements. In addition, you can do various things on Vimeo, such as creating teasers, making company presentations, product demonstrations, and whatnot.
18) YellowBot
It is more or less like YellowPages when it comes to listing, but one of the major differences is that it comprises customer reviews and various advanced options for people who opt for the paid version. The nice thing is that you can quickly signup with them as their registration process is very simple. They have connected their signup with Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, and Windows Live, so signing up would take less than a minute. Once you signup, you can get your listing started.
19) SearchMe4
This is also a directory, but it is U.K.-based. It connects businesses with desired customers and can also be used to find local businesses. You can register with them for free, which means that anyone can add your business to SearchMe4 in just a couple of minutes. This site’s traffic is relatively less because it is a U.K.-based directory, but it can be great for you if you want to reach out to people in the U.K. Also Read:
20) The Better Business Bureau (BBB)
A lot of people think of this platform as a place where you can register complaints regarding scams, poor customer service, and bad business practices, but there is a brighter side to it. It aids in promoting accredited businesses and renders a directory that is segmented by business type and location for its registered and certified businesses. Thus, all reputable brands and businesses are registered on this platform as it is one of the oldest business review platforms. But one drawback to it is that it supports only a few countries, which are the US, Canada, and Mexico, so if you want to reach out to the audience there, it can be a perfect platform for you to advertise your product or services.
21) Yellowbook
It is a wonderful platform that comes with numerous features such as easily searchable business listings that would comprise your business information product description, website link, map features, video ads, and much more. So many features under one umbrella and that too for free, isn’t it great? Its benefits do not end here; along with adding in their business listing, you also get linked with Bing, Yahoo, and Google sites, plus you would see that there is an affiliate program that you can use and benefit from. So post your ad today on Yellowbook and see the response.
22) Angie’s List
This is also a directory where you can get names and reviews of businesses that are involved in contracting. It is an exquisite review site that comes with complete reviews on the web. Angie’s List is a powerful platform for well-reviewed business and is nationally promoted. It has more than 3 million members that hire, rate, research, and review local service providers. Thus, if you are serious about growing your business, then listing on Angie’s List should be first on your priority.
23) Yell
It is the online version of Yellow Pages and is the largest online directory for free business promotion. It is just like promoting your products by phonebooks that have now become almost nonexistent. Yell is best recommended for people who run a business in Uk and want to target the audience there. Promoting your products on Yell can be very beneficial as you can get a free listing, plus they also have an app that enables the customers to find, contact and review businesses on the go. It is a very powerful tool, and the good part is that they also have a lot of free digital marketing tools to help you make your advertising better. Also Read: 8 Steps To Start An Online Business
24) Superpages
This is a magnificent website as here you can list and manage your business listings without much effort; they have made it pretty simple for users to navigate the business listing. Not only can you do business listing, but it also includes weather and lottery listing. Users like Superpages because signing up is very easy, and it also possesses a quick sign-in option by Facebook as well, which just takes a minute to signup. As soon as you log in, you can post your ad there and watch your popularity grow.
25) Yelp
This app is best for promoting your restaurant or other businesses, but you would have to recently visit the website to check what your customers are saying about your brand. You would have to manage the customer reviews wisely, respond to them, and work on them. Yelp is great for both customers and businesses as here you get candid customer reviews; being a part of this platform can either make you or break you. If you manage the reviews mindfully, then you would be able to get more popularity and brand awareness. You can always ask your existing customers to rate and leave comments about your service on Yelp, as that might help you immensely.
26) Whitepages
It is a companion to Yellow Pages and has a listing of more than 30 million companies nationwide. It renders a lot of features in their free program, but if you move to their premium plan, you can get access to all their advanced features and support. Some of the additional services you would get are text message service for clients, larger ad listings with more information, and much more. For getting started with all you need to do is signup and register yourself. After that, you can instantly add and edit your business listing.
