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ABC of Website Traffic
One of the best ways to improve your Web site marketing is to analyze the existing traffic to your Web site. Until you understand who is coming and why, it'll be difficult to improve.
As you probably already know, bringing in traffic is not easy - it takes hard work
Here is the ABC of how you can start preparing your website for getting some good traffic!
Keyword research
Before you do anything else, use a keyword research tool and do an extensive job
researching the right keyphrases to use for your site. See the Competitor
websites for what they are using and measure the potential of the keywords. Use
some tools like Wordtracker and Overture. They give a fair idea of what volume
of traffic a keyword can bring to you!
Domain name
If you want to brand your company name, then choose a domain name that reflects
it. Buy your domain name early, as soon as you have chosen your keyphrases and
your company name. Get it hosted right away and put up a quick one page site
saying a little about who you are, what you sell, and that there will be more to
come soon. Make sure it gets crawled by Google and Yahoo before you actually go
'live'.
Site design
Use the "Keep It Simple" principle. Keep things nice and simple. Make it easy for them to find what they are looking for and they'll have no reason to look anywhere else.
Usability
Make sure that your site follows good usability rules. Remember that people
spend more time on other sites, so don't violate design conventions.
On Page optimization
Use the keyphrase you have chosen in your title (most important), your headers
(when appropriate), and within the text. Make sure that your page/content is
about your keyphrase.
Site map
Build a site map with a link to each of your pages. Keep it up to date. This will allow the spiders to get to every page. Put a text link to the site map on the main pages.
No spamming!
People who use black hat optimization are usually there for the short-term, such as in porn, gambling, and Viagra markets. These black hat industry sites are usually around just long enough to make a quick buck.
Stay away from black hat optimizing techniques.
Competition analysis
Who is linking to your competition? Use Google's "link:" service to see the back links of your competition. For example, type in "link:http://www.yourdomain.com" into
Google search without the quotes). Try to get links from the same sites as your
direct competitors.
Submit to Online Directories
Submit to five groups of directories:
1. Dmoz.org and Yahoo
2. Find directories in your field and get into them. Pay if you must, but only if the price is reasonable.
3. Local directories that relate to your country or region.
4. Any other directories that would be appropriate.
5. If you are targeting the local market, make sure that you are in the Yellow Pages and Superpages (because search engines use these listings to power local searches)
Website Analytics
Make sure you use a good statistics program. Without the knowledge of who is coming to your site, from where, and how often, you will be missing out on some essential tools to improve your site.
Go Blogging
Start a blog about your industry and write a new entry at least once a week. Allow your visitors to comment or, better yet, write their own entries. This will create even more content on your site and will keep people coming back regularly to see what is new.
Linking
Simply submit your website to appropriate sites, asking that they link to your site as a reference because it will benefit their visitors. Don't spend too much time on this, if your content is good and original, they will find you and link to you naturally.
Pay-per-click (PPC)
Sign up for Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing. Spend money getting people to your site. Use it for branding too. This will create a steady flow of visitors to your site, and will make your site more accessible to your potential clients. You don't have to be #1, just make sure you are on the first page of search results for most of your keyphrases, when the cost is right.
Other PPC tools are Kanoodle, Miva, Looksmart, Ask etc....
Market research
Stay informed of what is coming up in your market. If a new product will be out next season, write about it now. Take advantage of being a first mover. The search engines, and linkers, will reward you.
Article publishing
Write an article once every couple of days and get it published in as many
online publications as you can (with a link back to your site). Include the
article on your site. Not only will this create many links to your site, but it
will also get people to click to your site, and most importantly you will become
an expert in the eyes of your visitors.
RSS feeds
RSS (Real Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is becoming a powerful tool for Internet marketers. You can quickly and easily add fresh content to your website. Article feeds are updated frequently, so you can give your visitors (and the search engines) what they want - fresh content! You can use RSS to promote any new content, such as new pages, articles, blogs, press releases, and more!
Press releases
A press release is a written communication that you submit to journalists in the media (newspapers, radio, television, magazines) which are used to make announcements that are newsworthy. Create press releases announcing publication of any new articles or new company information or products. If it is interesting/original enough, a journalist may pick it up and write an article about it. Before you know it, your website address may get published in the NY Times.
Keep your content fresh and targeted
Without fresh and good content,
your site will gradually drop in the search engine results.
To stay on top, your content has to be the most up-to-date,
freshest, and most interesting and original content in your
field.
Follow these simple steps and watch your traffic grow! |
