If you missed that post see 2012 Advertising Rates which shares my 2011 traffic stats.

Would you like to get that same kind of free targeted traffic to your site?

I’m sure you would! So follow along – I’m going to outline exactly what I do, what I don’t do, and how you can duplicate my results for yourself.

If you looked at my stats, then you can tell my site obviously wasn’t affected by the Google Panda update. Click that link and read that article (again, if you already have) as it gives you a basic blueprint for post-panda site success.

How To Achieve Massive Traffic Growth

First, let’s talk about what I didn’t do last year to get well over half a million unique visitors (666,014) to this blog alone – not including any of my other properties.

I did not do any major article marketing, outsourcing or link building.

I also did zero PPC campaigns or paid advertising.

Those are all good marketing strategies to consider, especially when your site or blog is newer and you’re just starting out. I’m simply pointing out that I did not actively engage in any of those things during 2011 myself…

How I DID Get So Much FREE Targeted Traffic

It’s important to note that as of March 2012, I have been blogging for 6 full years on this domain. Prior to that it was on blogger, so I’ve been blogging consistently for almost 8 years now.

This affects traffic in two ways: 1) the search engines consider you an authority on your topic and/or your domain gets well established in the major search engines, and 2) you build up a readership, a mailing list and a loyal following over time.

Success is not going to happen overnight, no matter what those big red headlines promised you. Be ready to invest in your online business long-term.

Here are the specific things I did to increase my traffic dramatically:

• Blog Consistently
• Proper Web Page Optimization for every page/post
• Some Guest Blogging – when I had time
• Creating Solid Content That Gets Shared
• Engaging With My Readers
• Active on Social Media Channels
• Add Social Media Share Buttons so readers can share content

Is It Really That Simple? Yes.

I know you probably expected a detailed blueprint giving you a million things to add to your task list. It’s really not that complicated. The key to getting free targeted traffic to your site is really as simple as this:

Write great content. Address your market’s needs & wants (via keywords & responses). ENGAGE with them. Make it easy for your readers to share your content (for you!). And be consistent until your readership is solid and your site/blog is well established in the search engines.

That pretty much sums it up…

These are the same marketing strategies I am using on my two newer blogs (my video blog and my low carb blog) to get free targeted traffic, including the strategies I listed earlier that I didn’t actively do for ClickNewz last year.

I hope that proves inspiring and helpful.

Best,

Hi Lynn, I have a website that I started back in January of 2010. I believe I am targeting a difficult audience because my audience is teenagers.

I was trying to post everyday on my site, but I have dropped to once a week now. I plan on going back to everyday since I’m not seeing that many visitors.

I am using SEO right now and I post a little bit on teen forums in order to try and bring in traffic.
I have received 218 visits this month and 180 unique visits. I get a few cents in Adsense every month but nothing huge.

How Do I Get Traffic To My Website?

Will it be that difficult since I am targeting teenagers? I have a YouTube channel that I plan on uploading videos to. I have Facebook but I’m not on it much. I’m trying to find someone that can customize it for me. Plus besides having my personal Facebook profile, I’m not sure how my fan page works…

Any advice you could give me would be great. Traffic is key and I’ve been online with this site for a year now and I’m not where I want to be with it. Barely anyone knows I’m out there. Please help. Thank you, Scarlet of www.teen-babble.com

Hi Scarlet,

Thanks for writing, and for giving me permission to share your email. I’m sure you’re not alone with these questions!

I took a look at your website, and would like to start with a few suggestions for you.

While the marketing is important, you want to be sure your site is ready for the targeted traffic you send to it.

Header: The first thing that stood out to me is your header is too deep. If you make it smaller, it will move the content up on the page so that visitors can see it as soon as they land on your site. I would keep the width, but make it about half the size it is now.

Opt-in Box: You’ll want a more compelling incentive for your visitors to opt-in. Currently it simply says “Get Teen Babble Updates!” Why should your visitors subscribe? Answer that question, and work that answer into your opt-in copy.

Social Media Icons: Fix your Facebook Page URL. If you haven’t already claimed a Vanity URL on Facebook for that page, do that first and then use that link. Create a logo/brand image to use on that page instead of your personal photo. Your YouTube link goes to a “channel does not exist” page. I would also create a channel titled Teen Babble instead of using your name. The same with Twitter – use a logo/brand image and the name “Teen Babble”.

Brand: It’s important to focus more on the brand than on you personally. This will benefit you in the future if you want to sell the site, or bring on a team of writers. I would guess that your target market (teens) would prefer a more anonymous site to talk or comment about their biggest issues. Use strong branding, and manage the site by your first name only.

About Page: Instead of making this page “About Scarlet”, make it about the website (About Teen Babble) – and what they can expect there. Use a stock image of teenagers hanging out. Use the words “me, I, my” less and focus on what’s in it for them instead. Remove the comments section, and end that page with a call-to-action (the next best click): What action do you want them to take after reading the page?

Contact Page: You offer to personally reply to email messages. This won’t be feasible when you have steady traffic. Instead, allow them to send questions or topics, and address them with new blog posts – then reply with the link to that post. Otherwise you’ll be doing “free consultations” instead of growing your site.

Other Pages: Flesh these out with relevant content. They all say “coming soon”. Finish each page, and be sure to use a strong call-to-action on each page.

