Rule #1: The Rules Are Always
Changing!
If you have ever wondered
how some web sites get tons of traffic -- well, it
typically all starts with the search engines. They are
free advertising and used by the masses. Get listed near
the top of the list, and you are almost guaranteed
traffic. You'll be pleased to know that it is not
magic. It does require substantial effort to achieve
high rankings, but diligence can pay off.
Meta Tags
Some people say META TAGS
are dead, but I keep using them. Go view the source code
of any web page that is well-ranked and near the top you
should see a variety of META TAG including KEYWORD and
DESCRIPTION. Of all the tags these are most important,
and they help make your page visible to the search
engines. Worded correctly, they can pull people into
your site like a magnet.
Site Submission
Once you
have properly populated the meta names throughout all of
your web pages, you must submit them to the popular
search engines. There are a number of tools you can
purchase to do this as well as services to
facilitate this for you, but few of them are worth the
investment. Many search engines will not accept automated,
automated submissions and prefer for you to manually submit them.
Popular sites receive
disproportionately high rankings, and those that aren't
registered with an engine don't get ranked at all. To
learn about these tools and services, check out SearchEngineAssistance.com.
Usenet
News Groups
Depending
upon your niche' there is most likely one or more news
groups available to you. Be sure to read and obey the
rules governing the submission of commercial messages into
your respective news group. Used properly, news groups can
help spread a positive word about your product or
services; however, if you abuse the news groups, they will
flame you and banish you forever. Spamming is not advised.
Opt-in Email
Services
Marketing
via email is perhaps the least expensive and most
effective means to bring traffic to your web site and to
reap stronger, steadier sales. There are many companies
who claim to provide opt-in (by request) email services.
Use care and good judgment in signing up with any service
and do your best to insure they are shooting straight from
the hip. Craft your message carefully, and select opt-in
groups from your target audience.
Keeping Your
Site Up-to-date
The
surest way to keep people coming back to your site and to
increase your traffic is to keep your site up-to-date and
to refresh the content weekly.
According to
a September 1999 study by Yahoo, which hosts over 5800
stores on its servers, there is a sharp correlation
between the average number of items sold online by a
merchant and the frequency with which the merchant updates
their web site.
|
Updates
During the Month
|
Average
Number of
Monthly Orders
|
|
0
- 10
|
25
|
|
11
- 20
|
74
|
|
21
- 50
|
179
|
|
51+
|
500
|
If you ever
thought you were wasting your time -- guess what? You're
doing the right thing and you should be generating more
sales than competitors who do not update their sites as
frequently.
Other Forms
of Promotion
There are a
million ways to get your message online. Depending upon
your products or services and how well you know your
prospects and customers, you can reach them in a number of
different ways. Each method has its pros and cons. Experts
disagree largely over which is the best. Many believe
banner ads have become a fad and that opt-in email is the
most effective form of sales communications.
-
Banner
Ads:
This is one of the earliest forms of online
advertising. You create a small, narrow, graphically
rich ad which can be placed at the top or bottom of
web page. Because banner size limits your space for
words and graphics, you need to really work hard at
being concise. Additionally, too many graphical
elements make the banner load too slow, and impact the
speed with which the web page loads. Experts say if a
page takes longer than 14 seconds to load, most people
stop and move on. Click-through rates may be high if
the banner ad is well-constructed and loads fast, but
actual sales will most likely be minimal unless the
linked page is very well written and leads the surfer
through the sales process in a non-aggressive fashion.
X
-
Reciprocal
Links:
Don't under-estimate the power of free reciprocal
links with peer sites. Use your favorite search engine
to look for keywords that describe your business. In
addition to identifying your online competitors,
you'll also find a wealth of information about your
peers -- folks who share interests, have add-on
products or services, who supply content to your
prospects and customers. Establishing reciprocal links
with peers can help draw people to your site. This is
an especially great tactic when peer sites receive
more traffic than your site. One way to convince peers
to swap links is to create an award graphic and
present the award to non-competitive vendor sites.
They get the good press and you get the traffic.
.X
-
Opt-in
Direct Email:
Spam is never appreciated, and most
people receive more garbage email than they do real
email. There are, however, a few companies who have
made great reputations for compiling mailing lists of
people willing to receive information via email based
upon a niche interest. These types of mailing lists
usually have at least as high a response rate as
typical direct mail via snail mail. By sending an e-zine
(electronic newsletter) to a purchased, well-targeted
mailing list you can do well. You can also establish
your own opt-in list by asking visitors to recommend
friends and peers who may be interested in your
product or service.
X
-
Web
Site Forms:
Using an information request form to gather prospect
email addresses and needs is a great way to break the
ice in a non-aggressive sales fashion. Our sites all
use this approach and we generate between 50 to 100
well qualified leads per month this way.
X
-
Search
Engines:
Search engines still remain the best way to get the
message out. They are free, many are targeted, and the
process is simple. The key is you must submit your
pages on a daily basis. For examples of strategy,
check out Mike
Campbell. You also should weigh the difference
between free engines and those where you can buy your
position. Some positions are available for pennies a
click-through and well worth the monthly investment.
X
-
FFA
Lists & Niche Directories:
FFA lists abound across the net. Most succeed in
filling your mailbox with garbage mail. You may,
however, from time to time come across a specialty
site which attracts your desired type of customer.
Register your site with these and you may be surprised
by the results.
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