Bring on the internet traffic!: Trying to increase the number of visits to your website?; Here are 13 idea-starters--including a few you might not have thought of.

• Author: Dysart, Joe
• Position: Feature

While today virtually every financial services institution in the country has a Web presence, Internet marketing consultants warn that without proper marketing and promotion, websites can quickly become white elephants in cyberspace.

"The now cliched Web maxim 'If you build it they will come' has lulled many online marketers into a false sense of opportunity," says Charles Sayers, an Internet marketing consultant based in Acworth, Ga. "The truth is that website traffic-building has its own set of PR needs and requires its own system of aggressive, attention-getting tactics."

When your bank is putting together a comprehensive web-site promotion strategy, Internet consultants advise that you take advantage of as many as possible of the following 13 website marketing and promotion strategies:

1. Link until you drop.

   Probably the easiest, least expensive, and most effective way to promote a site is to link your page with every other noncompetitive page on the Internet that shares the same interest. Examples: Prairie State Bank www.psbmarengo.com based in Marengo, Ill., sports a generous selection of local links at its site. Prairie State links to the city, the local park district, the chamber of commerce, the state as well as local schools and colleges. It also links to the weather, roadmaps, new/used car prices and currency exchange rates.

   The American National Bank of Fremont www.anbf.com/fremont.htm, based in Fremont, Neb., links to area attractions and events as well as "industry and services."

   Craig Settles, a senior strategist for Berkeley, California-based Successful Marketing Strategists, and author of "Cybermarketing: Essentials for Success," says: "Link until you drop."

2. Advertise in opt-in e-mail lists and/or e-zines.

   A truly burgeoning Web media, opt-in e-mail lists and e-zines generally target readers with highly specific interests. Often, people signing up for opt-in e-mail lists have indicated an interest in receiving advertisements and information about a specific category of products and/or services. Subscribers to e-zines are generally more interested in a specific interest, but will tolerate advertising if the e-zine's policy allows such promotions. For more about this new twist on direct marketing, enter "opt-in e-mail" and "e-zines" into any popular search engine for more info.

3. Consider a professional search engine listing firm.

   Seasoned Web users turn to search engines like Yahoo! www.yahoo.com and Excite! www.excite.com...