There are so many things for a marketer to do that the “Build it and they will come,” philosophy sort of takes over. To help you tackle this vital part of your online business, this section teaches …

How to Increase Traffic to your Website

Approach the following list as you would a smorgasbord…use what most appeals to you, and if you get good results, go back for seconds.

Google Adwords: When you open up the Google search engine on your browser and type in a keyword, the results page will generate three sections of results. Directly underneath the search box are the sponsored results, which are high-dollar marketing campaigns. Beneath those are the natural, or organic search results. And to the right side of the page is a list of more sponsored results run through AdWords.

Depending on the keyword or phrase entered, you might see a single pay-perclick ad to the right side of the page or you might see a list going down the page for dozens of pages. It all depends on how much competition there is for that keyword or phrase.

People utilize the AdWords option on Google because some find it hard to achieve a top 10 position on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Instead, they launch a PPC campaign and within five minutes, their ads are showing on page one of the SERPs, without having to wait for Googlebots to crawl and index their sites.

Google AdWords can be a powerful marketing tool if utilized the right way. A lot of Internet Marketers use Google Adwords as their primary source for traffic.

For a run-down of the way AdWords works, click here.

SEO: The goal of Search Engine Optimizing a site is to increase traffic, but smart SEO also increases the relevancy of the traffic. The more relevant your traffic, the better the odds that those who click on your site in the search engine returns will be looking for what you offer, meaning more conversions
in the way of sales, ads, or affiliates, sign ups for your newsletter, or whatever action you want you want your visitors to take.

A successful SEO plan includes these basic elements:

- Relevant, popular, and competitive keywords used wisely in the Web page’s title, content, meta tags, head tags (or headings and subheadings in large/bold font), anchor text, and image alt tags in a manner that is both search engine friendly and reader friendly.

- A user friendly and search engine spider friendly site.

- Backlinks from well-ranking Web pages.

- Patience, as it will take time for a new site to rank.

Click here for more information on SEO.

Social Networking: Using this method, you can connect to people on a personal level. Social networking – basically online communities sharing similar interests — can be a powerful marketing tool, but by the same token it can attract droves of traffic to your site.

If you’ve never been much of a social butterfly, give it a try anyway. If you post on forums, you’ve already taken a step into networking. Many of those who are shyby nature enjoy socializing through instant messaging and web-based platforms such as Twitter and Facebook where they can post updates, chat, blog, etc. and of course attract others to their sites.

Keep in mind that successful social networking calls for subtlety and transparency. Attraction, not promotion is the name of the game. Keep most of your posts positive as well. Contribute to the community, and without being overly promotional be sure they know how to find your site. Again, successful social networking is all about attracting likeminded people, not pushing. And it really can be a whole lot of fun!

Social networking websites are being used regularly by millions of people, and it looks like online social networking will become a lasting part of everyday life.

Create Viral Articles: This is another free-to-use, traffic-building tactic that can also double as a marketing tool.

In a nutshell, here’s how it works: you write and optimize interesting articles (how to articles are very popular) on your niche topics, placing your link and a blurb in the appropriate area of the article. Then you upload at a high-ranking article directory such as EzineArticles.

Newsletter and ezine publishers looking for content regularly trawl sites like this and subscribe to the RSS feeds of their favorite writers. Articles that get syndicated this way may be read by thousands, even hundreds of thousands.

Also well-optimized articles at EzineArticles have a very good chance of making Google’s first page. Look for the specifics on viral marketing coming later in this series.

Blogging: Another staple in many a site owner’s pantry of traffic-driving tactics. Matt Cutts of Google has said in interviews that along with social networking and video sharing, blogging is one “the best things one can do to promote their sites.”

Since Google’s Blogger was launched in 1999, blogs have reshaped the web, impacted politics, shaken up journalism, and enabled millions of people to have a voice and connect with others. While some people talk about writing “articles” for their blogs, a great blog post is much more personable than an article.