Product Reviews: Make a list of products/brands teens are interested in, that you would like to work with as an affiliate. What are teens buying online? Movies, music, clothes, school books, computers & gadgets, costumes games – those are just a few ideas (from my own teens’ purchases). Make a list and start working on those reviews.

Blog Posts: Left align images in individual blog posts. This will keep proper alignment of your site, and draw the eye from left to right – to engage them in the content. Consider how you want to monetize your posts. If you’re going to use Adsense, use it IN the post.

Encouraging Comments: Want them to comment? Ask them! End your post with a leading question. You might also consider a category about popular teen shows (what they’re watching on television). This will encourage some lively discussion.

How Do I Get Traffic To My Website?

Once you make a few minor changes (above), you’re ready to start driving more targeted traffic to your website. Continue optimizing your blog posts for specific keyword phrases. SEO is the best method for getting highly targeted traffic for free.

You’ll want to get inbound links, not just to your main page but also to your individual pages & blog posts. This will help your pages rise in the search engine results for their keyword phrases.

Other than Google, consider where your target market hangs out online. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Forums, etc. It’s important to BE where they are. YouTube and Facebook are likely your two biggest targets for teens, so you’ll want to get heavily involved there.

Keep your personal Facebook profile *personal*, and use your Fan Page specifically for “Teen Babble talk”. Find other Teen related Facebook Pages (that attract your target market) and join discussions on those Pages *AS* your page. You have the option of switching to your page (instead of commenting as your personal profile).

Post daily, upload those videos to YouTube, keep tweeting, and get active on Facebook. Seeing very little results is not a reason to back off, but a reason to dig in and do more. The more you do, the better your results will be.

Keep an eye on Adsense too. It’s hard to tell how well it will do with your market until you truly test it. You mentioned not earning very much, but your traffic stats are also low. Pay more attention to the CTR (click through rate) – particularly after you add Adsense to individual posts.

If it’s not performing well for you, look for affiliate programs that will. You might also consider taking sponsors or selling advertising space to monetize your website.

Thanks again for sharing your site and your questions. I hope this review & advice has proven helpful to you! Keep us posted on your progress…

Best,

p.s. I host a weekly Brainstorming Hour where I offer site reviews and usability tests. If you would like to get help with YOUR website or marketing plan, join us in my Private Brainstorming Group where you’ll get access to FIVE live calls a month plus the multimedia replay of all archives.

Register at the forum then upgrade to Elite Member to access the private group!

Getting Traffic!

There are so many ways to do it (according to the ‘experts’), but they all take time – and it is said that 80% of all site traffic will come from the search engines, but that’s like trying to maneuver through traffic on the freeway! Easier said than done, what with all the competition, especially on page one…

Richard is not alone. Website Traffic is a challenge for most people who are working online. So today we’ll look at a few simple ways to increase traffic to your site free.

It is true that it takes time to build up a consistent flow of targeted traffic to your website. But the key word is “build”. It’s a process, just like every other aspect of starting and managing an online business.

That said, it really isn’t that difficult. And it doesn’t take near as much time as you might imagine. And one more note: the competition is rarely as fierce as it seems…

Easiest Way to Increase Traffic To Your Site – Free

Before you try other methods of getting traffic, it’s important to make sure your website is properly optimized. This is called SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization. As I explained in A Surefire Way To Increase Blog Traffic, you’ll get search engine traffic whether you intentionally optimize your website or not.

“If you do not intentionally optimize your content (blog posts, articles, forum threads, etc) for a specific keyword phrase, and intentionally get backlinks to that content, you will still get traffic and readers.”

… so it only makes sense to optimize with purpose, and with a plan. Otherwise you’re cheating yourself out of more traffic, and most importantly – better traffic.

If you’re struggling with targeted search engine traffic, I highly recommend you download SEO Fast Start by Dan Thies (Free Download!) and study the guide. Dan is an SEO Expert, and the guide outlines the same model I use myself.

Also see my post on SEO Content which will teach you how to choose keywords & phrases to target for faster results and better conversions.

You want to target what’s called long tail keyword phrases. These are longer, more specific (and less competitive) keyword phrases. You don’t just want to choose any phrase though – you want to use keyword targeting to attract a very specific type of visitor. See my tutorial on Using Keyword Phrases That Make Sales.

Competition Is Never What It Seems!

Don’t let competition deter you. The truth is, most competitors are rarely as daunting as they seem. The fact that they achieved their rankings, and their business success, should prove to you that it can be done. Just keep in mind that it didn’t happen overnight for them either.

Start with long tail keyword phrases that are easier to rank for, as I mentioned above. Make sure every page of your site or blog is properly optimized for a well-chosen keyword phrase, and that each page has a very specific call-to-action.

Make sure these two things are done before you start testing other marketing strategies. That will allow your site to get established in the major search engines and begin rising in the results.

And without that call-to-action, traffic is useless. So make sure it’s in place!

Once you have your site or blog ready for rankings & traffic, the next step is to look at ways you can leverage your competitors. Analyze the search results for the more competitive keyword phrases in your niche. Look over the top 10-20 pages and consider ways you can leverage those.

Are they blogs? You can comment, create pingbacks, and even offer to guest blog for them. That’s just one simple way to take advantage of their high rankings, and funnel that search engine traffic straight into your own site!

