Webmasters are always looking for ways to generate free traffic to their sites. Because of this, you can find advice on this subject on thousands of websites. But just how good is that advice? Too often any advice on generating traffic is given with an ulterior motive behind it. Or you're given advice about some whiz bang superduper new system for generating traffic by some type of spamming (spamming blogs, search engines, email, etc.). Here are 10 low cost methods of generating traffic that will stand the test of time. They're based off of giving value instead of spamming and taking advantage of others. 1. Publish Good Keyword Rich Content on Your Site Search engine optimization is a popular subject and there are all kinds of experts ready to teach you exactly what to do. Systems have come...and systems have gone. Publishing good keyword rich content on your website has lasted the test of time. While spamming techniques constantly fall by the wayside. Good content will continue to be the primary way to generate free traffic from search engines. 2. Write and submit good articles. The Internet is based on content. I've used this method for a decade now to drive traffic to my sites. Take a portion of the content you create and submit it to article directories and lists for ezine publishers. This is a primary traffic driver for a large number of businesses. Even when it's not one of your main tools, it still drives some of the most qualified and highly valuable visitors you'll have at your site. If you haven't been producing articles, then why not? 3. Publish a Blog Even corporations have jumped on the blogging bandwagon. This is based on the same principles already given. You have a simple tool to create and add content to your site. You also are provided with tools to network with others online and share in each other's information. Start a blog. Add other blogs to your links. Visit and comment on other's posts. Become a part of the blogosphere, and take part in the discussions by watching where other blogs are going with their discussions. 4. Send a Press Release Very few small business owners take advantage of the media's willingness to spread their story. Write a press release or hire someone to write it for you. Then publish it on a site such as Prweb. Because of the low costs involved in sending out press releases, this should become a part of your monthly promotional plan. What's the big news this month? What big stories are in the media that you can piggyback on or identify with? 5. Participate on Discussion Boards Find discussion boards in your niche. Participate in them regularly. Instead of promoting, be an expert who helps those on the site. Give them advice. Answer questions. Help beginners in your niche. At the bottom of all your postings, you can have a link to your website. When I've followed this, I've been surprised at just how many visitors you get through these little links at the bottom of your postings. Plus, you're building a relationship with these visitors before they even get to your site. 6. Start a Link Campaign Want more search engine traffic? Create more incoming links to your site. Many of the strategies we've already mentioned do this...a blog, article submissions, press releases, and links on discussion boards. They're all incoming links. You can also take another step and activiely search for sites to link to you. You can do a simple search on Google for "link:http://www.acompetitor.com" to find sites linking to your competition. Contact them and find a way to get them to link to you as well. 7. Create a "Viral" Video Video is part of the future of the Internet. Where we used to talk about viral ebooks, now we talk about viral videos. Create an informational or entertaining video and use sites such as Google Video and Youtube.com to distribute it for you. Make sure to include your web address on the video. Create multiple short videos. Look into the communitites being built up on these video sites, and find a way to tap into the ongoing video discussions. 8. A Good Offer on Your Business Card This is a simple one. The entire backside of my card is an offer for a free report you receive at my website for subscribing to my newsletter. It has the headline and several bullet points along with the URL for the site. This simple strategy is so effective that I've attended seminars where I've seen quite a few people have printouts of my free report the second day. They took my card and signed up for my list that night! Are you using this simple strategy with people you meet? 9. Start An Affiliate Program If you don't know about affiliate programs, then you've been hiding in a cave. FOr many successful businesses, the affiliate program equals much higher than 50% of their sales. Running your own affiliate program is the killer traffic generation tool. An affiliate program gives you the ability to tap into other people's traffic, other people's lists, and other people's customer relationships. No matter what you're selling, you should find a way to put an affiliate program into the mix. 10. Set-up Joint Ventures Joint ventures include affiliate programs, but they also go beyond them. Who can you trade an article with? Who could you run co-op advertising with? Who could you trade ads with? How can you help others while generating traffic for your own site? You might have your "normal" offer on your site that all affiliates refer their visitors to. How can you set-up a special deal with better pricing, more bonuses, or some other type of special offer for the customers of a large opt-in list or buyer's list? If you want a surge of new sales, find a way to create exclusive deals at times.
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