27) TripAdvisor
It is one of the best free ways to advertise your business, especially if it is related to hospitality. For many people, if you are not on TripAdvisor, you don’t exist for them. This is an excellent platform where tourists search for hotels, review the services, and recommend places to others. Thus, you need to register here if you want to increase brand awareness. Numerous people check TripAdvisor and its deals before visiting a new place. People opt for this platform because here, they can find great deals and quality services from restaurants, hotels, etc. Also Read: 50+ Best Recurring Affiliate Programs
28) Enroll Business
Here, you can get a free business listing profile that you can use for advertising your business. Posting an adhere can help well-known search engines find your business. Along with the free version, they also have a lot of paid plans that you can opt for once you start getting a response and your budget increases. Overall, it’s a magnificent platform to be found, plus they offer excellent services that can help get more and more customers for your business. You just need to create your profile on Enroll Business and get started.
29) Porch
This is again a website directory that is very reputable and well-established. People trust Porch because they provide verified user-generated reviews of local businesses of the U.S. The motive behind launching this website was to let people know or recommend places to find or get reliable products and services. If you opt for their Pro plan, you would see how amazing and beneficial the service they offer for promoting your website/company is. Thus, the website is more beneficial for people related to repairs, plumbing, decorations, home cleaning, auto repair, etc., and their target audience is restricted to the U.S. only.
30) Xing
It is a great social media network that is a German alternative to LinkedIn. Xing is a Hamburg-based social network site for professionals and businesses where you can set up your profile to drive more traffic to your business. You can commence with their free plan and move to Pro plans for taking your business to the next level. They have over 15 million registered users, therefore with the help of Xing, you can also connect to investors, partners, clients, etc., in a different way than the other sites.
31) Gartner Digital Markets
This is one of the best platforms for demonstrating your apps and software e-commerce stores. If you are into app creating or software development, this is one of the best free ways to promote your business. With the help of this channel, you can get more traffic on your website as it is potential lead generation software. For listing your products on Gartner Digital Markets, you would have to request them for a free basic listing. However, they also have numerous paid plans as well which you can check out if you get a good response. Also Read: 32 Examples of Successful Blogs for Your Inspiration
32) Hotfrog
As per Hotfrog, over 2.7 million people make more than 430,000 inquiries to businesses every month. It would be best if you did not miss promoting your products on this platform because it is an online directory created to amplify your business among Google search results. They offer their users numerous options such as coupons, promotions, and various other marketing tools to help fetch customers’ attention to your unique listings. It works similar to other platforms that have been discussed and are best suited for promoting products in the U.S.
33) The Business Journals
This platform is available in major cities of the U.S. Their listing helps generate more than 8 million monthly searches, which is a massive pool of target audiences. With a free profile, they offer you four levels of listings, and they are great for starting your business. But, they also have various other affordable plans and resources that can aid your business to multiply and expand. All you need to do is create a free profile and then see how this platform takes your business to the next level.
34) SaaSGenius
This platform is specifically for SaaS companies as here you can promote SaaS solutions, app, or software for free. This directory specializes in supporting subscription-based software. To promote your product on SaasGenius, you would have to take some time to create your profile so that it does not look incomplete compared to others. It is an excellent platform for advertising your business as it has a niche appeal which means that people who use this website know what exactly they are searching for. Here users also get the benefit of finding and comparing different SaaS solutions and making a wise decision as per their findings, so do not miss out on promoting your app or software here.
35) DexKnows
It is an online listing site that helps monitor your ratings and reviews plus also offers data concerning how customers engage with your profile. Another good thing that DexKnows does for its users is it renders you with additional information about potential online and offline advertising opportunities. DexKnows as a platform provides you with various excellent services so that it can help amplify your brand awareness through them. They also have a mobile app available for both Android and iOS users, plus it enables single-tap searches, which makes it really easy to use. Also Read: 25 Best Craigslist Alternatives For Selling Your Stuff
36) eLocal
It is a business directory that enables users to seek millions of businesses across the U.S. This can be an excellent website to advertise your business for free on the Internet. This website is best suited for professions like plumbing, auto insurance, selling dental office equipment, etc. You can list your products for free on eLocal, and it just takes a couple of minutes to register with them. Once registered, you can list your brand or product straight away, and hopefully, you would get a good response. With this directory, you would get a lot of traffic to your website, plus it would also help get leads and generate sales.