101 Ways Ways to Increase Traffic To Your Site Free

There are endless ways to get website traffic, but ignoring SEO is like shooting your blog in the foot. Almost every other marketing strategy you might consider, ultimately improves your search engine rankings. So it only makes sense to make sure you ARE targeting keywords. Otherwise you’re missing out on tons of highly targeted free traffic!

Article Marketing for example, will bring in traffic. But if you optimize the title of your Article, it will get more views from specific keyword searches. And if you optimize the Anchor Text in the link within your article, the page on your site/blog you link to will rank higher for that term.

But if you don’t optimize your Article, or your web pages & blog posts, for specific keyword phrases… you’ll only get a trickle of maybe somewhat targeted traffic.

As you can see, most online marketing strategies lead back to SEO and keyword targeting. They’re all connected. That’s why keyword research and optimization is where you should start, as it’s the foundation to almost every other way you’ll use to increase traffic to your site.

See my Top 10 Keyword Research Tutorials

I encourage you to go back to your blog or website and analyze it closely. Is every single page optimized for a specific keyword phrase? Does every single page or post have a strong call-to-action? If not, start there. There’s no point do any other marketing work until you’re set up to rank & convert…

Best,

p.s. I know you were hoping for that list of 101 ways to increase traffic to your site free but that would only distract you and have you running off in multiple directions trying 3 different things at once. Make sure your blog or site is ready first. In my next post I’ll give you more specific ways to get targeted traffic.

Most people immediately think Facebook or Twitter when you say Social Media Marketing. But any form of media that is “social”, or conversation driven, can be considered Social Media.

I prefer to call it Conversation Marketing, in contrast to Content Marketing which we discussed in Part 1. With Content Marketing you are the one doing the talking, by creating content and leading your visitor into a decision. With Social Media you are joining their conversation, usually on their terms and in their space.

Easily Find Current Conversations About Products

People are discussing products all over the web. In addition to doing searches they are talking about them on blogs, in discussion groups, on forums, at Facebook & Twitter, on Social Q&A networks, and inside membership sites.

It would be overwhelming to try to find and keep up with all of the conversations starting and happening every day across all of these places. Instead you want to aggregate those conversations so that they come to you as they are happening. The best way to do this is with the free Google Alerts service.

With Google Alerts you can sort conversations by updates (tweets), blogs, news, discussions (forums), etc:

I recommend that you set up a Gmail account just for this purpose, so as not to clutter your business email account. Using a Gmail account allows you to access the alerts from any device. You can have the alerts emailed to your account, or set them up to go to a feed. I prefer to keep up with alerts using a feed reader on my mobile device so that I’m on top of new alerts as they happen.

Google Alerts Tip: Use “quotes” to get exact match results.

Spamming = Banning

How To Join A Product Conversation… Properly

If you do drive-by link-dropping your responses will get removed, you’ll get banned or unfollowed, and your time will basically be wasted. Your goal is to join the conversation with helpful information, not to annoy the entire group. You want to add value to the web as a marketer, not add to the growing pile of spam & junk.

To give you an example, I have a product review here at ClickNewz for the best Apple iPad case. I dropped and shattered my original iPad, so I went through several iPad cases before I found one (actually 2) that served my needs.

Other people are searching for iPad cases too, and asking for recommendations. A quick search on Twitter yesterday brought up these results (and more):

I replied to one of those tweets conversationally, and included a link to my personal experience (with a video demo) for reference:

Having personal experience with the product you reviewed and are promoting goes a long way towards joining these discussions. Other people who are aware of my product reviews also share them when they see people asking for input. Ironically, later the same day you see one of my friends recommending my review to one of his friends on Twitter (perhaps after seeing my tweet come through earlier):

Using the Search box in the right navigation column on Twitter, you can create and save searches you’ll use often. Each search also has it’s own RSS feed, allowing you to keep up with them in your feed reader instead if you prefer.

There were great forum results from Google Alerts on the same topic, so I would reply with my personal experience about shattering my first iPad – and what I discovered you should really look for in an iPad Case.

Often I won’t actually include a hyperlink in a forum reply – simply because it’s considered “spammy” or self-promotional. Instead I’ll leave a detailed reply and invite them to “Google” my review if they want to see my video or read more details. This works well on YouTube as well, since you can’t leave hyperlinks in the video comments:

(This reply was on one of my own videos so I was a little more to-the-point here than I would be in a discussion forum or on someone else’s channel/site.)

Where Product Conversations Are Happening

In addition to Facebook, Twitter, and Discussion Forums there are many more places around the web where people are asking about products and product experience. One of the most common in the last few years is blogs.

Blogs offer a lot of opportunities. You can:

• Leave a comment, linking back to your review in the URL field. This will often offer very little click-through rate, but does count as an inbound link.
• Create a Trackback to their post, if they publish Trackback links. These count as inbound links and also see a higher click-through rate than blog comments. One idea is to do a round-up post as a follow-up to you review that includes links to other blogs discussing the product – with the call to action being to read your review or comparison.
• See other bloggers who are affiliates for the same product? Offer to let them interview you about your results with the product. Allow them to use their affiliate link to the product in the interview post, with your only requirement being a hyperlink back to your review.
• Write guest blog posts for other affiliates, including their affiliate link to the product, with a call to action in your bio or byline at the end that leads them into your review.

