If you are a new business owner or you're not familiar with online advertising, I am going to offer you some solutions to get free advertising for your business. Why should you pay for it when you can get it for free, right?

First, let me note that just because you are advertising for free and getting traffic to your website, does not necessarily mean that you will actually make any sales from it. The content and products on your website must be professional and clear in order for you to even gain prospect customers. Make sure your home page is designed well and that you SELL the products to your customers before you even plan on advertising.

Top ways to get free advertising:

1) Blogs- Writing a blog and submitting it to search engines can increase you traffic immensely. Make sure your blog posts are informative and keyword rich and your blog subscribers will get larger and increase your business traffic before you know it. Try blogger.com.

2) Classifieds- There are 100's of classified ad sites on the web and they are generally all free. Find some classified websites (try craigslist.org) and post a really good and catchy classified ad with pictures and your contact information or website.

3). Articles- If you have experience that other people are seeking, then write some really good articles and submit them to websites. You can include the copyrights of your business website in the article so people can find your website. You should not completely advertise your business in the article, only list your business information at the end of the article. Make sure the article is informative and something that people will want to read.

4). Yellow Pages- If you have a website or even a business location, you can get free advertising through the yellow pages online. There are several different websites (try yellowpages.com) of online yellow pages that will let you list your business information for free. This is especially great for local businesses looking to get more traffic.

5). Word of mouth- One of the best ways people can find your business is through word of mouth. People are more inclined to listen to friends and colleagues about a business rather than finding an advertisement and buying from you. People trust their friend's opinions and if they refer your business to someone else, you have more of a chance to get a new customer and make a sale.

6) SEO- Search engine optimization is great for getting web traffic for free but it can be tricky if you don't know what you are doing. Your website needs to be optimized properly in order to get listed in search engines for free. Once your website is fully optimized, you will need to submit your website to search engines. It can sometimes take up to 3 months for your website to be indexed but that's okay because when it finally is, you will have free traffic coming your way. If you need help with SEO or submitting to search engines try: http://exceptional-business-solutions.com/Advertising.aspx

7) Social networking- This is one of the biggest internet phenomenoms and businesses are taking advantage of it like crazy. Make your business presence known on the internet by opening a page for your business and adding some new friends. Making conversation and communicate with them in order to build some rapport. Try facebook.com, twitter.com or myspace.com.

Getting traffic to your website is just as important as making a sale. The more traffic your website gets, the higher it will rank in popularity among search engines and the more your site will be displayed. Remember that you should have a nice and clean website and good content and Voila, free and instant traffic!