SpeedieConsulting

If you have read this blog in the last 6 months you would have read me use the term virtual real estate. As I said then I did not coin the word but like it some much, I try and use it whenever I find an excuse.

I have been thinking about a post like this for a while and think it is a good time to write it. I have been speaking with a few clients or late about how they can increase their exposure online without spending lots of money.

A few conversations later I have come up with a few ideas and places that you can add unique content to, which very little cost that will give you more access to your target audience.

The main response I got from clients was that they have never thought of using the Internet much beyond a corporate website and maybe at a push a blog.

Your virtual real estate really is the various locations that you can add content too in order to attract your audience that might not come direct to your website.

So here is a list of 14 sources of expanding your virtual real estate:

1. A standalone blog
2. An industry or secondary website – For example, if you sell classic car insurance, when not run a classic car information website
3. Using Social Networks – Your profile pages are potential routes for clients to find you
4. Article Syndication – writing and submitting content to a range of websites again provides a secondary route to your website
5. Newsletters – Running a promoting a news letter can add some viral elements of sharing which can attract new visitors
6. Guest Blogs – you can write a guest blog post for a related blog in your industry
7. Guest Articles – submit a unique article to another related website
8. Digital Magazine – create a PDF and setup a flash based newsletter
9. Video Site – If you are creating video why not create a separate site just for your video channel
10. Facebook Pages- Setup relevant Facebook fan pages
11. Web Applications – Create a tool that can be given away and circulated. This could be a web tool, Wordpress template or plugin as three examples
12. Audio Site- Create a Audio site for your podcasts and set it up like a radio channel
13. Answers – Using LinkedIn Answers and Yahoo Answers is a great way to get added expert content out there
14. Forums / Comments – Taking part in the on-line conversation on forum and commenting on blogs can lead to increased exposure, plus some of the sites rank well in Google so they can drive you some traffic.

As you can see there are lots of ways of increasing your virtual real estate with little more than a bit of time dedicated to expanding your online real estate every week.

All you need to do is make sure that ALL of the web content you add online adds some kind of value to the potential customer.