Anybody promoting or marketing products online knows that converting web site traffic is the key to survival and profits. However, for startup businesses, this is easier said than done. How do you target nameless, faceless customers and get them to visit your website—one of hundreds of thousands that overwhelm the internet? More importantly, how do you know what this invisible customer wants?

Web 2.0 advertising and marketing offer entrepreneurs an effective means of attracting more visitors to their site and interacting with potential customers. It allows startup businesses to advertise their existence and promote their products to prospective clients who do not yet know the business even exists.

There are several Web 2.0 promotion methods, which if used simultaneously, can bring surprising results.

People use the internet because they are looking for information. Giving them what they are looking for is the most effective way of attracting customers. Today on the internet, content is king and who better to write about your business than you. You can turn around and promote your articles on Web 2.0 enabled sites such as Digg, Reddit, ShoutWire, Plume, NewsVine, and StumbleUpon.

Blogging about your product or service is good for your business. You can either establish your own blog or join an existing one that is relevant to your business. All other members of the blog are there because they too are interested in the same subject. This gives you a perfect forum to inform a niche audience about latest developments and upcoming trends.

It also allows you to get valuable feedback from customers and is the best way of assessing market trends and testing new ideas.

Referral traffic, which is the kind of traffic that is generated from other websites and not search engines, is sustainable traffic and can benefit your business tremendously. Some of the most effective ways of generating referral traffic are by writing a series of interesting posts, writing product reviews while asking the site owner to link the testimonial to your website and increasing customer participation on your site by allowing them to vote for articles or email the articles to friends.

Publishing attention grabbing Press Releases will pique the curiosity of readers who are looking for savvy and new information. It’s a sure fire way to get guaranteed buyers as well as casual visitors to your site who, with some gentle persuasion can be converted into paying customers.

Give your visitors valuable free gifts in the form of interesting e-books, helpful hints and informative newsletters. Again, this is not a new concept. Using Web 2.0 promotion methods is what makes this process so valuable.

Combining Web 2.0 marketing channels to your existing marketing mix can prove to be a highly valuable exercise. The key is consistent effort and creativity in getting your message out using Web 2.0 means.