The Straight Goods on Traffic-Generating Programs
It's no wonder that there are so many programs meant to help the
online business owner drive traffic to their websites. With
billions of web pages on all topics imaginable, most of our
sites are just a tiny "blip" on the Internet radar.
Doing business online is to some extent a numbers game... but to
just seek traffic for the sake of it? In my experience, it's
usually a waste of time.
Let's use spam as an example - you know the type: they solicit
you for all sorts of things, from printer cartridges to porn,
from "free" vacations to weight loss supplements. Most people
simply get annoyed and delete the email. But out of all the
hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people who received the
email, there's bound to be a few people who buy.
The same concept applies to many of the "traffic-generating"
programs found far and wide on the 'net. These programs
typically claim to send a "flood" of visitors to your site --
and many of them do exactly that.
So what's the problem? It's simply that most traffic- generating
programs aren't targeted to your audience. They're meant to do
one thing: send you *traffic*. That could mean that your "makeup
tips" site is receiving hits from people looking for pet
supplies, automotive tips, or work-at-home jobs. These visitors
are generally uninterested in what you have to offer, and are
far less likely to make a purchase.
When you consider using a traffic-generating program, ask
yourself some pointed questions. For example:
= Can you select targeted traffic that will fit with your site?
= How is the traffic sent to you? This can make a big
difference; if a visitor is sent unwillingly to your site (for
example, through a pop-under window from another site), he or
she may be less inclined to do business with you.
There's no doubt that getting traffic to your site is hard work.
Traffic-generating programs aren't the only answer; there are
also the usual "tried-and-true" methods such as the search
engines, newsletter advertising, targeted link exchanges, joint
ventures, press releases, various offline methods, and many
more.
It's easy to fall for promises of lots of traffic, fast... but
remember that it's not how much traffic you get that's
important; it's how much of the RIGHT traffic you get. In other
words, you want *quality* over *quantity*.
Does this mean that all traffic-generation programs are useless?
No. As a business owner, you're always on the lookout for new
tools and services that can help you to produce better profits.
Experiment and track the results... then use the methods that
give you the results you want.