You've built your website and you're quite proud of it. The graphics look nice, it has a few interesting pieces of information and it showcases your subject perfectly. But how do you draw people to it and get that hit counter climbing without breaking the bank? You've got your meta tags in place but you just can't afford to pay the humungous fee to be a featured advertiser on a mega-search engine. Here are a few easy and quick ways to publicize your website which are either cheap or free.
1. Link Exchanges
One of the most effective ways to get traffic moving into your site is to list it as a link on other sites of interest to your target market. If you don't already know of another site similar to yours, just do a Google search using a few appropriate keywords. By using Google to do a search on the words "link exchange" you will also find entire sites – some free, some with a fee – with directories of sites willing to exchange links. Once you find a site, see if they have a links page and scan it to make sure yours would be a good fit. Usually instructions on exchanging links are somewhere on the website, but if they're not simply e-mail the webmaster or site owner and ask if they have a link exchange program. Be sure your site does not compete with theirs. After all, you will have to reciprocate with a link to their site on your own. Corporate sites don't normally do link exchanges, you will have much better luck with a site owned by an individual or small business. If you don't have a banner, you can create one for free online. A very user-friendly site for this is www.addesigner.com, but there are several others out there as well.
2. Join a Web-Ring
Web-Rings are a way of driving traffic to your site from others similar to yours. You simply place a web-ring banner on your home page using specified HTML code and you're automatically part of the network. When a visitor clicks on the web-ring banner at one member's site, they are directed to the next site in the web-ring, potentially yours. There are some things to consider when joining a web-ring. For example, when one of your site's viewers clicks on your web-ring banner, they are being directed off your site onto someone else's. If you join a web-ring, find one matching the interests of your target market that doesn't have a large number of members competing with you. For example, if your site sells aquariums, join a site for tropical fish enthusiasts rather than one with for people who sell pet products.
3. Host a Contest
Everyone loves to win a contest, and if yours offers something of value to your target market you can spark a lot of interest. The prize doesn't have to be big - maybe a $10.00 gift certificate, a set of books, a pretty piece of jewelry you purchased on closeout, or of course one of your products. You may be able to get prize donations from your link partners or others in your network simply by offering them credit and a link on your site throughout the contest. It's also smart to offer extra entries to a contestant if they refer someone else – word of mouth (or e-mail) is extremely powerful!
4. Win an Award
This may take some legwork on your part, but it could be well worth it in the end. If your site is rich in content and appealing to the eye, you have a good chance of winning some sort of web award. Simply do your Google search on "website award" or "site of the day" and research the links for application procedures. If you win, the payoff will be the privilege of posting an award banner on your home page for all to see. The site hosting the award will literally be sending visitors to you by way of a link.
5. Put a Link in Your Signature Line
The easiest and quickest way to get publicity for your site is to put a link in your signature line. Every e-mail you send will announce your site, and including an enticing one-line ad such as "enter our contest to win a $10.00 gift certificate" will likely increase your traffic.
6. Join an E-mail Group
In case you aren't familiar with e-mail groups, they are basically networks of people with a common interest or purpose, using e-mail to communicate to each other. Using a single e-mail address, you can send a message to a whole group of people with interests similar to yours. Rest assured, no matter what your target market is, there is an e-mail group for it. It is important to keep in mind that most frown upon advertising and all ban spamming, however you are usually allowed to put a link in your signature line and make special announcements. Just be sure you actually contribute to the discussion - don't just assume you can use the list for free advertising or you will be shunned very quickly. Two of the most popular websites for e-mail groups are Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com) and Topica (http://www.topica.com), both of which offer free memberships.
7. Publish a Newsletter
It can be sent daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, but be sure you send it out on a regular basis. Mine is published weekly on Fridays without fail. My readers have learned to look for it and I'd never consider letting them down by missing a deadline. Aside from being consistent, it is a cardinal rule to offer something of value to your readership. Don't use it solely as a venue for advertising – there are plenty of places to put text links and banner ads within it. To maintain readers, you will need to include some helpful information as well. If you aren't much of a writer, there are articles available on the web that are free for publication, providing you include a link to the writer's website and a promotional paragraph. If you have a hard time finding these, consider posting a call for submissions on writers' websites offering $5.00 and free promotion via a byline. You will be pleasantly surprised how many people respond with fresh and well-written ideas.