37) Foursquare
Once upon a time, this platform was one of the sensations in social media. It has relatively cooled down in the past few hours, but still, it has millions of active users. Social networking and business directory slam at Foursquare. It facilitates users to check-in using their map and offers comments and reviews about your business either on the app or desktop. You would be amazed to know that they have more than 60 million registered users and 50 million active monthly users. Thus, it is a great app for local search where users can find various business establishments.
38) E.Z. Local
If you want to stand out from your competitors, then do list your products on E.Z. Local without fail. It is an online business directory that aids organizations get visibility, and you can use their amazing tools for increasing traffic and leads for your website or online store. In addition, they provide business listings for their users and boost the ranking of businesses in search engines. They offer a lot of services, such as reputation management, social media management, professional SEO tools, etc., that can help increase your brand awareness. Plus, this platform also focuses on assisting local users in getting exactly what they need locally first.
39) Directory Critic
This is an excellent platform that offers SEO-friendly article directories and web content to back as a link-building resource for advertising your good and services. Their no-cost plan includes many beneficial services such as niche and article directory listings that would help create a stronger search engine presence on the web. Signing up is pretty simple with Directory Critic, it just takes a couple of minutes, and there is no approval process. Once you are logged in, you can do the listing and start optimizing your business presence on the web. Also Read: Best Gumroad Alternatives
40) Brownbook.net
If you are looking for a platform with an international directory, then here is one of the best platforms for you. There are more than 40 million businesses currently on their platform, and people prefer promoting their business here because it is among the leading players in the field of worldwide business ranking. You can register with them for free, and they offer a lot of features in this plan, such as you can use your keywords for search engine success and much more.
41) Local.com
This is an excellent free promotion website as here you get business listings on 40 promotional websites. By working on this website, you would realize that people who say that free promotional websites are obsolete are wrong. Local.com renders its users specific information on deals, events, stores, addresses, customer reviews & ratings, and relevant local businesses for every city searched. It can also be said that they provide users and enterprises with numerous opportunities to find each other. They have more than 16 million businesses listing by zip code across the U.S. to a given city on their database.
42) Tupalo
This website is especially for U.S. and European countries for promoting their business. If you have a business or target audience there, then this can be one of the best free ways to advertise your business. They operate from Vienna and empower users to search for a business in Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, France, the US, Sweden, Switzerland, and Finland. Initially, you can start with their free plan, and if you get great traffic through them, you can also opt for their premium plan. Thus, do not miss promoting your business here if your target audience is in the U.S. or Europe, as it would help in lead generation and sales.
43) Best of the Web (BOTW)
They focus majorly on making a listing on their website relevant and unique to entice discerning users. Millions of websites are included in the collection of web directors on BOTW. They have over 25 million people utilize local search opportunities with BOTW yearly. You can sign up with them for free, and if things go well, you can opt for their premium plans as you get advanced features plus numerous marketing tools. Thus, try listing here and see traffic increasing on your site. Also Read: 22 Top Money Earning Websites
44) Wikipedia
Who does not know about Wikipedia? Almost everyone is familiar with this big online platform. For promoting your product here, it is recommended to build a professional company page here to get a better response. Wikipedia is one of the most reliable and trusted sources of information on the Internet, so why not promote here as people rely on the information and products mentioned here. Creating a page here would help your business help legitimize your business, drive traffic and create a space where people can read news about your website. Thus, do list your business here and get a great outcome and response.
45) FindThatLead
This is an accomplished platform that is not only free for people, but as per the stats, they offer the highest rate of return on time and effort spent to build and distribute them. For listing your business on this website, you need to have an email list to make it an effective marketing technique. There are numerous ways around 80 of them for creating your email list and making it into your best free advertising. It is a great way to reach out to your target audience and let them know about your business and services.
46) G2
This platform was formerly known as the G2 crowd. Today, it has become one of the largest tech marketplaces globally; thus, you can list your business here to let customers discover and review your apps and software. More than three million people visit G2 regularly in search of new software products and their reviews. It is an excellent platform for promoting your services and getting more traffic to your website. Thus, if you create software or app on your online store, then do not forget to list your product on G2 as it is a reliable and secure platform. You can begin with their free plan and opt for the premium plan if you like their services.
