3 secrets to increasing traffic in the new year

Now that 2006 has arrived, it is the habit of many people to make a resolution for the New Year. While many people focus on self-improvement, some opt to make resolutions about their business. Usually this involves a resolution to increase their revenue for their online business.

But did you know that it is actually quite easy to increase your online revenue?

The trick is to drive more traffic to your Internet business(es). As you know by now, more traffic generally means more money.

No matter what type of site you have, your success hinges on getting as much traffic as possible. But like many online business owners, you have probably exhausted many sources for increasing traffic.

Recently I have found three incredible ways to drive more traffic to your site. The good news is that all these methods are not being done by many webmasters.

So if you want to increase traffic for 2006, be sure to use each of the following three traffic-building mechanisms:

1- Data Feeds

Do you like the idea of creating hundreds, even thousand of pages of legitimate content?

With a data feed, this is possible.

Many online businesses utilize data feeds as a way to help their affiliates. If you are not familiar with this concept, a data feed is file that contains a list of products, descriptions and prices for individual items that are sold by a company.

With a data feed, you can create a specific content page for each product. So if an affiliate program has thousands of products, then you can create thousands of pages of quality content. As you probably know, the more content usually leads to more traffic.

Data feeds are great for getting natural search engine traffic because they list specific products that people are looking

for. If you can find a data feed that is related to your specific website, then you can easily generate more natural traffic for your online business.

2- Viral eBooks

Another tool that can dramatically increase your website traffic is a viral ebook or report. Most of the time, a viral ebook is a PDF that people send to their contacts, which contains your marketing message. It is called viral because every person that receives the ebook is given a reason to pass along your material.

Before starting a viral marketing campaign, it is important to create a reason why people will want to pass along your marketing message. Some of the best reasons can include simple greed or a desire to provide entertaining information to their friends. If you can develop a hook that will take advantage of either of these, then it will be easy to create a successful viral marketing campaign.

What I usually do is create a special 5 to 10 page report on a specific topic. Then I find an affiliate program that is related to the topic. Then I create a mechanism where people can easily brand this ebook with their own affiliate link.

This type of viral ebook is valuable because you can place a mini advertisement or sponsorship on every copy. In addition,

you can let the reader know that he or she can make money by offering this viral ebook. As a result, there is a chance that every person that reads the book will click over to your site.

3-Blogs

By now, you have probably heard about the power of blogs. If you haven’t created one, then you should use the New Year to take advantage of this traffic pulling tool

With blogs, you are providing your audience with fresh new content about your topic. People love to read them, because most

blogs contain new information in an entertaining and easy-to-read format.

The best part about blogs is how much they are valued by search engines. The majority of search engines consider any information on a blog to be important current news, so they pay special attention to articles listed there. As a result, you can use blogs to drive a larger portion of traffic to your Internet business.

For 2006 you should make a resolution to get more traffic to your site. By implementing these three tools into your marketing mix, you will discover that your web traffic (and income) will dramatically increase.

Linking for fun and profit

Well actually, linking isn't fun at all. In fact, it's quite tedious. Seeking, responding to requests and adding links takes time and effort. But, if you're not actively building links the RIGHT way you are going to be left behind. In other words, your site will be "Lost in Cyberspace". The plain fact is Google, and to a lesser extent, other important search engines, reward sites with links from relevant and important pages.

If you want your site to deliver lots of targeted search engine traffic (and who doesn't?) there are two equally important factors:

1) lots of keyword-rich, search engine friendly content

2) lots of relevant, incoming links from the RIGHT sources

For real success you need to cover BOTH of these strategies. Don't concentrate on one and not the other.

So, how do you go about building your links? It's not rocket science, but as I said, it does take time and effort. From my own experiences, here's what you should do:

1) Download and install the Google Toolbar:

toolbar. google. com/

This will show you the PageRank of the page you are viewing. PageRank is a measure, rated from 1 to 10, of the "importance" that Google gives to that page. There has been a lot written about PageRank. You don't need to become obsessed with it but it IS an important consideration when determining WHO to link to. A link from a PR-5 page is worth FAR more than a PR-0 page.

2) Establish a resource or links directory for your site. This lets potential link partners see that you are willing to exchange links. You should make it clear on your links pages what your linking policy is i. e. under what conditions you will agree to exchange links.

3) Your aim should be to build a resource directory that is relevent to your business. Don't try to build a mini Yahoo with umpteen different categories. Keep your directory focussed on your site theme. When you first start out you will be inclined to link to anybody in exchange for a link FROM anybody. This is a mistake. Be patient and choose your link partners carefully.

4) Before requesting a link from another site, add that site to your directory. Contact the webmaster and tell them you added their link because you believe their site would be of interest to your visitors (and so it should). Give the url where your link is located and ask for a return link, along with instructions on how you would like your link worded. NEVER demand by saying things like "if you do not link to us we will remove your link".

