Driving Traffic to Your Web Site

By Eric Friese It’s the question so many people ask: how do I bring more users to my web site? It might seem like a simple question, but it is not. Although the answer to this question seems to change on daily basis, there are a few things you can do to boost traffic to your web site.

Search Engine Placement

A big way to increase traffic is making sure you are indexed by the search engines, and then trying to increase your ranking. This is another article all together, but here are a few pointers. Make sure your site is “search engine friendly” and that the search engines can index your site. Check that your META tags are in order and correct. Put together a list of keywords that you would like to key in on and make sure those words/phrases are incorporated into your site. Also try to keep your keywords as specific as possible. It is extremely hard to rank high for broad keywords. Make sure the content you have on your site is quality content and grammatically correct. If writing content is not your strong point, hire a copywriter or web developer to help.

Web Directories

Get your site listed in as many web directories as possible. Web directories are sites that list sites by categories. Try to find some directories that specialize in your industry. For example, if your site is about real estate then try to get your site into as many real estate directories as possible. The Yahoo Directory is probably the best directory, but it’s not free. Getting into these directories can also help with search engine ranking.

Link Exchanges

When you think about it, getting traffic is a numbers game. The more exposure you get the more chances that people will come to your site. The idea behind a link exchange is you find other sites that compliment your site, and then contact the owner to see if they will put a link to your site on their site. In return, you add a link on your site to their web site. This has been an integral part of the internet for years and it is a proven way to increase traffic.

Writing Articles and Newsletters

In order to bring people back your site, you need a good hook. Providing a newsletter or articles on your site that people would be interested in reading is a good start. Once you write these articles you can post them on some article directories to get some traffic to your site. Newsletters are also good for getting residual business from your existing customers. Another good idea is to have a blog. Everyone else has one, so why not you?

Cost Per Click (CPC) Advertising

Cost Per Click advertising has been the money maker for companies like Google, MSN, and Yahoo. Whenever you do a search on Google, you see that box of paid listings on the right. Companies pay for every person that clicks their ad, hence the cost per click name. The weird thing is that Google can somehow see how interested the user is in your site and then charge you more for that click. That might sound retarded, but its great when you pay less for the clicks that only visit your front page and then leave. I highly recommend Google Adwords to all of my clients as a cost effective way to get traffic to your web site.

While there are many other ways to get more traffic to your web site, this should be a good starting point. The key to getting more traffic is getting your site’s name out there. Post it everywhere you can and with every thing you do. It’s a long process, but well worth the effort.

About The Author:
Eric Friese is President of Tiger Web Solutions, a web design firm located in Auburn, Alabama. He can be reached through the Tiger Web Solutions web site at http://www.tigerwebsolutions.com.