Sometimes it pays to be brutally honest with clients who are hopeful of receiving hundreds of links to their online store or basic service website.

“The less useful your content, the less likely you are to ever receive a link to it”

– Eric Ward, LinkMoses

So what can an entrepreneurial type do with their ‘plain brand’ business website?
If you have products you can start marketing them through affiliates. This will attract many varied backlinks as well as sales. If no products, please read on….

Be Credible

To ensure people will take you seriously, SEO Book says “you need to make sure your website adheres to good web credibility standards.
• Is your domain name memorable?
• Does your design complement your copy?
• Is your content interesting and conceptually unique?
• Does your site have an editorial component and voice, or is it a boring low-value thin product database?
• Is your about page memorable?
• Is your site easy to use and understand?
• Do you have a brand people care about? (Points care of SEOBook.com)

You do not need to “have it all” to get started, but the more credible you look the faster you will gain momentum.”

- Aaron Wall, SEO Book.

Realise that the Internet is a Social Medium

Speaking at a conference? You may be surprised that people in the audience send tweets about your talk via their mobile.

Want to get leading bloggers/thought leaders to promote your site? You could create a community project or an exciting contest. If for charity, you will often attract the real media too. (Help this along with a press release).

Continuous Improvement

What does it take to be successful online? Improve your website or update your blog, and start a conversation online at least once a week. (We are posting twice per week – it’s not impossible). A little regular effort may snowball into ‘YOU’ being a thought leader in your field. You might notice I do not say the market leader… because you cannot manipulate people on the Internet, you cannot dominate the market, you can only interest people.

In many ways, the Internet more resembles an ancient bazaar than it fits the business models companies try to impose upon it.

- The Cluetrain Manifesto

The book Cluetrain Manifesto declares that “markets are conversations”, “talk is cheap” and “silence is fatal”… they are referring to blogs and websites.

“Though corporations insist on seeing it as one, the new marketplace is not necessarily a market at all. To its inhabitants, it is primarily a place in which all participants are audience to each other.”

Read the book here for free: www.cluetrain.com