5) If you have not received a reply after 2 - 3 weeks send a polite follow up. Again, don't demand. No one is under any obligation to link to you. If you do not receive a reply to your second request it means that the webmaster does not want to link to you, or they are simply too busy to respond. In that case, leave it and move on. I receive dozens of link requests a day. Sometimes it takes me many weeks to get around to responding. You'll go mad worrying about links that have not been reciprocated. Your time is better spent.

6) When you receive a link request visit the site and check that it meets with your requirements as set down on your link pages. Is it a quality site with good content or just a "link farm"? If it doesn't meet your requirements don't link to it.

The webmaster SHOULD have already linked to your site but be prepared to overlook that breech of linking protocol if it's from a good quality, high PR site.

7) Beware of webmasters who add your site to their "directory" which turns out to nothing but a link farm i. e. has no useful content, just a bunch of links, and asks you to link to an entirely different site, one that HAS good content. These webmasters are playing you for a sucker. The benefit is all theirs.

8) As I said in point #1, links from high PR pages are worth more than links from low or no PR pages. Seek out high PR linking partners but keep in mind it is the PR of the actual page your link is on that matters, NOT the PR of the home page. In other words if the home page PR is 5, but the page your link is on is several layers deep in the directory, it will probably have a PR of 0 and be of little benefit to you. Check the PR of the actual page your link is on, or is going to be on, before agreeing to exchange links.

Each page on your links directory should be no more than two clicks away from your home page, and your linking partner's site should be the same. If your link is placed on a page which looks something like this - directory/category/subcategory/subcategory with your link - you will derive NO value from that link.

9) Be prepared to negotiate your links. Savvy webmasters understand the value of links from high PR pages. If you add a link to a PR-0 page on your site don't expect your link partner to put your link on a PR-6 page, and your link partner shouldn't expect the same from you. Exchange value for like value.

When you first start out your site may not have any PR due to a lack of incoming links. This reduces your bargaining power. However, you can overcome this by getting your site listed in as many large business directories as possible. Some of these you will have to pay, such as Yahoo and Microsoft's Business Directory, but many others are free.

10) Be specific about how you want your link partner to link to you. It is MOST important that the link to you contain your targeted keywords in the anchor (linked) text. When I ask for a link to my site I don't want the link title to be:

Steve Pronger Web Business Solutions

Instead, I ask for:

Small Business Website Designer

or whichever keywords I am targeting at the time. Note: Try not to have all your inbound links targeting the same keywords. This can raise an "over-opimization" flag.

11) And finally, here is an excellent resource to help you find quality link partners. It's called Value Exchange, and will put you in contact with like-minded webmasters:

stevepronger. com/value_exchange. htm

Stealth web advertising tactics of illegal sites

Advertising a website is never easy. But imagine how much harder it would be if advertising your website were illegal.

Gambling websites face just that challenge in reaching US and Canadian audiences. In both countries, the government has put media outlets on notice that accepting advertising from gambling websites is illegal. (Note: in the US, at least, the industry disputes this, and charges have never been filed by the US or Canadian federal governments.)

The sites have come up with some pretty creative ways around the law. Are their tactics worthy of imitation? Or do they threaten to drag down the image of ecommerce faster than a wave of no-prescription online pharmacies dispensing questionable images of minors via browser-hijacking adware?

Have a look at some of these stealth web advertising tactics:

Domain Name Games

A while ago I saw a TV commercial for a poker-related website. The commercial carried the prominent warning "not a gambling website." Curious how such a site could make money, I typed in the domain name. What did I see? Gambling!

I later realized I had typed in the dot-com version of the domain name rather than the dot-net. The dot-net version, the one advertised, has only play gambling with no money. The dot-com version is the real moneymaker.

Web experts have long said that any serious business website needs a dot-com domain name. Many consumers won't remember any other extension such as dot-biz or dot-net, and will instead simply type in the much better known dot-com. You can call them stupid, but they'll spend their money on the other site.

It seems the marketers of that poker website were definitely not stupid. But is this ethical? Worse, could this open up a can of worms for other websites that have a dot-com and dot-net version, if policymakers try to close this loophole?

Publicity

One casino website has taken to buying items on eBay that have generated a lot of media coverage already. The items have included a grilled cheese sandwich with the supposed image of the Madonna on one side. The site has managed to ride the wave of publicity of items such items by buying them. They thereby get their company name (which contains their domain name) in any story about the bizarre auction item (well, except this story).

Sponsorships

Gambling websites have tried hard to get their domain names plastered over as much sports-related real estate as possible. It hasn't been easy. Professional sports world has long been wary of anything relating to gambling. Billboards in major stadiums and arenas are out of the question. So, some sites have started sponsoring rodeos and other smaller events. One site even bought advertising space on a female model's midriff.