Social Q&A Sites

Another great resource for Product Conversations are the many Social Q&A sites. One of the more popular is Yahoo! Answers. A quick search shows quite a few questions on my review topic:

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Your buyers are out there asking questions. Your job is to find those buyers and join their discussions. By being helpful, and conversational, you can get your products or your reviews in front of the very people who are looking for them.

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Free Facebook Marketing Blueprint: Discover At Least 8 Things You Can Start Doing On Facebook Right Now, That Will Dramatically Impact Your Online Business! Go to: http://www.clicknewz.com/free/facebook-marketing-guide.htm

Best,

Potential buyers are particularly interested in hearing about personal experience (and results) with a product, or learning things the sales copy may not have covered.

People are searching online every day to read consumer reviews before they make a purchase. A well-written product review, that answers their questions, is a great way to make sales as an affiliate. The question is: how do you get your product review in front of those potential buyers?

They Ask – You Answer

Most people head straight to their favorite search engine when they are looking for more information about a product. Sometimes they are trying to figure out what products are available and which product will best suit their needs. These are general product type searches, such as “bluetooth headset”:

In other cases, they are looking for reviews & information on a specific product (brand/model) that already has their interest. In this example, it’s the “plantronics discovery headset”:

When someone does a search, they are asking a question – or starting a conversation. Your job is to figure out what they are looking for specifically, and respond to that query with your review.

Are they looking for a solution, product comparisons, details on a specific product? This will be obvious by the search phrase they used, and you want to respond to each search query with the right kind of content.

Choosing Keyword Phrases For Your Product Reviews

For the sake of example, let’s say that you’re writing a product review of the Plantronics Discovery 975 headset to promote it as an affiliate. Once you’ve written the review, you’ll want to optimize the page for a specific keyword phrase.

I prefer to choose longtail keyword phrases for my product reviews, that contain shorter more specific phrases. Looking at the results above (image 2), I would optimize my review page for the phrase “plantronics discovery 975 bluetooth headset review”. This is a 6-word phrase that only gets ~17 searches a day, but it also includes the exact phrases: “plantronics discovery 975″ and “plantronics discovery 975 bluetooth headset”. So you now have 3 potential keyword phrases that your one review page can rank well for.

To get a page (or blog post) ranking well for more than one keyword phrase, you simply use variation in the anchor text each time you link to that page/post. So you would link to it using each of those 3 keyword phrases as anchor text in various places, instead of always using the same keyword phrase as the anchor text.

The more specific phrases (longtail phrases) convert better because the searcher already knows exactly what they want. And multiple top rankings give you more reach – allowing you to reach more potential buyers.

How to Use Content to Promote Product Reviews

Once you have your product review written, optimized and published you will need inbound links pointing to it. These links will get your review page or post indexed in the major search engines, and help it rank well for your keyword phrase(s).

The more inbound links you have pointing to your page, with the keyword phrase as the anchor text in that hyperlink, the better your page will rank for that phrase.

Getting high quality, relevant inbound links to product review or commercial pages can prove to be a difficult task. It’s much easier to get links to funny videos or how-to pages, as people tend to share those naturally. For your product reviews, you’ll want to do some strategic content marketing.

Start by going back to your list of keyword phrases. Choose phrases that are relevant to your product review, and create content for each of those topics.

Using our example, you might create content for the following phrases:

best bluetooth plantronics
best bluetooth headset
best bluetooth headphones
best plantronics wireless headset
bluetooth headset reviews
how to pick a headset
top rated bluetooth headsets
bluetooth headset comparisons
bluetooth wireless headsets
plantronics wireless headsets

Basically you want to create a list of all your extra keyword phrases. In most cases you’ll find a lot of informational keyword phrases, where people are searching for how-to information on the topic instead of specific product information.

A good example in the list above would be the phrase “how to pick a headset”. You could write an article that helps the reader walk through the choices based on their needs – are they gaming, listening to music, need bluetooth or wireless, doing interviews, etc. Walk them through the process of choosing a headset for their specific needs. Somewhere in the context of the article you’ll have an opportunity to link to your product review using one of your chosen keyword phrases.

Where do you publish all of this content?

If you have a lot of keyword phrases to work with, and it’s relevant to your site/blog, you can choose a few pieces to publish on the same domain as your review. Internal links (links coming from pages on the same domain name) do count as inbound links.

The goal is to create related content that links back to your review.

You can also pitch the content as a guest post on a related blog. I often let that blogger include their own affiliate link(s) to actual products mentioned, and only request a link back to my product review in exchange for the content. This is a win/win and a great way to get a high quality inbound link from the content area of a related blog. (score!)

Other places you can publish this content include: article directories, squidoo, hubpages, and blogger or wordpress.com. Article Marketing is the same as blogging – or guest blogging even – in that you find keyword phrases your market is using and you write content for them. Where you publish it is what makes the difference between a guest blog post, a blog post or an article. Don’t get confused over the lingo or the method or the platform. In the end it’s all just keywords, content & rankings.

Writing Content For People, Not Just For Links

I’m not one to “spin content” for the sake of blasting it all over the web just to get links. That’s just junking up the web, if you ask me.

When you write content that targets a keyword phrase, you are “entering a conversation”. The searcher asks a question, your content is the response to that question. Address their thoughts and needs, and then lead into the next best click – meaning you interest them in reading your product review next.

