The world wide web has definitely put small businesses up there with the big guns in terms of being able to compete. It is not unusual for the little guys to outrank big companies in the major search engines and drive 1000s of daily visitors to their sites while the major enterprises struggle to get a handful. What makes this example even more amazing is that reaching the top echelons of the search engines can be accomplished without spending a dime.

There are many free ways that you can use to create a web presence - and at the same time - a growing number of visitors to your business website.

Marketing your web business through writing and submitting articles to the online article databases is one method that is being increasingly used by small businesses. This strategy makes it simple to compete, as anyone who can write and fill in simple web forms can make it big online. There are literally 1000s of article databases online at the minute. Each one you submit to adds one more 'one way' backlink to your website, through your article resource box.

Any internet marketer worth his salt knows that backlinks from other websites - if they are authority sites, even better - will give any site a great boost up the search engine rankings. Eventually, if you get enough links back to your site, you are guaranteed a top ranking on google.

Another way to create backlinks to your site is through social bookmarking portals like Delicious and Magnolia. Creating bookmarks on these sites back to your own web pages will give you more valuable backlinks. As an added bonus, posting on the social bookmark sites will raise the potential of being seen as an expert in your field, or market.

The great thing about using these two methods of internet marketing is that you are building your instant web traffic numbers but more importantly your overall web presence and long term prospects for top search engine rankings.When your articles and web pages - on the social book mark sites - are out there on the web then you can be sure they are being picked up by other websites and web users. So it can mean a growing stream of website visitors and backlinks to your site.

Keep in mind that the quality of your site and your articles will determine just how much traffic you get. The important thing is though, to actually get started and to start building your business presence online.

You have just as much chance in this level playing field as the biggest names in business.