You've worked hard on your site, but what good is all that effort if traffic doesn't materialize? You could spend thousands, even millions, on marketing campaigns, though most smaller startups are barely afloat as it is. How can you get yourself noticed without plenty of cash to wave around?

It's possible to crack, says Hollis Thomases of Web Ad.vantage. You just have to combine savvy with techniques that get attention. Want to know how it's done? Read on and learn!

First, Look at Your Audience

Don't just throw money into ads. A strategic plan is called for. Any amount of money you can spend on marketing is a real advantage - spend it wisely on techniques that work. The first step, Thomases says, is to look at your customers. "We take a look at the client's target audience. In the course of developing the marketing plan, we find out all the different kinds of vehicles appropriate for that specific target audience and for our client's website," Thomases says. Each site has a certain message that needs to reach a certain customer. Your job is to figure out where that customer is. What magazines do they read? What leisure activities do they favor? What TV shows do they watch? And perhaps most importantly, what sites do they visit? You've got to reach them somehow and it's best to go where they are.

Use Marketing Channels That Reach Your Customers

If your customers all read PC Week, would it make sense to advertise on Mac World? Of course not! You need to concentrate marketing efforts in places where your customers actually go. Thomases recommends starting with ezines, which can be a very cost-effective strategy. "We might find that there are opportunities to place content on various ezines," Thomases advises. "If somebody in that target audience wants to find out something about the general information and they read content, in that content there is a hyperlink back to our client's website. They're probably more likely to click on that than they would be on a banner ad because content bears more credibility than advertisement does." In other words, people often ignore an ad from a company they don't know. But a recommendation from a friend might be taken more seriously. That's exactly why placing content in ezines is important - and why exchanging links with sites that deal with your target audience is also favored. Exchanging links is in itself an art, Thomases says. You want to find a page that complements your business offerings and make sure you both benefit from the linkage. "Have an appropriate sense of that site. Don't just spam the site saying, 'Hey, we want a link.' There's got to be a 'What's in it for me?' Does the site that I have match the site that you have? Is there some sort of fit or appropriateness to it?" Thomases says. There's also a proper way to ask for the link, Thomases says.

"Take five minutes to peruse the site that you're requesting a link on and find a little tidbit that you can use to personalize the e- mail requesting the link that's sent to the site owner or the webmaster. 'I saw the page about blah, blah, blah. I thought that was really cool and I also think that it's appropriate for our target audience. Do you mind if you put a link on your website back to mine and I can do the same for you?' Something that makes it appropriate so the site owner from whom you're requesting the link knows that you spent a little bit of time on their site," Thomases says.

Use Contests and Giveaways to Your Advantage

Some people consider it tacky to run contests, but it's getting more popular online because it works. Customers who have a reason to go to your site frequently will. "If you only have thirty seconds to communicate the message when somebody's going to open an e-mail and you want them to come to the site, you've got to give them a good reason. Just because you've got a great site and you offer great products, that's not enough of an incentive," Thomases says. "It can be something simple like 'Buy one, get one free,' or 'Buy today, get free shipping.' When you're talking about things to attract your target audience, there's always something that would appeal to a person. It doesn't have to be cheesy."

Your contest or giveaway can attract a lot of traffic - but you have to make sure it's not a turnoff. What's important is that your event meets the needs of your target audience. Figure out what the audience needs and give it to them in a way that gets attention. Marketing your site in today's market isn't easy. But it's do-able, even for sites that lack a giant marketing budget. Make up for your financial shortfall with savvy and you'll have customers that find you.