Content will serve you best if you write it this way, with the human reader in mind. Then, not only will it serve as a quality inbound link to your product review, but it will also funnel highly targeted traffic (ie readers) to your review page as well.

Obviously you’ll do best by having each piece of related content rank well in the major search engines for it’s own search term, in addition to your product review page. That just gives you more market reach through multiple search queries.

**Free Report** How to Create Compelling Content That Ranks Well in Search Engines. Download at: http://www.seocopywritingreport.com

Best,

p.s. Next we’ll look at ways to promote products and product reviews via Social Media and various conversations around the web. Subscribe below to make sure you don’t miss the next ClickNewz update!

“Hi Lynn, I have a quick question. In order to have a successful blog, do you have to target keywords? I’m blogging mainly to give information, but it would be nice to profit from it as well.

Do I need to target certain keywords in my posts in order to acquire traffic, or is posting frequently good enough? Do you target certain keywords in your blog posts to gain traffic? Say if I submit a post to my blog about extra curricular activities… do I have to target certain keywords about that specific post in order for traffic to start rolling in?

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.” – Scarlet

Hi Scarlet,

This is a great question. Most of the people reading along will expect a solid “yes” in my response. And while I will say that yes, you need to target specific keyword phrases when writing content, I want to give you a more detailed answer than that.

If you do not intentionally optimize your content (blog posts, articles, forum threads, etc) for a specific keyword phrase, and intentionally get backlinks to that content, you will still get traffic and readers.

This is true for two reasons:

First is “accidental SEO”. Whether you intentionally choose and optimize with a “keyword phrase”, your content may still come up in the major search engines for an obscure search term. This is how I first learned about SEO (search engine optimization) and the importance of keyword targeting.

I checked my stats one day (this was 8-10 years ago) and noticed certain archived pages of my site were getting substantial search engine traffic. There were certain phrases or a combination of words in the content, and the search engines deemed those pages relevant to those searches.

It was then that I started targeting my pages to specific searches, by optimizing the pages for specific keyword phrases. This gave me more control over the type of visitor I attracted, better rankings for better search terms, and a stronger “message to market match” between my targeting and my call-to-action.

If you would like to attract a specific type of reader, the type that is highly interested in your content, then you’ll want to target specific keyword phrases for the content you publish on the web. This will give you much more traffic, and more targeted traffic, and also result in higher profit potential.

The second reason is because there are other traffic sources, outside of the major search engines. You might attract readers through interviews, networking, personal recommendations from others, social media, offline exposure, etc.

You would be wise to accept the first, have a strategy for the second, and also intentionally optimize your content to attract highly targeted visitors to your pages. Ignoring the major (keyword-driven) search engines would be like an offline business (a plumber, for example) ignoring the Yellow Pages.

Best,

Also see: How to Increase Blog Traffic Fast

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If traffic to your website has been slow or if you’ve been getting traffic, but seeing few results, then you may be in the market for a site redesign.

Your conversion rates will tell you whether your site design is effective or not. So if you see conversions diminishing, it’s time to check for some common pitfalls that could be draining traffic away from your site and costing you sales…

Unclear Purpose

As soon as a visitor lands on your site, he should know exactly what your primary goal or service is. If your website is overly complex, the reader will need to search for the purpose and will often click away from the page before taking the time to find it.

Remember, you have less than one second to capture the viewer’s attention and persuade him that your site can meet his need, so make the most of that initial contact. Also, make sure that the most important information can be seen without scrolling down the page.

Information Overload

Too much text can be a turnoff for the average web user. Tiny text and lots of links can look overwhelming to a reader who is looking for a specific piece of information.

Break text up with clear headings, bolding, and visual space. Most web readers scan quickly through pages rather than reading every word, so choose font sizes and organization that makes your message easily discernible at a glance.

Failure to Provide a Call to Action

Your site may have excellent design and offer great information, but if you don’t ask the viewer to take an action, then he’ll probably forget about your company as soon as he leaves your web page.

Your call to action link should be large and easily seen as soon as a viewer lands on your home page. Whether you want the reader to make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, provide an email address, fill out a form, or schedule an appointment, he should be able to do so immediately without having to scroll down the page or scan through a row of links.

Frustration Buttons

Frustration buttons are the ones that serve no useful purpose and that, when clicked, can cause a user to leave your site in annoyance. An “Empty Your Cart” button that can easily be clicked accidentally, erasing a customer’s entire order, a “Clear Form” button that deletes all the information a user has entered, or a link that takes a reader somewhere other than where it says it will all qualify as frustration buttons.

You can find buttons on your site that may cause frustration in your viewers by taking the time to navigate though your site and click every link as though you had never seen it before.

Taking the time to correct website conversion pitfalls on your website can significantly increase your conversions and maximize your online effectiveness.

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Justin is the founder and CEO of Small Business SEO – a local web marketing firm specializing in organic search engine optimization (SEO) with a focus on converting visitors into clients. For more, see Justin’s Web Marketing Blog.

More often than not these people have an ecommerce type website, or a company replicated website they were given by an online business they signed up with.

Some are advised to buy expensive online advertising spots such as banner ads or pop-up ads, place free online classified ads, or pay big bucks to a search engine marketing company. None of these options are going to get you anywhere fast…

(That’s actually very 90′s advice!)

