Lets be 100% honest here, without traffic to your website, you are dead in the water! Generally speaking, websites are created to offer a service or sell a product. If you can’t generate any traffic, then your website will simply be one of the millions of other websites that pail into insignificance.
It is therefore essential to put steps in place to generate regular traffic to your websites. These steps need to be implemented on a regular basis, monitored and kept up do date.
Step 1 - Articles
Articles are a great way to promote your website or product. There are hundreds of article directories you can submit your article to. All you need to do is write about your service or product. Then submit your articles to various directories at least once a week.
At the bottom of the article you can include your website URL link, which will allow people reading your article to go directly to your website.
If you are reading this article there is fair chance that you will click on my link below, especially if you have found this article interesting and informative. Therefore, I am generating traffic by using this and other articles.
Let’s assume you write an article and you submit the article to five directories. Even if only 20 people from each directory read your article that is potentially 100 possible customers to your website.
It’s very possible that thousands may read your article and in most cases this is totally free traffic.
Don’t listen to anyone who says that submitting articles is a waste of time, that is simply not true. I would suggest that you submit articles as often as you can, at least once a week. Use the following directories:
ezinearticles.com, goarticles.com, articlecity.com, isnare.com, articlebase.com & easyarticles.com.
These are free directories, although you can pay to have your articles upgraded to receive more exposure.
If you would like learn how to write articles, simply go to Google and type in “how to write articles”
Step 2 - Pay Per Click (PPC)
The best solution to this problem is to advertise. Let people know that you are here and ready to do business. One of the quickest and most effective ways to advertise your website on the net is to come up with a great PPC campaign management plan. PPC is an abbreviation for Pay Per Click.
Certain keywords or phrases that people type into a search engine lead to hundreds and hundreds of search results that pertain to that specific keyword. Businesses that want to advertise on the net using a PPC campaign have to come up with a plethora of keywords that is associated to the business that they are running; so when potential customers type in these keywords, it will lead them to their business site.
This is pretty much the whole concept that operates behind PPC. This is how a PPC campaign brings in traffic to your site, with the selection of the right keywords that people can search through the net.
Some keywords tend to be more expensive than others, especially popular ones. It is vital to select the right keywords, in order to get your money's worth. This is why it is important to manage you PPC campaign wisely.
Sometimes you are better off opting for the less popular keywords that are not so expensive, especially if you have a limited budget. Some businesses even hire the help of a consultant to manage their PPC campaigns.
Step 3 - Press Release
Submitting a press release to directories is also a great way to generate traffic. With a press release you are basically announcing to the general public that you have a specific event or product launch. So for example, if you have just created a new website, you would right a press release based around that new website.
There are a number of press release directories you can use. The two main ones are pr.com and prweb.com. To find others simply go to Google and type in “press release directories”
Step 4 - Video
This is an excellent way of generating traffic you’re your website. Video websites such as You Tube and Google Video make it so easy to create and upload videos. There are literally millions of people worldwide using video these days, so it’s a fantastic way to get exposure for you websites and products.
Step 5 - SEO
Search Engine Optimisation is another essential part of promoting your website. Basically, you can generate free traffic by optimising your website, to get good ranking on search engines like Google and Yahoo. There is lots of information on SEO, simply go to Google and type in “seo tips”. Here are a few of my personal tips:
Step 6 - Provide Good Rich Content
Create useful content on your website and include a paragraphs that are full of keywords, so that the search engine spiders can pick up the copy. Don’t be afraid to use the keywords on a regular basis, however don’t go over the top and make sure the copy make sense and is easily understood.
Forums
Forums are a great way to increase your web traffic. All you need to do is go to forums related to your niche or business and get involved in the discussions. On most forums you will need to register a username and password, but it doesn’t cost anything and you can create an account in minuets.
Find a post that interests you and reply to questions with informative answers. Be very helpful and provide useful information. The way to generate traffic back to your website is to include a direct link within your answers.
Be careful not to overuse this process or you may well be removed from the forum for spamming. Don’t include your link in every post or reply, included it in 2 out of ten posts.
Step 7 - Headers
Search engines crawls all your web pages including the page titles, so make sure you include good sound keywords in your page titles and descriptions. This is the initial
Use keyword search tools like word tracker and Google keyword tool to find the most popular keywords for your particular subject.
Step 8 - Links
Include both internal and external links to other websites. There are many ways to do this simply go to Google and type in “external link help”. It is as easy as setting a links page on your websites that has a number of links to other websites. You can then email a number of web owners and ask them if they would be interested in a link exchange.
Step 9 - Register Your Website
As soon as your website is built, you can submit it to search engines like Google and Yahoo. It’s a free service and only takes a few minutes. You can get a list of search engines directories by going to Google at typing in “search engine directories”
If you implement all these nine steps you will be well on your way to increasing your website traffic.