by Paul Lalley

Created on: July 07, 2008

Start-up, on-line business owners want to see results FAST! Up til now, it's all been outgo with no income and these entrepreneurs want some payback for their time and for the capital at risk.

All web marketers know the importance of linking in to quality sites, but it's hard to get a PR6 to link to a PR1 that hasn't even been indexed. But it can be done through the development of parallel marketing. Here's how it works.

BobSmithInsruance.com
Ol' Bob finally gets on board the digital express, asks his son to design his site and calls you in to market bobsmithinsurance.com. So you take all the well-known SEM steps: list Bob in insurance directories, optimize his site for local search (Bob's not looking to insure shopkeepers in Mozambique; just his geo-specific area), post a press release about site launch the usual drill.

However, if you (and Bob) want to see traction and fast, one of the best and quickest ways to catch the attention of spiders and site visitors is to create a group of businesses related to insurance but that don't actually sell insurance products.

In this case, you (or Bob) contact local businesses that sell products and services that require insurance. Like what companies? Auto dealers, local realtors, CFPs, lawyers, physicians and other medical providers, snowmobile and motorcycle dealers all of these companies sell products or dispense services that require some kind of insurance, right?

So, all of those other local businesses, trying to reach local buyers in Bob's territory, become a much larger web presence real fast. Bob's site has links to the auto dealer, boat company, Harley dealer right on down the line. In turn, Bob's link shows up on the local Toyota dealer site (Looking for low cost insurance in Podunk?), the realty site (Before you buy that house, call good ol' Bob.), the local legal site (Insure your future at Bob Smith Insurance in Podunk) and so on.

Start by defining the client site's demographic. What do they do? Need and want? Expand your list to include local businesses that are trying to reach the same demographic and offer a link exchange along with a detailed explanation of how parallel web marketing makes the invisible web site shine.

Also, by placing Bob and his line of products within that local context, you create trust among any of the local visitors visiting any of the connected sites. "Oh, Bob, yeah, I'll call him."

A solitary local site may remain invisible for a long time without local connections. Plug your client site into the local web community and create some marketing synergies.

Bob and his links will all thank you for it.

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