Earlier this week I received a similar question in my Inbox:

Hi Lynn,

I just joined an online business and wanted your advice on what would be my best choices for advertising it. It is an online store that has all brand name groceries and products that saves us all money, time and gas, 30% to over 50% on all of these products over Wal-mart prices. The website is http://www.myharvestamerica.com/arizona

Thanks,
Jim Rusk

My response to Jim:
“The best thing to do is create a blog or website that appeals to your target market, and then use your store link as the call-to-action within the content. That will allow you to get search engine rankings and traffic free, instead of paying for ads.”

When you have a company replicated website like this it is usually through a “business opportunity”, or a network marketing (MLM) company. Each website is identical, and is actually very similar to an affiliate link.

These types of links do not get indexed in the major search engines.

Example:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=+site%3Amyharvestamerica.com+arizona

How Can I Promote My Website For Free?

The absolute best way to promote your website for free online is to get good rankings in the major search engines. Since that is not possible with this type of website (or link), you’ll need to consider other options.

As I mentioned in my reply to Jim, you can set up your own blog or website and bypass that issue. Your first objective is to consider your target market (your ideal visitor) and brainstorm what kind of content would appeal to that market.

On that blog or website you create, you’ll write what is called SEO Content. This will make it easy for your buyers to find you online through the major search engines (like Google), and then you’ll have the opportunity to tell them about your website and whatever deals you offer there.

Jim’s website sells retail products at discounted prices, including brand name groceries, with free shipping directly to your front door. So Jim’s first step would be keyword research, to determine how is target market is searching for this type of service online.

I use http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com

A quick search shows that nobody is really searching for individual products, like say – windex. The closest you can get is “windex coupons” which gets around 31 searches a day – but Jim doesn’t offer product coupons.

Instead, he should start with the base keyword “shopping” and target keywords like: online shopping, walmart online shopping, online grocery shopping, online discount shopping, online outlet shopping, buy groceries online, etc.

The goal is to create an extensive keyword list of all the things people are searching for you in your market, and then write content that specifically appeals to them. Optimize your pages or blog posts to rank well in the major search engines, and end your piece by showing them your website as the solution.

This is the absolute best way to promote a website or link for free online. Some people think that “SEO” (search engine optimization or search engine marketing) is difficult – but it’s not. It’s a simple matter of researching keywords, writing content that is optimized for those keywords, and getting links to that content. That’s it.

It’s a lot more effective than any type of free online advertising, such as classified ads, or even expensive banner ads or other online advertising options. And it’s free.

The short answer: Jim should create a blog all about online shopping. The benefits, the resources, reviews and comparisons, etc. This will allow him to reach his target market, engage in discussions with them through the comments, and become an authority in the niche.

The same would be true for a Tupperware or Avon rep, or any other merchant representative with a company website. The Avon rep might focus on anti-aging articles and solutions, the Tupperware rep on simple cooking tips or potluck parties.

The goal is to figure out what your target market is most interested in, and deliver exactly that – along with the solutions or resources they’ll need.

Best,

p.s. If you’re worried about the cost of creating your own blog or website, don’t be! You can set one up for less than $10. You’ll need a domain name and a hosting account. I use HostGator for web hosting, and if you use the coupon code “wordpress” you’ll get the first month for only a penny.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them below

Hi Laurie,

Great question! I have heard similar thoughts about Twitter from others, so you’re not alone. In fact, I was hesitant to join Twitter myself. But once I did, I quickly saw the tremendous value in it. I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned so far. You’ll want to start with these two posts:

5 Ways To Build Your Twitter Following
Quick tutorial to help you build a loyal following on Twitter. Not just visitor count mind you, but real people with specific interests who are genuinely interested in what you have to say on your topic.

Tweeting Outside The IM Niche
This post contains a blueprint for using Twitter to gain exposure with your target market, network and build valuable business relationships – regardless of your niche.

Before you get started, know your objective. I would assume that you want to connect with other christian business owners, and christian women who are interested in working from home since that is the topic of your website.

Set up your Twitter account using your name, and include your website address and bio in the Settings tab. The bio is your brief opportunity to interest people in who you are and what you have to offer, so put some consideration into the wording.

Start by searching for people you already know online, such as people you have connected with on other sites or publishers in your niche. Follow the people you find. Next do a keyword search and look for other interesting people to follow. (You might try: christian, home business, wahm, bible study, etc.)

When you follow someone, all of their ‘tweets’ will show up in your timeline (the “home” tab). Listen in to the ‘tweets’ and conversations that show up in your timeline each day, and get a feel for the people you are following and their specific interests.

To reply, click the small arrow to the right of any tweet. This will put the @ symbol and their name in your text box – type your reply after it, and it will show up as a direct reply to that person. It will show up in the timeline of anyone following you, and it will show up in the Replies tab of the person you replied to (even if they are not following you). This is a great way to meet new people and start a dialogue with someone you’d like to network with.

You also want to be a conversation starter. You can do this by asking questions, requesting feedback, tweeting useful resources and announcements, etc.

See this quick video for a visual example:

There is no cost to join in and no boring pitches – just grab a cup of coffee, or some lunch, and join us for a live online Q&A session to learn more about getting new visitors to your website.

Bring your questions and your website along…

I will be sharing tips and resources on getting more website traffic, and I will also answer your traffic questions. Feel free to share your website link during the webinar and ask specific questions about getting traffic to your site.

