If you’re trying to increase targeted website traffic using banner exchanges, free advertising sites, etc. you won’t get the targeted traffic you’re looking for. As you know, in order to succeed on the internet you NEED targeted website traffic – customers who are looking for your product(s) and services and are highly motivated – not just random click-throughs.
There are some things that you can do to increase targeted website traffic to your site for very little money.
Create Valuable Content
Content is king on the Internet. When you create valuable content that people want and need, you will increase targeted website traffic with less marketing effort. If you sell products, make sure that the product images are clear and professional looking, that you have Alt tags on the images, that the images download fast, and that the product descriptions give as much detail as possible about the products (sizes, colors, formats, detailed descriptions, weight, etc.) As you’re writing the web copy for your website pages, keep the questions your customers may have about your products in mind – and answer those questions. Also, remember that for search engine optimization, the more targeted keywords you have on a web page the better your search engine optimization will be – but just don’t over do it with the keywords. Try and pick 2-3 keywords or keyword phrases to try and optimize each of your pages to those keywords by strategically placing the keywords in select locations throughout the page.
Another way to get more free exposure for your website is to write articles about your site’s topic – or the topic that you would like to promote. Writing articles will not only help you get targeted traffic, but it will also help solidify you as an expert in your area of specialty.
There are tons of website and newsletter owners who are looking for fresh content for their sites and blogs. Writing articles is one of the best ways to get free, targeted website traffic to your site. Write an interesting and informative article about a specific topic relating to your niche.
Pick 2-3 keywords or keyword phrases and optimize your article for those words. Use a tool like WordTracker to find the most targeted keywords and you’re going to want to include those keywords in the following places:
• The title of the article
• The first paragraph (within the first 200 characters is best)
• The last paragraph
• At least two-three times in the middle paragraphs
Strategically put your keywords in your article – use the keywords you’re trying to get listed for on the search engines – but don’t go overboard. (Remember, too many keywords is considered spamming in the eyes of search engines.)
You might think that writing an article is out of your league, but if you know your topic – and you definitely should if you’re an expert in your field – then writing should come to you. Just write like you talk and write about the key areas in your market. If you need a second set of eyes, have a friend or family member review the article before you submit it to the ezine sites.
Be sure to remember to mention your bio, your credentials, and a link back to your website in your “author resource box” at the end of the article. When other websites use your article on their site, you’ll get valuable backlinks to your site, but you will also get free targeted website traffic from the people who read your article and click through to your website.
Here are some additional tips for getting the most traffic and links from each article you write
Optimize your article for the search engines:
• Write your article with one or two specific keyword phrases in mind, and use the most important key phrase in the title of your article
• Throughout the article, when possible, put your keyword and keyword phrases, like increase targeted website traffic, in bullets and/or in bold text.
Come up with a compelling title for your article – compelling titles will grab people’s attention. Having a hard time coming up with a great title? Take a look at the titles on some of the ezine sites and you will get good ideas for a title for your article.
Once you have your article written, you should submit your article to the various ezine sites.
Some of the best article directories to submit your articles to are:
• EzineArticles
• Contentdesk
• GoArticles
• Searchwarp
• Article City
• Buzzle
• Amazines.com
• GoArticles.com
• PRWeb.com
• FindSticky
• IdeaMarketers
If you are selling products, you may want to also consider posting ads about your product. Again, make sure the ad copy is targeted to the keywords you’re interested in promoting. Here are some good ad sites:
• USFfreeAds.com
• Sell.com
Search Engine Optimization
You probably already know what Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) is, but for those who are new to the internet marketing scene, here is a brief explanation:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a way to improve the “ranking” of your website, which is listed in the results in the various search engines when someone searches for a particular word or keyword phrase. When your site ranks high in the search engine results, there is a greater chance of potential customers clicking to your website. If you write your web copy correctly and fill your web site pages with targeted keywords (but not too many), that will help you get organically listed on the various search engines. (“Organically” means not paid placement.)