8. Purchase Advertising
Think advertising is expensive? Think again. There are countless inexpensive opportunities for advertising on the Internet. Start by looking for sites which target the same market you do, providing they don't directly compete with yours. Chances are they have a link for people interested in advertising on their site. If you can't find it, simply e-mail the webmaster or site owner and inquire. Another option is to do a search on eBay. Many sites put banner ad placement on auction. You can find ad spots on eBay for as little as $5.99, but remember, it is an auction, and someone could easily beat you out. I recently saw a banner ad auction get up to $269.00. Don't forget however, because it's an auction, you have the power to limit the amount you will pay a your maximum bid. It is important to have a banner ready to go, since you will usually need to obtain permission from the website's owner before bidding on the auction. Always read the terms of the auction carefully, to make sure you understand the dates your banner will be up and exactly where it will be placed.
9. Promoting Your Business Using an Online Network
Just starting to catch on is a unique way to network with other small businesses by way of shared advertising. The basic idea is to swap business cards, flyers, or coupons (called "fillers") for your site with other small business owners. They will put your fillers in their customer orders and you will put their fillers in your orders. Many groups put together bags or packs with a compilation of member fillers along with other goodies the recipient will enjoy. These can be given out at area businesses, schools, day care centers, parties... the list is endless. If you have trouble finding a networking group think about starting one of your own.
10. Write an Article
With a little work and a free morning, you should be able to put together a couple of paragraphs for a "how-to" piece on your area of expertise. Just be certain it somehow relates to your website. Use your article in your own newsletter or search on writers' websites for sites or e-zines looking for articles that may be a good fit for your piece. Whether or not they pay for publication they will be an excellent way to get the word out about your site. Just be sure to keep your byline brief and don't reference your website within your article unless absolutely necessary.
Showing posts with label Website Traffic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Website Traffic. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Monday, 20 July 2009
How to Use Pay Per Click Advertising to Increase Web Site Traffic
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to get hundreds, even thousands of targeted visitors to your web site each and everyday?
If you could increase web site traffic by a factor of 3, how much more money would you be making? I can tell you that your profits would grow exponentially!
So how do you drive those targeted, ready to buy, visitors to your site? I am going to outline the keys to winning the Pay per Click game. If you will implement these strategies, I can guarantee you that you will have more traffic to your site than you ever imagined!
So, let's get started increasing web site traffic, shall we?
PAY PER CLICK SEARCH ENGINES
This is one of the most obvious and misused traffic generating strategies on the web. If implemented properly, this can be a profitable way to get laser targeted traffic to any web site.
If you are just starting a web site, then this is where you need to start generating traffic. There are two reasons for this: the first, you will get immediate targeted traffic and secondly, paid traffic is predictable. You will be able to count on this traffic while you develop your free traffic strategies and implement them.
If you already have a site that is not doing well, then paid advertising is a great way to increase web site traffic immediately and start making sales. Our goal is to make sales profitably, and the following guidelines will help you do that.
KEYWORD RESEARCH
The key to successful paid advertising is developing a large number of highly targeted and relevant keywords. Keyword research will make or break your paid advertising campaign. There are a number of tools that can help in developing a list of keywords; I have mentioned a few below:
Overture's keyword search tool - This is a free tool that can be found at inventory.overture.com. There is NO http or www just inventory.overture.com
Wordtracker - Wordtracker costs a few dollars to use but it is a great tool.
Word Tracker
Adword Analyzer - This is my personal favorite because it provides the most information and I use it everyday.
Ad Words Analyzer
You need to develop a short list of about 100 keywords for your ad. You will eventually build this list into about 1000 but 100 is a good place to start.
SET UP YOUR ADS ON GOOGLE ADWORDS
Now that we have our keywords, you need to set up an account with Google Adwords. The reason we want to start with Google is they will produce the most traffic and we can test ads. We will discuss testing a little later, because right now I want to focus on setting up our ads.
This is NOT rocket science, just follow these easy steps:
1.Pick the countries and language that you want the ads to run in. I usually select the U.S and Canada with English as the language.