There are no long-distance charges. The event will be held online, so the only requirements are a set of speakers or headphones so that you can enjoy the audio as well as the visuals. You may also use a microphone to chat or ask questions, or text chat if you prefer.

This free event is open to SSWT readers only, and I’ll be sending the log-in details out via email shortly. I’ll also add it to the “welcome message” in the case that you sign up after that email was sent. If you arent already subscribed to SSWT, you can do that here:

> http://www.selfstartersweeklytips.com/webinars.htm

If you miss this week’s free webinar, mark your calendar for next week and join us – same time, same place. I will be hosting a free webinar every Tuesday at Noon EST for SSWT readers.

See you there!

Tags: website traffic, unique visitors, webinars, free webinar

Lisa Beck asked:

We are pitching business for this site and they want us to give an ROI based on the marketing and web design enhancements we have suggested. Without being given any numbers like number of visits per day, conversion to tickets, how do we prepare a best educated guess to stay in the running–we have told them that we would be making up numbers but they insist they need to make a business case to finance to get add’l funding and they won’t hold us to it–which makes us nervous for all the obvious reasons. Your insight would be helpful.

ROI stands for Return on Investment and means exactly that: the measurement of profit or loss relative to a specific investment. Predicting the ROI for a web-based venture can be difficult, but here are some tips and statistics to form your best “guesstimate”…

Assuming that you are incorporating Search Engine Optimization into the development phase for your potential website, your market research can shed some light on the number of visitors that you can expect.

Let’s say for example that you are optimizing the main page for a phrase that gets 2,000 searches a day across the major search engines. You analyze the SERPs (Search Engine Results pages) and determine whether you can get this page ranking in the top 3 results within the first year.

The top 3 search results share 50% of the click-through’s

This is certainly not an exact science as there are many variables at play, including the use of copywriting skills in your Title and Description meta tags. That said, if that statistic holds true – and we assume that the top 3 results share those click-through’s somewhat equally – you can expect roughly 333 click through’s per day to the main page from the major search engines.

Obviously you want to optimize each web page on the site for a specific phrase or search term that matches the content on that particular page. The main page will be optimized for a more general phrase, with internal pages being more specific.

With this in mind, you’ll want to calculate the potential traffic for each page of the site that you believe will rank in the top 3 results for the phrase chosen.

Assuming that each page has a solid call-to-action, you can calculate conversions at around half a percent. Obviously that is going to be a conservative calculation and will depend on what type of conversions you are calculating. It may be half a percent for physical product sales, or 30% on a free offer squeeze page. Those are things you need to take into consideration.

You will also want to analyze other marketing campaigns you intend to run, including: personal recommendations, pay-per-click advertising, viral marketing campaigns etc.

Follow-up will need to figure into that calculation as well. If you are building a mailing list, you want to consider the long-term (ongoing) ROI of your follow-up campaigns.

Taking all of these elements into consideration I would write up an ROI Proposal that explains your marketing strategy, the expected results and the standard conversions. Obviously you will want to include both short-term and long-term calculations.

You may want to include a disclaimer within that proposal as well.

Two tools that you may find helpful when determining the potential ROI are WordTracker and Text Link Ads. WordTracker is a market research tool that will give you the approximate number of searches per day for any given keyword phrase. Text Link Ads is an ad broker, and they offer a free calculator to determine the value of advertising on any given site. With a new site (or a site in development) you can use the link to a similar or competing website to determine the value of future ad sales.

Also see:

• Predicting the ROI for Future SEO Efforts
• ROI AND SOA — PART 2
• Three Common Lies That Screw Up ROI

Have a question about Website Traffic?
Post it here: Traffic Questions!

Best,

Tags: web design, web development, ROI, market research

Go to http://answers.yahoo.com and find questions related to your niche or website. If you can provide a legitimate answer to their question, you can include your link as the resource or reference URL.

Kelly McCausey pointed out to me that there is another new Public Opinion/Q&A site called Askville, which is a beta start-up by Amazon.com. In fact, she has a Squidoo Lens that will give you all the details: Askville Lens…

The great things about these types of sites (Yahoo! Answers, MyLot, Askville, etc) is that you can 1) use them for live market research, and 2) communicate directly with your target market on a micro-level.

These sites feature discussions on medical topics, entertainment, business, parenting, pets and practically anything else you can imagine. No matter what niches you work in, you will find your target audience asking questions – and more than willing to answer them as well.

Best,

Tags: yahoo answers, mylot, askville, social networking, web 20, targeted traffic, questions, answers

Even though I have been online long enough to be wary of such companies, I was actually tempted to test this one out. The way that it was worded (ie “contextual advertising”) led me to believe that my links would be placed on relevant sites and that I was paying for actual click-through’s. No pop-up or pop-under or incentive traffic, so it was much like doing a paid link campaign except paying for actual clicks instead of just placement.

The obvious first step, before you place an order for any kind of leads or traffic, is to do a quick search on Google to find any reviews or complaints from past customers. If someone was scammed by a particular company, you’re going to find out. There will be discussions in popular forums, blog posts and reviews with personal experience, etc.

If you do a Google Search and dont find anything negative about the company you want to buy traffic from, your next step is to inquire about it in active discussion forums. Choose a popular online business or marketing forum and simply ask if anyone has personal experience with the company.

The Google Search is usually sufficient in finding the information you are looking for though, and in this case it was. The first two pages of results (20 web pages) were full of complaints and negative experiences with that particular company.