Are any of these tactics working? There are some gambling websites that say it's all more hype than substance. They stick to buying ads on other websites.

The battered image of the internet, meanwhile, seems to have suffered relatively little from all this. After all, even the strongest gambling opponent has to admit there are more dangerous things online than poker.

You work hard for traffic get it to convert

Anyone can build an ecommerce site. Getting traffic is going to be the first hurdle, but doing so will only matter if you can convert it.

You Work Hard For Traffic – Get It To Convert

Getting your traffic to convert first requires that you understand a few parameters. To have a clue regarding how you are doing, you need to understand server statistics and conversion ratios.

I am continually amazed at the number of sites that do not look at their server statistics. Your server stats are incredibly important because they tell you how many people are coming to your site, where they are coming from, how they found you, how many are turning into customers and, if not, what pages they are leaving from. Without this information, you are just guessing at how well your convert traffic. Don’t!

Once you start looking at server stats, you need to determine your conversion ratio. The conversion ratio is the number of sales you get per visitor to the site. Importantly, it is not the number of sales per hit. A visitor may generate multiple hits, so just focus on visitor statistics. Some stats programs refer to visitors as “sessions.” Regardless, conversion ratios vary by product or service. Some may be as low as 1 in 25 visitors while others will be much higher. If you convert at anything over 1 in 500, the site probably needs some serious tweaks unless you are in an extremely competitive or general market.

Making your convert is all about providing a convenient solution for your prospects. You should review your site from this perspective. Is it easy to find and buy a product or do you have to click through four or five pages? Make it as simple as possible.

Advertising links can cause poor sales. Many people make the mistake of having their advertising link to their home page. If your advertising refers to a specific service or product on your site, the advertising should click through directly to that page. Never make your prospects hunt for what they are looking for on the site. Many of them will not do it.

As strange as it may sound, the load time of your site can kill your sales. Remember, 40 percent of Internet users are still on dial-up modems. While your site might load quickly when you look at it on your cable, T1 or DSL connection, how does it do on a 56k modem? Don’t guess. Go find one and try to load your site. If you have a lot of graphics, you are going to be in for a shock!

Even if your site loads quickly, most ecommerce sites have time glitches on the order page. This glitch occurs when the customer fills out the order information and clicks the processing button. Sites can grind to a halt as they convert to the secure credit card processing system. This is such a prevalent problem that a majority of ecommerce sites will lose up to 40 percent of their sales on the order page. Make sure your site loads quickly, particularly the order page.

Improving your conversion rates is all about understanding how your site performs. If you can focus on your subject and get the site to load quickly, you should see dramatic improvement.

Google is not the only phone company in town

If your sales depend only on Google traffic and Google adsense or adwords then you could be in for a big dissapointment. Constant search engine rankings can make or break you. I know. I've been there. Riding high on Google rankings then dropping like a 2 ton rock in the Altlantic ocean.

Do NOT put all your eggs in one basket. There are several other ways to drive traffic to your site and depending on just one, like Google, is just plain bad marketing efforts.

Yahoo, Yahoo's YPN, and other search engines along with pay-per-click programs can bring you extra traffic and maybe even more sales.

I currently have Google Adsense and Yahoo's YPN ads on my site and I can tell you right now that Yahoo's YPN is paying me THREE times the amount that Adsense is paying. Why? Not sure, because both ads are featured on the same based keywords. I divided pages up equally between Adsense ads and YPN ads and Yahoo is the "bigger Daddy".

"He who only puts one iron in the fire will not set the world alight"

Distribute your advertising in several different ways. Test, test, then test again. Optimize your pages for good content and keyword density and then let the search engines gobble that. DON'T optimize your pages for Google only. You might number 1 today and then number 378 as soon as they have their next algorythm change. Nothing they do is "personal", but it sure fells like it when they dig in your pocket after all the work you did to make THEM happy. What I don't understand is why Google is constantly changing except that it gives engineers something to do for those hefty paychecks. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Google is constantly "fixing" a well oiled machine.

The other day I was searching for business loans and the first few pages were all listings from the UK even though I was on the main search engine, and not the Google. uk. If I had wanted a loan, I had to search several pages deep to find on in the US.

Pay per click sites:

1. Yahoo! Search Marketing has a well organized system.

searchmarketing. yahoo. com/

2. Miva distributes your keyword text ads throughout a distribution partner network.

miva. com

3. GoClick no monthly fee, no startup fee, and low 1 cent CPC

goclick. com/

4. 7Search results appear in over 35% of the top 150 search engines

payperranking. com/

5. Kanoodle has partnerships with sites CNET, DogPile, NetZero and more

kanoodle. com/about/advertise. cool

6. Search123 sports some cool tools to help you control your pay-per-click budget.

search123.com

There are MANY other search engines and advertising opportunities for you out there. Just look around to find them. After awhile you will see that Google is not the only phone company in town even though they act like it!