How to Drive More Traffic to Your Website!
Feb 27, 2009
After you have your website or blog up and running, the next task is finding ways to promote and generate traffic. Similar to a brick and mortar business hidden in an alley, building a website doesn't give you instant access to traffic. You have to get involved to promote and get your website recognized.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is a major source for new traffic. Focus on writing descriptive titles and developing good content while encouraging your readers to link to your content. Multiple links to your content on "your subject matter" will add validity in google's algorithmic gyrations process. If other humans and earthlings have linked to your page about "your subject matter" your page must really be about "your subject matter." Use proper Meta and title tags. For bloggers, 9 times out of 10, proper titles are implemented in the content management systems however, meta tags may not be. If you are a custom website creator typing code from scrath, you better make sure those are in there!
Be active on your favorite social networking sites.
Here we have some of the most popular sites to participate on and you will see immediate results incorporating these into your site. Similar to a brick and mortar business, being part of a community will get your name out there as you develop relationships.
- Youtube - Make a video as often as you like, minimum of one per month.
- StumbleUpon and Digg Some - Minimum once a day.
- Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and Linkedin are the most popular.
Contribute to a forum related to your genre
Find a forum in your field to participate, contribute, and answer member questions. Make sure that forum is related to your expertise where the users are looking for answers to questions or enjoy discussing the topic.
Link Exchanges
Find sites related to yours and form a link partnership with them. I don't suggest using link farms. Just old fashion link exchanges with credible sites.
Setup A Newsletter
Setup a simple newsletter gathering name and email. In the late 90's this was a HUGE marketing tactic. Today however, newsletters will allow you to notify those who sign up when new and exciting content is posted. I have some newsletters set to monthly, and some set to weekly. Respect those who have signed up, don't blast out newsletters too frequent. I personally unsubscribe or delete those types of newsletters.
Paying for Advertising
Depending on your budget, Google adwords is a decent source for targeted paid advertising. MSN, Casale Media, CNET, there are a ton of other advertising companies available.
Offline Media
This may be too simple to mention, but make sure you have your domain on your business cards, flyers, menus, books, products, car or truck, etc...
Great One Liner Tips - For Bloggers Mainly
1. Use lists.
2. Be topical... write posts that need to be read right now.
3. Learn enough to become the expert in your field.
4. Break news.
5. Be timeless... write posts that will be readable in a year.
6. Be among the first with a great blog on your topic, then encourage others to blog on the same topic.
7. Share your expertise generously so people recognize it and depend on you.
8. Announce news.
9. Write short, pithy posts.
10. Encourage your readers to help you manipulate the technorati top blog list.
11. Don't write about your cat, your boyfriend or your kids.
12. Write long, definitive posts.
13. Write about your kids.
14. Be snarky. Write nearly libelous things about fellow bloggers, daring them to respond (with links back to you) on their blog.
15. Be sycophantic. Share linklove and expect some back.
16. Include polls, meters and other eye candy.
17. Tag your posts. Use del.ico.us.
18. Coin a term or two.
19. Do email interviews with the well-known.
20. Answer your email.
21. Use photos. Salacious ones are best.
22. Be anonymous.
23. Encourage your readers to digg your posts. (and to use furl and reddit). Do it with every post.
24. Post your photos on flickr.
25. Encourage your readers to subscribe by RSS.
26. Start at the beginning and take your readers through a months-long education.
27. Include comments so your blog becomes a virtual water cooler that feeds itself.
28. Assume that every day is the beginning, because you always have new readers.
29. Highlight your best posts on your Squidoo lens.
30. Point to useful but little-known resources.
31. Write about stuff that appeals to the majority of current blog readers--like gadgets and web 2.0.
32. Write about Google.
33. Have relevant ads that are even better than your content.
34. Don't include comments, people will cross post their responses.
35. Write posts that each include dozens of trackbacks to dozens of blog posts so that people will notice you.
36. Run no ads.
37. Keep tweaking your template to make it include every conceivable bell or whistle.
38. Write about blogging.
39. Digest the good ideas of other people, all day, every day.
40. Invent a whole new kind of art or interaction.
41. Post on weekdays, because there are more readers.
42. Write about a never-ending parade of different topics so you don't bore readers.
43. Post on weekends, because there are fewer new posts.
44. Don't interrupt your writing with a lot of links.
45. Dress your blog (fonts and design) as well as you would dress yourself for a meeting with a stranger.
46. Edit yourself. Ruthlessly.
47. Don't promote yourself and your business or your books or your projects at the expense of the reader's attention.
48. Be patient.
49. Give credit to those that inspired, it makes your writing more useful.
50. Ping technorati. Or have someone smarter than me tell you how to automatically.
51. Write about only one thing, in ever-deepening detail, so you become definitive.
52. Write in English.
53. Write about obscure stuff that appeals to an obsessed minority.
54. Don't be boring.
55. Write stuff that people want to read and share.
How to Drive More Traffic to Your Website! written by Brandon Tran
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