It can be very tempting to buy traffic from a company that promises you thousands of highly targeted visitors. Unfortunately, negative experiences have been associated with these types of offers from day one. More often than not you would be better off saving your $100 for a Google Adwords Campaign, a Blog Review campaign or some other legitimate form of online advertising.

Also See: Traffic Secrets

Best,

Mark McCoid asked:
I have a small website selling meditation CDs and recently I started offering Birthstone Bracelets that my wife makes. In an attempt to jump start the interest, we thought it would be a good idea to give away one of the bracelets.

So, my question is, after mailing to my list, what are some other ways to get traffic to a “Giveaway” signup page?

How to Promote Contests & Giveaways Online

Telling your current readers and visitors is a fine idea if the product is related to your current site. Though I would recommend that you set up a website specifically for this product line so that you can reach a more targeted market. That way you can get traffic and build a list specifically for that site, which is a great launch strategy.

Below are 5 quick ideas to promote your contest or giveaway…

1) Free Search Engine Traffic

Set up a page on your site that is dedicated to contests or giveaways. When you arent running a contest, you can put up a note that says the current contest is closed, but invite visitors to sign up and be notified when the next contest begins.

Your goal is to have this page always ranking well for “free *keyword*”. In your case “free birthstone bracelet”.

2) Pay-Per-Click Advertising

You can advertise your contest on Google Adwords for as little as 5 cents per click. You will want your ad to show for specific keywords that relate to your product – not general words like “contest” or “free” or “giveaway”.

Use free tools like Overture’s Keyword Selector and WordTracker’s Free Trial. Simply type in your general keyword (using your example, type in “birthstone”) and build a keyword list based on the results.

3) Submit your Contest to Contest Sites

Here are a few to get you started:
List Your Contest Free

Use the words freebie, contest and giveaway to search out newsletters and websites – as well as forums – that will publish your contest details.

4) Forum Marketing

Use a compelling signature and link to your contest when posting in forums where your target market gathers. Since women and mothers would be your ideal entrant, parenting forums would be a great place to get actively involved.

You can also use Social Networking sites such as MySpace to announce your contest to your friends lists.

5) Joint Venture with Complimentary Sites

Think of sites that would also reach the same target market, but not compete with you directly. Contact these site owners and offer to exchange exposure with them. They can announce your contest on their website and to their list. In exchange, you can promote their site on the confirmation page when visitors sign up for your contest.

Your page can read something like “Thank you for entering our contest!” along with any important information you want include. Then invite/encourage them to visit the sites that you are ‘partnered with’.

Keep it going!
Contests can be theme-based and used on an ongoing basis to promote a website. This particular product (birthstone bracelets) for example will make a great giveaway for Mother’s Day, Back-to-School and other major events or holidays.

Also See: Contests, Giveaways and Promotions

Have a question about Website Traffic?
Post it here: Traffic Questions!

Best,

Tags: contests, giveaways, sweepstakes, promotions, website traffic, traffic tips

Shelly asked:
Hi Lynn, I am trying to reach a goal of 400 unique visitors per day, and I am finding this very hard with pay per click. How well do you do with pay per click and do you have any special strategies that you can offer?

4 Quick Pay-Per-Click Tips

Success with PPC (pay-per-click) Advertising requires two things: extensive keyword research and continual testing. There are many variables at play with your ppc campaigns. Below I will give you 4 quick tips to tighten up your campaigns and improve your click-through and conversion rates…

But first, I would recommend that you download Google Adwords Made Easy. This is a free guide on how to profit with Google Adwords…

1. Analyze your keyword lists

The most common mistake that people make is to use general keywords or phrases, simply because they get a large number of searches. It is proven through extensive testing that general keywords do not convert as well as specific keywords.

Analyze your keyword list and separate it into multiple sub-lists. You want to group keywords that are similar, and put them in their own campaign so that you can test keyword groups individually. With testing, you will find what your target market responds to best.

2. Analyze your Click-Through Rate (CTR)

If you have a lot of impressions but very few clicks, you should split-test various ads. This means that people see your ad, but they arent clicking on it. There are two things you can do.

First, do a search on Google for your keyword phrases and see how your ad actually appears. Look at the surrounding ads that are competing with yours. You may see something in a competing ad that is drawing attention away from your own ad.

Second, continuously split-test different ads to see what performs best with your keywords. Make one small change with each new ad so that you know which changes produce which results. Test headlines, action words, and actual ad text.

3. Analyze your conversion rate

If you have a very high CTR (click-through rate) but a low conversion rate, then the problem lies in one of three areas: either your keywords, your ad is not clear (or related specifically to your offer), or your landing page needs work.

Some keywords will convert better than others too, so this goes back to analyzing your keywords. General keywords convert less, specific keyword phrases convert more.

Your conversion rate will have to do with your actual ad as well – sometimes you can lower the cost and increase the conversion rate by putting “qualifying statements” in the ad itself. Such as price.

4. Tweak your campaign

Constantly test your keywords, your ads and your landing page elements. Your first priority is getting highly targeted traffic at minimum cost. Your second priority is monetizing that traffic.

Best,

p.s. Here is your free download, Google Adwords Made Easy, which will help you get the most from your pay-per-click advertising:

Tags: ppc, pay per click, advertising, google adwords, search engine marketing, sem