2.Now it is time to write the ad itself! With Google you are limited on space so make every word count. You will need to write a headline and two lines describing your ad.
a.Headline - This must be an attention grabber and it is critical that you include your keyword. I have also found that placing the headline in the form of a question helps with your click - through rate.
b.Description - Briefly describe what it is you are selling and explain how the reader will benefit from your product or service. You need to include your keyword in the description as well. (Some keyword phrases are awkward and trying to use them in the context of the ad is hard. Don't get frustrated by trying to make it work. If the keyword flows naturally in the ad, then use it!)
3.The next step is adding your keywords and keyword phrases. Google Adwords allows you to enter keywords 3 different ways:
a.Broad Match - A broad match will trigger your ads anytime one of your keywords is within a search. So if your keyword is "golf" and someone searches for "the best golf club" then your ad will be triggered. Broad match will deliver the least amount of targeted traffic and is not highly recommended.
b.Phrase Match - To enter your keyword as a phrase match you need to put quotations around the keyword like "golf equipment". This is a slightly more targeted way to get traffic.
c.Exact Match - Exact match keywords are the most targeted and they are entered with brackets, like [golf equipment]. The only way your ad will be triggered is by someone typing in the exact keyword you are bidding on. In our example, if someone typed in "golf equipment" then your ad will show up as a sponsored ad. This is the most effective way to get targeted traffic to your site!
4.Now it is time to test your ads! You need to write two ads for every ad campaign you have. Only make slight differences in the two ads, just change one word for example. Let the ads run for about 500 impressions and then see which one gets the highest CTR (click through rate). When you have determined which ad is the best, then change the ad slightly and run another ad to see if you can make it better. Always keep trying to produce better pulling ads, because Google Adwords will reward you for a high CTR.
5.The last step is setting your bid price for your ad campaign. I suggest a little trick that will help your conversion. Bid your keywords to get into first position and let your ads run in first position for a few hours or up to one day. Then reduce your bid price to place yourself somewhere in the top 8 ads. This will help your CTR and you will get a higher position for less money per click!
Once you have some proven ads that are pulling in the profits then start placing them on the other Pay per Click Search Engines. Always start with Google Adwords because they are the only company that will allow you to test ads.
Let's recap our list of things needed to effectively run a PPC (Pay per Click) campaign:
1.Build a good keyword list.
2.Write effective headlines and descriptions.
3.Test your ads trying for a higher and higher CTR.
4.Monitor profitability!
5.Take proven ads and expand your paid advertising to other companies.
If you will follow these simple steps, I guarantee that you will increase web site traffic and drive more targeted leads to your site than you could ever imagine. These targeted, ready to buy customers will convert your products into cash. Just remember that this is a business like any other business and tracking your ad effectiveness and profitability is vital to your internet success!
If you could increase web site traffic by a factor of 3, how much more money would you be making? I can tell you that your profits would grow exponentially!
So how do you drive those targeted, ready to buy, visitors to your site? I am going to outline the keys to winning the Pay per Click game. If you will implement these strategies, I can guarantee you that you will have more traffic to your site than you ever imagined!
So, let's get started increasing web site traffic, shall we?
PAY PER CLICK SEARCH ENGINES
This is one of the most obvious and misused traffic generating strategies on the web. If implemented properly, this can be a profitable way to get laser targeted traffic to any web site.
If you are just starting a web site, then this is where you need to start generating traffic. There are two reasons for this: the first, you will get immediate targeted traffic and secondly, paid traffic is predictable. You will be able to count on this traffic while you develop your free traffic strategies and implement them.
If you already have a site that is not doing well, then paid advertising is a great way to increase web site traffic immediately and start making sales. Our goal is to make sales profitably, and the following guidelines will help you do that.
KEYWORD RESEARCH
The key to successful paid advertising is developing a large number of highly targeted and relevant keywords. Keyword research will make or break your paid advertising campaign. There are a number of tools that can help in developing a list of keywords; I have mentioned a few below:
Overture's keyword search tool - This is a free tool that can be found at inventory.overture.com. There is NO http or www just inventory.overture.com
Wordtracker - Wordtracker costs a few dollars to use but it is a great tool.
Word Tracker
Adword Analyzer - This is my personal favorite because it provides the most information and I use it everyday.
Ad Words Analyzer
You need to develop a short list of about 100 keywords for your ad. You will eventually build this list into about 1000 but 100 is a good place to start.