A blog provides you the opportunity to really connect with your readers who can then, if you choose, comment on your posts (you can approve the comments first). Readers who are interested in what you have to say are more apt to click to your site. And a blog is a terrific way to jumpstart traffic to your site because blogs tend to get indexed by Google much faster than websites. Plus blogs work so much better with cool tactics like pinging and RSS feeds.

• How to start a blog
• How to ping and use RSS feeds for crazy amounts of traffic.
• The two leading blogging platforms: Google Blogger and WordPress.

Share Videos: Another free traffic-driving (and marketing) tactic with huge potential, video sharing is very much akin to social networking in that your videos do best when they attract not promote. In fact video sharing sites are a form of social networking. People comment on the videos, interacting with the poster and each other.

Sites like YouTube give you a personal page, often that you can design, and where you can list other videos and share more about yourself and link to your site.

Many videos are viewed by thousands, where video posters often develop followings, meaning more traffic to their sites.

• How to create a video or slide show

Build a List: Having a list of email subscribers that you send automated emails and broadcasts is a basic for those selling products, but it’s also a big traffic booster because your emails, if written properly, will entice readers to keep coming back.

Really interesting, well written newsletters or tips or whatever you call your emails also have a good chance of being shared by your subscribers with their friends. And when you link from an email to a great new page of content, there’s always the possibility of attracting one of those important
quality backlinks.

The challenge is creating emails that your subscribers – who probably have Inboxes already jammed with promotional emails – will actually open and read.

Podcast: Audio and video podcasts are another terrific way to attract traffic to your site. Like a blog, a podcast is syndicated through Web feeds, except podcasts are syndicated to portable MP3 players, such as iPod, in addition to personal computers. When you add new content, it gets downloaded automatically. Podcasting is a terrific way to boost traffic as well as expert status, which in turn boosts traffic.

You can Podcast audio interviews with experts in your niche, audios of you reading from a script you write, videos you shoot with your digital camera. People like listening to audio – it provides a break from all the online reading and is more personable than text. And video of course is very popular.

• The how-to of podcasting.

Publish & Ping: How to put Squidoo, HubPages, Google Knols, and WikiSpaces to work for you to create wild amounts of traffic volume. The traffic may only last a few days, but if you have a great page set up on your site, you’re likely to snag a good amount of returning traffic as well as backlinks and new subscribers to your list.

Social Bookmark:  Sites such as Digg.com, StumbleUpon.com and Del.icio.us can bring you huge amounts of traffic. When you’ve published a really good Web page ask a few friends to tag it for you. If your site gets on the front page, hundreds more will see your site and potentially link to it.On most social bookmarking sites you have only 24 hours to get to the front page and stay there. So don’t post when most users (and especially your supporters) are sleeping. By the time they get up, you might have gone to the 20th page.

A word of caution: Avoid automated submitters. Besides being unethical, these often carry malware in them or are used for stealing passwords, which can of course ruin your reputation and get you banned.

News: Press Releases, when syndicated, can be a terrific traffic booster. A press release should not read like an advertisement for your site. Save your press release writing for newsworthy topics. To learn how to write compelling, newsworthy press releases, read the PRWeb Press Release Tips. You can even go the extra mile by tracking who picks up your articles or press eases. and then offering them exclusive news or content.

Two of the best online press release services are PRWeb and PRLeap. Neither is free, but you can find free ones by searching Google.

You can also send your press release in the body of an email to handpicked journalists and bloggers. Send personalized emails, and keep the subject line interesting and under 50 characters.

Post to Forums: Contribute to forums in your niche and include a link to your site in your signature. Check out Google Groups – lots of opportunities here for subtly promoting your site.

Sponsor a Contest: The prize doesn’t even have to be expensive if the contest and prize are fun. Then SEO the page well, promote the contest and get ready for company!

