21 Ways Content Drives Your Traffic Part 1
Have you taken full advantage of ALL the sources of traffic?
So you recognize the need for content in order to satisfy both
the customer AND the search engines. But how does content
actually bring your web site traffic?
Since it's been established that the main methods of driving
traffic are from search engines and hyperlinks from other sites,
most of these suggestions will contribute to one method or the
other and occasionally both. Some suggestions include offline
activities that can attract another audience altogether. By
diversifying your tactics you are creating a well-rounded game
plan to drive traffic to your site.
Search engines are the main source for internet users to find
the information they are looking for. Being listed high in the
search engines means more people will find you when looking for
the product, service or information you provide. Search engines
use different methods for determining your position in the
listings. Understanding how they work and what they're looking
for can help you get the best listings.
Hyperlinks are links that direct a visitor or search engine to
another website or page. When websites provide a link to your
site it tells the search engines that you are valuable and thus
affects your position in the listings. In the right place it can
direct human traffic to your site as well.
Here are a few suggestions and examples you can use to improve
your search engine position and create hyperlinks to your
website. Which methods will work for you depend on your website,
writing abilities and determination.
Keywords
Keywords have always been important to search engines. People
use search engines to find information on a topic by typing a
word or phrase and receiving a list of the most relevant sites
(as determined by the search engine).
Not using keywords properly is where many have gone wrong.
Filling a page with keywords will NOT get you a good rating with
the search engines. However, writing content that uses popular
search words WILL.
By researching the popular keywords for your topic or product,
you can create information that places these words into the
context of an article for your website.
By creating an article and optimizing each page for a separate
keyword you can easily get the search engines to include you in
the results when users search for that word or phrase. Depending
on the competition you may find yourself surprisingly close to
the top position after the search engine finds you.
Information
Information is the basis of the internet. By providing search
engines and visitors with plenty of information on your topic
you will provide plenty of opportunities for the search engines
to list you in the search results.
By creating information you will also become a resource for
other websites that may link to you, providing your site with
valuable hyperlinks. Information is a great way to show your
visitors that you have something worthwhile to impart and
they'll be more likely to recommend you to others.
Information can be news related to your topic, updates,
commentary or tips and hints. Everyone loves a 'how-to...'
format, so consider creating one for your site for the most
attention.
Web Pages
Websites NEED pages. The more, the better.
Having a website filled with keyword-filled, template style
pages will not impress the search engines or your visitors.
However, websites with pages of real content and relevant links
to other sites will become a feeding ground for the search
engines.
Slowly but steadily adding pages of real content will help your
site attract the search engine spiders on a regular basis. This
is the 'tortoise wins the race' philosophy to making friends
with the search engines!
Creating content for these pages is crucial. Your visitors may
land on a page of your site that is not the main page. Having
information on every page that focuses attention on your main
product or service will generate more interest and sales.
Newsletters
Have you heard that 'the money is in the list'? What list are
they talking about?
Your SUBSCRIBER list. Yes, with close to 80% of sales taking
place after the first contact it is imperative that every
website have a newsletter when possible. The percentage of sales
goes up with each contact - the highest percentage being made
after 5 to 7 contacts.
But to have a newsletter you must have content! So start putting
some ideas together and write those newsletters. Set up your
website to attract subscribers and wait for the follow up of
traffic as they open their email and come back to your site.
By giving your subscribers relevant and valuable content, you
can build trust and can offer suggestions to promote your
products, services and affiliate links. Your visitors will judge
you based on the value of the content you send. If you only
advertise without giving beneficial information for free, your
subscribers may soon start deleting your emails without reading
them.
Develop a series of brief but informative articles. Perhaps the
bulk of the information can be created on an optimized webpage
and an introduction be presented in the newsletter while
directing them to your site for further information.
Getting your subscribers back to your site should be the primary
objective.
Free Reports
Free reports are a great way to attract subscribers to your
newsletter. These reports can also be given away by other people
(on related websites) with a link to YOUR website inside. You
provide them something to give to their customers for free and
you get the traffic that follows!
By including a free report on a topic that is relevant and of
interest to your visitors as a subscription bonus you can entice
hesitant visitors to sign up for your newsletter. Make certain
the report has value for the subscriber or they may feel it was
simply a bribe to capture their email address.
Identify a problem or question that might attract your visitors.
Write a two or three page report that gives a partial solution.
Indicate your product or service as part of the solution, but do
not necessarily make it sound like an advertisement.
To create your report you can provide more details to your
service than is listed on your webpage (ie: 'Find out how YOU
can save money on home repairs with this special report...). You
might also try one that warns of a danger (Are you putting YOUR
family at risk? Find out with this special report...).
Send the report via an autoresponder or manually send it to your
subscribers as soon as possible so they remember to open their
email.
Submission to Article Directories
If you are writing content for your own website then you don't
want to overlook the benefits of sharing your efforts with
others.
By writing short articles on the topic related to your website,
you can offer these articles for other website owners or
newsletter publishers to use by submitting them to an article
directory.
These directories get spidered by the search engines on a
regular basis because of the high value of the content they
provide. If you have not yet been picked up by the search
engines this is the easiest way to get them to find you. You
also get exposure to those who look for articles in the
directories for use on their sites.
When they make use of your articles on their websites or in
their newsletters, you will get the credit as the author along
with a link to your website. Not only will you gain visitors,
but you will benefit from the hyperlinks that are created.
Submission to Relevant Websites
Another beneficial use for articles is to offer them directly to
sites you would like to share an audience with.
This is not only a great way to gain credibility for your topic,
but will provide useful hyperlinks all over the internet.
Sometimes you can even get links from sites that would not agree
to a formal link exchange request. If the site which uses your
article is a high traffic site you will also gain invaluable
exposure to the visitors reading your article.
Forums
Forums - groups of internet users that discuss common interests
online - are a fantastic way to share information.
Search for a forum that discusses something related to your
website. Be sure to spend time 'lurking'. That means reading the
posts and becoming familiar with the style of discussion and
written (and unwritten) rules. Most forums forbid spamming. What
is considered spam by one forum is perfectly acceptable by
another, but blatant advertising rarely is appreciated.
In most cases you can either post a link to your website in your
signature or share information that arouses questions about your
website from other posters. Some forums permit you to post your
articles (if the forum is business related). If you are unsure
about the policies, be careful. Offering free advice can
sometimes be enough to establish credibility and if you have a
blog or other non-marketing site you may be able to send traffic
to that first and encourage visitors to visit your website from
the blog.
Search Engine
Optimization
Articles for
Website Content