47) Pinterest
A lot of small businesses have flourished promoting products on Pinterest. Thus platform is best suited for fields like fashion, jewelry, design-oriented ventures, recipes, crafts, etc. A lot of people say that Pinterest is like an online corkboard, and it aims to collate visual pieces of multimedia, which are usually images. It is a heavily used platform where you can also make multiple boards to pin your photos on and advertise your business there. So, it is a great social network to promote any business, but your marketing efforts should focus more on producing attractive graphics to accompany your blog articles. Also Read: 800+ Free Directory Submission Sites List
48) Mix.com
Previously, it was known as StumbleUpon, it is a content aggregator that can be used for promoting your content. Although now it is a lesser-known social media bookmarking site, it provides you with an easy way to post material, save articles, music, and anything you find online. People who want to find a content commercial or entertainment content, music, articles, etc., so opt for Mix.com as they have a lot of content related to it. They already have 30 million regular users, so you can list your business here and promote it to others.
49) PR.com
It is an ideal platform to distribute press releases and bring more traffic to your website. PR.com is an interesting hybrid as it is a cross between public relations and advertising entities. It is a nice platform for distributing press releases and brand awareness. You can opt for the free version as they have many good features in it, such as submitting job postings and distributing press releases. If you like the free version and grow your business through it, then you can also opt for its Gold or Premium plan memberships, and in them, you will get directory listings, full business profiles, and much more.
50) Reddit
It serves as a huge discussion forum with hundreds of distinct rooms. Getting attention on Reddit is pretty easy, but that can be positive or negative as people on this platform are hard to please. You can use this platform for website promotion as it is a social news aggregation site that is relatively different than typical social media sites. Redditors are said to be the toughest crowd on the Internet when it comes to marketing your products; hence, you would have to be mindful while promoting your products there. However, people there would not allow you shameless self-promotion but will give you valuable feedback that can help you further make improvements in your product.
51) NextDoor
Making a name for your small business on NextDoor can prove really beneficial for you. They have over fifty million business recommendations; therefore, this business directory is a breath of fresh air for businesses. It is one of the wonderful free ways to advertise your business and increase brand awareness or multiplying following in your neighborhood. Also Read: 20 Best Freelance Marketplace and Platform
52) SlideShare
If you are a genius in making PowerPoints or your organization deals with presentations or things related to it, then do not miss out on listing your website here. SlideShare is a free social website that is excellent for marketing purposes. The good part about them is that their presentations are public, searchable, and anyone can share them. Your presentations become compatible on all viewing platforms with SlideShare. They have more than 60 million monthly users, which means that you have a huge audience here to promote your product and generate them into leads.
53) Sitejabber
It is very similar to Yelp as Sitejabber also features a huge directory of businesses that users can search from, read reviews, message businesses directly, and check locations. If you manage to create a strong reputation on this platform, it will help you trust, traffic, and sales. It has more than 3 million users reviews and 10 years of experience; thus it can be an excellent platform to help consumers find safe online businesses and avert scammers. In addition, you get free business listing opportunities with them and numerous features to aid you to drive traffic and leads.
54) Starter Story
It is a platform that presents entrepreneurs and also shares their success stories or story behind their startups. In every interview, the founders of the company state how they started, flourished, and changed their business direction today. These stories are really motivating, and you also get advice from that and insight on how to start your business differently from your competitors. They have more than 100K monthly readers, and if you share your story, people might get attracted to it and reach out to you for doing business with you. So, do not miss listing your product here for free.
55) Kudzu
It is a free database and professes that they have helped more than 20 million homeowners with renovation options every year. Profiles usually comprise coupons, marketing descriptions, pictures or videos of work in progress or completed, and user-generated reviews and ratings; all this can help your business grow. For starting with them, register yourself and take advantage of what they can offer as per your business. It is a great platform to be on, so you can give it a try, and maybe you can get many leads from them. Recommended: 60 Best Ways to Advertise Your Business If you do not promote your business online, then you are most likely to lose out to new competitors adding up in your industry. Therefore, you can use these platforms to advertise your business for free on the Internet, which would help drive more traffic and generate leads and sales. Choose the right platform as per your niche, business requirement, and budget; as you outputs, you can opt for the premium version and reap more benefits from them.
