One of the biggest complaints that we hear concerning banner advertising is that it is just too expensive to do effectively. Most of the major banner networks and search engines will not even talk to you for less than $1000.00 and most people who are starting out just don't have that kind of money to invest in advertising.

Well, if that is the case with you and your business, there are many other alternatives. Banner advertising can be very affordable and very effective so don't dismiss it so easily. In this article, we are going to discuss three very easy ways that you can accomplish this.

Trade Links

Cross Promotion is a very powerful method of Internet marketing and it will not cost you a dime. Look for sites that are compatible with yours but not competitive and send them an e-mail. Try to find sites that are getting the same amount of traffic as you are so it is a fair trade. Make your offer sound appealing and tell them about your web site, don't just ask if they want to trade.

Barter For Ad Space

Find some sites that you would like to advertise on and try offering them some of your products or services in exchange for ad space or a discount on ad space. This is starting to become a very popular technique and can really pay off if done properly.

Advertise on Smaller Sites

If you don't have a lot of money to invest in banner advertising then stay away from the big sites because chances are, you will not be able to afford it. Instead of advertising with one large company, find a bunch of smaller companies that except advertising. Their prices are usually much lower.

So how do you find sites to trade links with or advertise on? Try the search engines and search for sites that are similar to your own.