The study of Search Engine Optimization is an in-depth topic in and of itself – way too much to cover here -- but there are recommended search engine optimization books out there that can give you a lot of insight – check out [http://www.websearchmarketer.com/recommendations.htm] to find some good ones. To make sure you’re getting the most current information, be sure to look at the copyright year of the book before you buy it. (Afterall, if it was published in 2002, chances are the material is totally outdated.)
There are also many websites with great information and tips on search engine optimization (SEO.) My favorite search engine optimization newsletter and web site for search engine optimization tips is http://www.highrankings.com. If you educate yourself on SEO, search engine optimization is something you can easily do yourself – and when you’re first starting out and don’t have a lot of money to spend, I recommend you do your own web search marketing campaigns.
As your web site gets more and more targeted website traffic and grows, you may want to look into having a professional firm manage your search engine marketing campaign. One word of caution…When you’re looking at website companies that do search engine marketing services, be watchful, because many websites purport to be “experts” at search engine optimization and “guarantee” that you’ll get top billing on the search engines. FACT: There is NO SEO company that can guarantee a #1 ranking for high-traffic keywords in Google or Yahoo. If you come across a company that advertises such a guarantee, stay clear of them. NO ONE can guarantee that you’ll get ranked high on the search engines – unless they’re doing something shady that will eventually get your site banned.
Here are some search engine optimization basics for you to get started with.
• Use a keyword research tool to find out which keywords you want to try and rank for. Put yourself in the position of your customer/visitor, think about the various keywords and phrases your customers are entering into the search fields to find your website. As a keyword search tool, I like WordTracker. With WordTracker you can see how many competing sites there are -- so you’re not trying to go for keywords with 1 millions competing sites. WordTracker is a little pricey, but if you’re going to be doing a lot of search engine optimization it’s worth it.
• Choose the top 2-3 keywords or phrases you’d like to rank for and put those keywords in the title tag of your home page as well as in your description and the meta keywords. Make sure that each of your pages has a DIFFERENT title, description and targeted keywords. You want to make sure that each and every page of your site is targeted and optimized for the keywords that pertain to your site – but mostly to the information or products on the individual pages of your site.
Here are some other tips:
• Highlight, bold, bullet your keyword or key word phrases when they appear on your web page.
• If you can include your keywords as Headings (Heading 1, 2, etc.) on the page, that’s even better (these are H1 and H2 HTML tags.)
• Write your copy with the keywords or keyword phrases in mind. You want to make sure to include your keywords on your page in multiple locations. The challenge is to not overdo it – that’s considered spamming and you can get into trouble with the search engines.
• Get links from quality sites in your industry.
• Try to get the sites that link to you to use your keyword in the anchor text of the link.
• Continue to add well-researched, valuable content to your site often, and on a regular basis to keep customers coming back for more.
Leave Comments on Blogs and Message Boards
Another effective way to get traffic to your web site is by leaving comments on blogs or forums/message boards related to the topic of your site. Most of the time – depending on the rules of the blog or message boards -- when you leave a comment, you’re allowed to type in your website URL and it will automatically create a link for you.
There You Have It…
So there you have it! Several effective ways to increase targeted website traffic to your site. These strategies are, of course, not the only methods you can use to promote your site. Other proven techniques include email marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click, joint ventures and more. You can find out more about those topic areas at reputable websites and through web site marketing books – some recommendations can be found here [http://www.websearchmarketer.com/recommendations.htm]. Good luck! I hope to you’ve learned some ways to increase targeted website traffic to your site.
Good luck in your quest to the top!
Sherry Bonelli is the owner of several websites and has been in search engine marketing for almost 10 years. Her newest website, [http://www.websearchmarketer.com/], features her new ebook “Piggy-Back Traffic System” which shows you how to increase targeted traffic to your site and get high rankings on Google FAST. [http://www.websearchmarketer.com/] also has information and ebooks on how to optimize your sites, how to make money from your sites, as well as other valuable information on how you can increase targeted website traffic to your site.
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