So, you've spent hundreds of thousands on a state-of-the-art website. Your client is happy, and your hard work has paid off. The site goes live and the telesales team is standing by for a flood of enquiries. Nothing happens. Why?
It is easy to forget that the key aim of any web marketer is to attract visitors. They must not only bring in the visitors, but also keep them there, and encourage them to return on a regular basis. It doesn't matter how good your site is, if nobody visits!
There are many myths surrounding the art of traffic generation, often created by unscrupulous web marketers who claim they can 'double your site traffic for just $99 per month' or 'submit your site to 1000 search engines and watch your traffic grow'. Such bogus claims should be ignored if you are serious about traffic.
In reality, building site traffic is far simpler than you may think, and inexpensive. In fact, you can build a sizeable community for your site at no great cost.
From initial web page design to traffic generation, there are several key stages which should be followed to attract visitors to your site. We have expanded on each of these topics in articles on http://www.trafficgeneration.com
Configuration of your web pages
Time spent configuring the code in each of your web pages prior to search engine submission will pay dividends in the long run. Not only should the META TAGS in each page be optimised for each key search engine, but care an attention should be paid to the ratio of 'keywords' to page content, and the use of 'ALT' and 'Header' tags for example. Search engines use complex algorithms to determine how high your pages should rank for the keywords you specify in the underlying code. Good code configuration will lead to good traffic.
Submission to search engines and indexes
There may well be over 1000 search engines and indexes on the internet. However, there are only a dozen engines with any real clout. Google and Yahoo dominate the web in terms of traffic, followed by a raft of medium sized search engines. Ignore the ads claiming to 'boost your site traffic'. Just concentrate on these key sites (most importantly, Google), and submit to the smaller sites if you have time.
Reciprocal links / Link Popularity
Not only will links to your site from others increase your ranking on some search engines, but also they will ensure a constant stream of targetted traffic to your site. You want the right visitors for your product or service, not random visitors. It is worth exchanging links with sites with a similar theme to your own. You won't lose traffic, if your exchanged links are bringing the same amount (or more) back to your own site. More importantly however, Google measures your site's "link popularity" (the number of sites which link to yours) to determine its page ranking, so effort in this area is essential. The more relevant these links are to the content of your own site offering, the better. Also ensure your site is well linked together, since internal links also count towards your site's Google Pagerank.
Maintaining your traffic
Traffic building is not a one off process. It is a permanent activity. Search engines may drop your pages when they re-index (which happens periodically), or may not index your pages at all during busy times. Search engine submission should be an ongoing activity, with each page resubmitted on a monthly basis, as a general guideline. If your pages do not rank highly first time, you will need to revisit the source code in under performing pages, and resubmit.
These initial steps deal with the physical process of initial traffic generation. Following these steps will bring you visitors, then it is up to you to keep them coming back for more. Good site content, structure and positioning are key to building a lasting web community.
About The Author
James Leckie is founder of http://www.trafficgeneration.com, the search engine portal, and http://www.trafficgeneration.com, the UK small business portal.
one time home cleaning Highland Park ..In the world of Internet Marketing, and Web site promotion,... Read More
As the saying goes in the business world "The Customer... Read More
If you are looking at ways to increase traffic to... Read More
For many years now, getting traffic from search engines when... Read More
Asking another webmaster for a reciprocal link is standard practice... Read More
Some of the best advertising available online would be getting... Read More
So we gather in all the relevant information we can... Read More
What are web site keywords and how do I go... Read More
So you have decided on a design makeover for the... Read More
Targeted traffic: the demographicAssuming your business is motorcycles, my first... Read More
So, you've spent hundreds of thousands on a state-of-the-art website.... Read More
The world wide web or www is a wonderful, inspiring,... Read More
Sub-domains are websites that are located within a directory of... Read More
There are many tactics you can use to increase traffic... Read More
We will start with one Internet Marketing myth - the... Read More
One of the most popular ways to generate free traffic... Read More
Once again I used my wacky test marketing strategy to... Read More
When I first started out in Internet marketing, reciprocal linking... Read More
If the headline is what gets them there, then it's... Read More
I just had to get into the fray! I'm new... Read More
I cannot stress the importance of targeted traffic for the... Read More
Search engines have become so intimidating lately - most people... Read More
1. Hunt for Catchy Domain Names and Get a Quality... Read More
I have been reading, with great interest, all the online... Read More
While most webmasters agree that reciprocal linking is a very... Read More
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..Online marketing is an area where you can find a... Read More
If you could get high quality traffic that would grow... Read More
Reciprocal linking is an effective, free way to get more... Read More
Google doesn't only exist at http://google.com/ - Google also has... Read More
What are web site keywords and how do I go... Read More
Proper Use Of Meta tags For A High Google RankingGoogle... Read More
Search Engines Optimization:Your website must be good optimized by various... Read More
How can you have effective results in major search engines?... Read More
I try to use as many free traffic programs as... Read More
Have you received invitations to join an online networking website?... Read More
Is website traffic convertible to cash? The answer is yes.... Read More
1. Make all or part of your site into a... Read More
One of the most popular ways to generate free traffic... Read More
Are you attempting to become a Google junior by adding... Read More
It official Yahoo has dropped Google and will be using... Read More
This old saying which addresses the variability of the weather... Read More
Every website needs a link exchange program. Every week, set... Read More
To increase web site traffic, you first need determination, a... Read More
So you have decided on a design makeover for the... Read More
Web site traffic promotion is crucial in today's Internet world.... Read More
So, you've added Adsense to your site and you are... Read More
>When many of my clients first come to me for... Read More
There is so incredibly MUCH you can do to successfully... Read More
Linking - what a mess if you don't know what's... Read More
What good is a website without traffic? A website without... Read More
Traffic Building |