Marketing can get expensive. And if you’re running a small business, you might not have hundreds or thousands of dollars to throw at ads. But marketing doesn’t have to drain your wallet. In fact, some of the most powerful advertising strategies cost USD 0—but only if you know how to use them.
Running a business is a lot of work, so you may not have the time to search for these free marketing ideas. This article offers eight costless advertisement techniques to market your business in 2025.
Table of Contents
Costless advertisements: 8 techniques to promote your business for free
1. Create a Google My Business account
2. Social media marketing
3. Get listed on free business directories
4. Email marketing
5. Do SEO
6. Word-of-mouth (the best free advertising on the planet)
7. Join online communities & forums
8. Create engaging content
Rounding up
Costless advertisements: 8 techniques to promote your business for free
1. Create a Google My Business account
If you run a local business, Google My Business (GMB) is the easiest, most effective way to increase your visibility for free. It puts your business on Google Maps and helps you appear when people search for what you offer.
However, you’ll have to do some SEO to help your business profile rank higher on Google Maps or local results. First, you must verify you own the business with a Google Business account. Then, you can do the following:
- Claim your listing. Don’t let Google auto-generate it with outdated info.
- Add killer photos. People trust businesses with good images.
- Fill in everything, including hours, services, and website—leave no blank spaces.
- Ask your existing customers for reviews. The more 5-star reviews your profile has, the higher your ranking.
Why this works: People trust Google. If your business appears in searches with solid reviews and accurate information, you’ll automatically attract more customers without spending a cent.
2. Social media marketing
Posting random updates and hoping people see them is not a strategy. Social media works when you’re engaging, consistent, and strategic. So, set up business accounts on major social media platforms in a few minutes and give your marketing a bigger impact by:
- Share blog posts to drive traffic to your website.
- Run polls and ask for feedback to learn more about your audience.
- Engage directly with followers to showcase your brand’s personality and boost interaction.
- Break down longer content into short, easy-to-digest posts packed with useful information.
- Tag loyal customers, brand ambassadors, and friendly brands on social media for a more organic reach.
- Add hashtags to your social media strategy, especially on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.
Staying active and engaged on social media is necessary. If not, you won’t get the results you’re looking for. Remember to be consistent, build a community, collaborate with others, and stay committed to growing your presence.
3. Get listed on free business directories
The more places your business appears, the more chances people have to find you. The best part is that most listings are completely free. Here are some places you can consider listing your business today:
- Google My Business (repeating this option because it’s important).
- Yelp (especially for restaurants, salons, and service businesses).
- Facebook Business Page (many people search here, too).
- Bing Places (less competition means easier rankings).
- Industry-specific sites (Houzz for home services, TripAdvisor for travel, etc.).
Set these up once, and they’ll work for you forever with some optimization.
4. Email marketing
Your email list is like your own private customer base. No algorithms or ads—only direct access to people who signed up to hear from you. But that’s not all. A proper email marketing strategy can also help engage new customers, making it one of the most reliable ways to boost a business.
Here’s how to build an email list for USD 0:
- Add a sign-up form on your website & social media.
- Offer a freebie, such as discounts, guides, or exclusive content. This gives people a reason to subscribe.
- Run a giveaway. People love free stuff, so they’ll easily sign up with their emails to enter if it’s mandatory.
- Add a “Subscribe” option at checkout to capture customers before they leave.
Free tools like Mailchimp let you send newsletters and promotions without paying a dime. And here’s the best part: Email marketing has the highest return on investment of any marketing channel.
5. Do SEO
SEO sounds complicated, but it’s just making sure Google understands what your business does to show you to the right people. Usually, it’s not pay-to-play, meaning even small companies can compete for a space on page one.
Although SEO is free, results can take time. However, here are some tips to make it worth your while:
- Use natural keywords. (Example: “Best pizza in Chicago” instead of just “pizza”).
- Write blog posts to answer common customer questions.
- Rename your images. (Example: “handmade-leather-wallet.jpg” instead of “IMG_73828.jpg”).
- Get backlinks by asking bloggers to feature your products or services.
6. Word-of-mouth (the best free advertising on the planet)
People trust recommendations more than anything else. And if you give them a reason to talk about your business, they will. And information travels far and wide, making word-of-mouth one of the best ways to get your business out without spending a dime.
Here’s how to get people talking (without being pushy):
- Deliver an amazing experience. No one will be excited about an “okay” service.
- Surprise your customers with freebies, handwritten notes, and other small things that go a long way.
- Create a referral program to reward people for bringing in friends.
- Encourage reviews so people check what others have to say before they buy.
7. Join online communities & forums
People always ask for recommendations on Facebook groups, Reddit, Quora, and other forums. If you’re there to recommend your brand, you may attract many visitors to your small business. However, you must give them real value and answers, not just tell them, “Come to my store!” Here are the best places to be active:
- Reddit (answer questions in your industry).
- Quora (give expert advice, but don’t spam).
- Facebook Groups (help people, be useful, get noticed).
- LinkedIn Groups (great for B2B businesses).
If you genuinely help people, they’ll check out your business naturally.
8. Create engaging content
Content marketing is a powerful and budget-friendly way to grow your brand—if you do it right. It can help showcase your expertise, build audience trust, and provide real value. Plus, Google favors high-quality content that answers people’s questions, which means your website becomes more visible in search results (more free traffic).
Keep these tips in mind when creating content:
- Use simple, easy-to-understand language to make your content easier to read.
- Use terms readers can understand instead of fancy jargon.
- Create something worth sharing, and people will spread it for free.
Rounding up
If you’re serious about free marketing, you must put in the work. Since you’re paying for advertisements, getting your name out there will take a lot of organic growth. These strategies prove you don’t always need high budgets to win new customers. What you need is smart strategies and consistency. Although many more free marketing strategies exist, these eight are easy ways to start promoting your small business.
