Once your website is "out there", how are people going to find it? How can you make your website work for your organisation?

Here are our top 10 tips:

1. Free listings in search engines

Often called "organic listings", these are free, naturally occurring listings in search engine results. Search engine optimisation helps to improve a page's position or ranking on a search engine results page (SERP).

2. Paid listings in search engines

Also called pay-per-click advertising, paid listings complement organic listings because they take effect immediately, while organic listings are likely to yield results only after a number of months.

3. Email marketing and newsletters

Attractive (and e-mailing list approved) email marketing material that benefits your clients and promotes your organisation at the same time. Combine the essence of newsletters (which don’t generally convert into sales on their own) with one or two sales pitches (which, on their own, appear to benefit the sender more than the recipient). People don't mind some sales information if they are getting overall value out of your email. NewsMark, our newsletter & email marketing tool, helps you do all this and more.

4. Publish a blog

The good thing about a blog format is that it's more relaxed than other content. Let your mind wander, be creative, write about your musings and opinions. It will make you seem more personable and the readers will feel like they know you a bit better. And you'll be surprised what people are interested in. Our Drupal websites come with blog facilities as standard.

5. Publish a podcast

This is audio only. It gives you the opportunity to talk about a topic. You can make it informal, like a blog, or focused and to the point. Again, it builds you credibility and makes you appear more personable.

6. Publish useful & informative articles

As well as being useful to your existing clients, this can really help put you on the map with search engines, which broadens your audience. Our Drupal websites let you do this.

7. Syndicate your content

Syndication is making your content items available in a format that other websites can read and re-publish. Or individual users can bring up your syndicated content on their home page on on their desktop. Our Drupal websites syndicate content automatically.

8. Participate in forums and online discussions

Pick up new clients by helping perfect strangers in your field of expertise. And if you list your website address in your postings, this is also likely to help your search engine ranking.

9. Use your e-signature

It seems pretty obvious to have your website address on your e-signature (an automatic description of your contact details at the end of every email message you send). If you have a special offer, mention it on the e-signature and entice the recipient to visit the site for more details (ensure the address has a hyperlink to the actual site). It's amazing how many people forget to do use their e-signatures to promote what they do. Yet it's such a powerful tool - and takes only minutes to set up.

10. Traditional publicity campaign

Don't underestimate the power of traditional publicity campaigns such as direct mail, billboard/magazine/newspaper/television/radio advertising, letterbox drops, etc. After all, these methods are tried and tested and will attract customers who don't frequent the web.