It seems as though most website owners shell out big bucks to promote their websites using the same methods over and over again. In order to be effective you’ve got to think UNIQUE! So, here is my list of the top 10 most unusual but effective methods to increase your website traffic, and the estimated cost of each. USE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION- you have been warned!

1. Write your domain name all over your body and run around town in your underwear.

If you’ve ever heard of GoldenPalace.com, this is probably why.

COST: $0

2. Buy a police scanner.

Sit around listening to a police scanner all day. When you hear exciting news, drive yourself to the scene as fast as possible hoping that your local news station decides to broadcast a live feed. When they do, jump around in the background yelling the name of your website at the top of your lungs! Do this enough and you will start to gain a fan base! People will actually watch the news just to see if you did it again!

COST: $100

3. Buy some stickers

Stickers are cheap! Buy some small stickers with your website printed on them and stick them EVERYWHERE!

Above the urinals, on your car, on the speaker at the McDonald’s drive through… anywhere you can think of.

COST: $50

4. Set your website as the homepage on every computer you touch

Go to your favorite cyber cafe, electronics store or library and set the homepage on all of them as your website! Most people who use a computer don’t even know how to change it back if they wanted to.

Cost: $0

5. Write your domain name on the front page of every newspaper

Go to a popular newspaper stand first thing in the morning when it is full. Put your 50 cents in and take out all the papers. Using a nice thick Sharpie marker, write your domain name as large as it will fit on the front page of every paper. Alternatively, you can just stick a flyer inside every newspaper. Pay another 50 cents to open the newspaper stand back up and put all the papers back. Wait around to see the expression on everyone’s face when they grab a paper!

COST: $1

6. Write your domain name on every single dollar that you lay your hands on

By far, this is not the wisest thing to do- but it works. Every time you get paper money in your hands, write or stamp your domain name on it somewhere. Every person who comes in possession of that dollar will see your domain name. Ever hear of Where’s George? Their website is showing a Google PageRank of 6/10 right now, and TONS of people have heard of it.

Writing on money may not be something you want to get involved in, though. The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing has this to say:

Defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code. Under this provision, currency defacement is generally defined as follows: Whoever mutilates, cuts, disfigures, perforates, unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, Federal Reserve Bank, or Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such item(s) unfit to be reissued, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

Websites such as Where’s George are still in existence because they claim that they are not defacing money to the point that it is unfit to be reissued.

COST: $0

7. Hire a human billboard

I originally pointed this option out in my article 10 Great Ways to Advertise Your Business for Under $100. Hire someone to stand at a busy street corner all day for $50. They can hold a sign or wear a placard advertising your website.

Everyone who travels through the intersection will be sure to spot it. If someone runs you off the street corner, you have another option. If you, a relative or a friend lives on a busy street, you can just stand out in the yard instead!

COST: $50

8. Sell your website on Ebay

Sell your website on Ebay for some ungodly amount, such as $20,000,000! It’s sure to spark the attention of all who see it, so their curiosity will probably get the best of them. 99.999% chance nobody will buy it (because you really don’t want to sell it), but hey- if somebody pays you 20 million for your site, I’m sure you would accept!

COST: $4.80 (Ebay insertion fee)

9. Go to a sports event with a large poster or banner advertising your website

Imagine if you were at the Super Bowl with tickets right behind the end zone. Every time someone attempted a field goal from that end zone, you hold up a huge poster with your website printed on it! Your website would be seen by millions of people all over the world!

OK. So maybe we all can’t go to the Super Bowl, but there are plenty of other televised sporting events you can try.

COST: Varies

10. Use other popular sites

Surf the net looking for some interesting videos. When you find them, use a video editing program to insert a screen that says something like “This video brought to you by www.yoursite.com” in the beginning of the video. Then, upload the videos to YouTube. If they become popular, you will get a lot of traffic to your site.

Use social networking sites such as Digg. Register and post in as many forums as humanly possible and insert your URL in your username, your signature line, your location and your avatar. Comment in as many blogs as you can being sure to use your URL. Make a MySpace profile and try to get as many friends as possible. Then, send a bulletin out to all of them talking about your website.

Cost: $0

That’s It!

You see? With just a little bit of creativity and just a few dollars, you can come up with some ideas that will drive massive traffic to your website. Have you tried any of these ideas in the past? If so, let us know how they worked for you!

Thanks to some members at DigitalPoint for inspiring me to write this article and helping with some of these ideas! Namely, populartemplate, rj2kix, Barre Tire, Noddegamra, jordanthegreat and Triexa.