Comment on Blogs: Another form of social networking, commenting on blogs can bring you backlinks (unless the blog is “nofollow” which instructs search engines not to include the commenter’s link’s rank when indexing) and clicks to your site. Many blogs do use “nofollow” You can check in your browser’s View Source for the tag.

Not to be confused with the meta tag that instructs Google bots to not index a page, the nofollow attribute was created by Google for bloggers who want to discourage comment spamming, and it simply prevents PageRank from being shared. However, it does not prevent others from clicking through to your page.

Answer Questions: Helping people will definitely build a nice group of followers for you. Answer questions on Yahoo! Answers or Wiki Answers, and remember to leave your link in your signature. Answer questions on Google Groups and provide links to relevant resources.

Wikipedia: If you have an authoritative article on your site that is relevant to a Wikipedia topic, add your article’s link to the external links at the bottom of the Wikipedia page. The goal of Wikipedia is to list the most authoritative sources, so if there’s one obviously more authoritative than yours, don’t edit.

An example would be if you have a travel page describing the Australia Zoo, but the official Australia Zoo website is already listed. Instead, find a gap in a Wikipedia article’s sources and fill it with a truly helpful, non-promotional article of your own. Wikipedia editors are swift and ruthless, so be sure to read the guidelines.

Google Coupons: If you sell a product or service, you can use the free Google’s Coupon Tool to create your own coupon that Google then places in relevant local searches. The traffic could be well worth the discount given.

Email Signatures: Add your URL, in the form of a live link with anchor text if possible, to all of your outgoing email. Add a tag line below the link – a catchy phrase to help others know what the site is about.

Free Classifieds: Besides the obvious purpose of selling, free classifieds are also used to drive traffic to sites. If you’re offering a free digital product in exchange for an optin to your email list, try advertising your free product in relevant classifieds. Because most do use the nofollow, don’t look to free classifieds as a means to get backlinks. This is purely for clicks to your site.

Look for classified ads sites that have good PageRank, such as Craigslist because if you optimize your ad well, this increases the chances of the ad making it to Google’s first page where it may remain for weeks.

Local Promotion: If you have a local, brick and mortar business, ask your Chamber of Commerce for a link.

Offer Free Photo Downloads: If you can take quality photos or create nice clip art, create a free stock photos page, relevant to your niche, with easy to view thumbnails that open to medium to high-resolution images.

Learn about the types of stock photos that are in highest and by visiting the photographers’ sections (sign up is free) at www.Shutterstock.com and www.iStock.com If you optimize the images properly with alt tags and keyword captions, they will get indexed well in Google Images as well as in the search engines. Offer an opt-in to your newsletter for updates on new photos. This can attract a good deal of traffic.

Flickr and similar photo sharing sites are also good sources of traffic.
You may also want to submit to free photo directories, provided they give links back to your site.

Programmers and Designers, Take Note: If you write programming code or create widgets, plug-ins or other tools, offer some of these for free, optimize the free offerings pages for traffic, and also include a link to your site in the code for more traffic.

Or create and release open source site design templates for content management systems like WordPress. Don’t forget the “Designed by you.com” bit in the footer! Release a Firefox browser extension. Make sure you have a download and/or support page on your site that people can link to.

Link Bait: The term “link bait” may have a black hat feel to it, but link bait is smart, white hat SEO. This is not to be confused with “Bait and Switch.” Matt Cutts of Google has given his nod to Link Bait: “I feel that creating some amazing, highly linkable and high-quality content is one of the best ways to target the engines naturally and build links through the social networks, blogs and news outlets of the web…”

Here are some ideas to get you started (remember to stay relevant to your niche): a “Top 10” or “101” list, an extensive esource list for a specific topic(ex hovercraft boats), a “Myths & Facts” article, a really honest review of a product or place that is fair but opinionated, a list of gurus/experts, and so on.

Learn how to increase traffic to your website and you cannot fail to make money online!