For Example; Search Engine Optimize your website, publish articles on article sites, use Pingomatic to notify when a new piece is published, social bookmark many articles on your site, use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, submit to Blog Carnivals, comment on related blogs, submit to directories, and post on popular related forums.
Search Engine Optimization
The truth is you'll only see trickles of traffic with these methods. The only one worth pursing in depth is SEO, but even if you do it right you probably won't be listed high enough to be seen. Organic traffic is overrated, there is no guarantee, and that is just the way it is.
Publishing Articles
Article writing is a difficult and time consuming effort. What if your articles are poorly written, not informative, or just basically crap (which mostly are if you hired an article writing firm)? Even if you get some quality articles out there, only a very small percentage of your readers will actually click to go to your website. It will require hundreds of articles for just so so traffic. You are better off adding that content value directly into your website.
Pinging Your Website
Pinging is absolutely worthless if there is nobody on the end of that line.
Social Bookmark and Networking
Marketing on social bookmarking sites is hard to do without being pegged as a spammer. You will have to spend more time befriending others and building trust and reputation than working on your website in the first place. This takes too much time for too little results.
Submitted to Blog Carnivals and Directories
No one goes to these sites anymore; it is a fad that has died.
Commenting on Blogs and Participating in Forums
This is the bottom of the barrel in marketing, but better than other techniques outlined above. Experienced webmasters have found that there are very few clicks on link signatures. Of the few that are curious, a very very small percentage will convert to a purchase or stay on your site for more than a few seconds. High bounce rates are notorious.
So what is the only way to build website traffic you ask? Advertising, but the right way. I'm afraid if you want to make money, you are going to have to spend it. Most will tell you to give Google AdWords or another pay per click firm a try. In reality, this form of advertising is way too competitive and has enormously high rates. You will be throwing money away in return for very few visitors and even a smaller number will convert to any sort of sale. Also, why would you want to put your ad directly underneath or on top of a competitor's ad? There is just too much noise and wasted money there.
Advertising on large sites, such as Facebook, is also not recommended. Due to their very large traffic base, the owners can command a very high price. The problem is, practically all who use that site do not click on the ads, it's just that kind of a site. You will not make your money back; in fact you will lose your shirt.
Another avenue of building traffic to your website could be advertising via traditional methods of the past. For example, placing a sign in your vehicle that can be seen through the back windshield; turning your car into a driving billboard; placing flyers on parked vehicles. These simple advertising approaches may net a few curious visitors, but they are grossly unrealistic in expecting the results to be worth the effort. It all comes down to "time is money". The freebie traffic building techniques described thus far are too much of a time investment and the advertisement methods above do not produce enough bang for your buck.
Well, what is the right way to advertise a website?
Learn how to be a cheap and creative advertiser. It's really the only way to get a lot of traffic on a consistent basis. Advertise on small to medium websites directly with the webmaster. Cut out the middle man and negotiate flat rates. Focus on small but traffic steady websites where through volume you can accumulate lots of real traffic. Create interesting and curious looking banner advertisements. Do not buy banners, just make your own. Most internet surfers have banner blinders on so you need to get creative in your design. Use a small picture and a catchy phrase that you yourself would click on. Then build your Ad campaign and test what converts.
Obviously, the better you get at this the more website traffic you will receive. If you've spent time creating a good blog or content site instead of investing insane amounts of time with frivolous freebie marketing efforts, eventually word of mouth will take over to the point where you will not have to advertise as much. When a webmaster claims they get thousands of visits daily, it is due to advertising, word of mouth, and repeat visitors built up over time. Anyone who says differently is either trying to sell you something or they have a slow dead site themselves. Honestly, this is the only way to build real traffic to your website.
R._Bouch
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