SET UP YOUR ADS ON GOOGLE ADWORDS
Now that we have our keywords, you need to set up an account with Google Adwords. The reason we want to start with Google is they will produce the most traffic and we can test ads. We will discuss testing a little later, because right now I want to focus on setting up our ads.
This is NOT rocket science, just follow these easy steps:
1.Pick the countries and language that you want the ads to run in. I usually select the U.S and Canada with English as the language.
2.Now it is time to write the ad itself! With Google you are limited on space so make every word count. You will need to write a headline and two lines describing your ad.
a.Headline - This must be an attention grabber and it is critical that you include your keyword. I have also found that placing the headline in the form of a question helps with your click - through rate.
b.Description - Briefly describe what it is you are selling and explain how the reader will benefit from your product or service. You need to include your keyword in the description as well. (Some keyword phrases are awkward and trying to use them in the context of the ad is hard. Don't get frustrated by trying to make it work. If the keyword flows naturally in the ad, then use it!)
3.The next step is adding your keywords and keyword phrases. Google Adwords allows you to enter keywords 3 different ways:
a.Broad Match - A broad match will trigger your ads anytime one of your keywords is within a search. So if your keyword is "golf" and someone searches for "the best golf club" then your ad will be triggered. Broad match will deliver the least amount of targeted traffic and is not highly recommended.
b.Phrase Match - To enter your keyword as a phrase match you need to put quotations around the keyword like "golf equipment". This is a slightly more targeted way to get traffic.
c.Exact Match - Exact match keywords are the most targeted and they are entered with brackets, like [golf equipment]. The only way your ad will be triggered is by someone typing in the exact keyword you are bidding on. In our example, if someone typed in "golf equipment" then your ad will show up as a sponsored ad. This is the most effective way to get targeted traffic to your site!
4.Now it is time to test your ads! You need to write two ads for every ad campaign you have. Only make slight differences in the two ads, just change one word for example. Let the ads run for about 500 impressions and then see which one gets the highest CTR (click through rate). When you have determined which ad is the best, then change the ad slightly and run another ad to see if you can make it better. Always keep trying to produce better pulling ads, because Google Adwords will reward you for a high CTR.
5.The last step is setting your bid price for your ad campaign. I suggest a little trick that will help your conversion. Bid your keywords to get into first position and let your ads run in first position for a few hours or up to one day. Then reduce your bid price to place yourself somewhere in the top 8 ads. This will help your CTR and you will get a higher position for less money per click!
Once you have some proven ads that are pulling in the profits then start placing them on the other Pay per Click Search Engines. Always start with Google Adwords because they are the only company that will allow you to test ads.
Let's recap our list of things needed to effectively run a PPC (Pay per Click) campaign:
1.Build a good keyword list.
2.Write effective headlines and descriptions.
3.Test your ads trying for a higher and higher CTR.
4.Monitor profitability!
5.Take proven ads and expand your paid advertising to other companies.
If you will follow these simple steps, I guarantee that you will increase web site traffic and drive more targeted leads to your site than you could ever imagine. These targeted, ready to buy customers will convert your products into cash. Just remember that this is a business like any other business and tracking your ad effectiveness and profitability is vital to your internet success!
Saturday, 18 July 2009
How To Boost Your Marketing Campaign With Visitor Tracking
Who cares, as long as they visit your site, right?
Wrong!
It is a fact that traffic, or the number of people who visit your site, could make or break an online business. After all, we cannot sell our products if no one would get to know about them. The problem is, most webmasters would rather concentrate on generating more traffic by dabbling in countless marketing strategies instead of honing a particular one to perfection. The former is susceptible to new risks, while the latter eliminates old problems for improved performance. Clearly, tweaking your site is the way to go. And you could do this efficiently with the aid of visitor tracking.
Visitor tracking has long been hailed as a science, and for good reasons! The accurate findings that visitor tracking can provide is the key to creating a site that is both friendly to everyone who would grace its pages, and enticing to everyone so that they may try its features.
How is visitor tracking capable of all these, you might ask. Consider the powerful deeds that visitor tracking is capable of:
* With visitor tracking, you would be able to know where your visitors are coming from. With this knowledge, you could make corresponding adjustments to your marketing campaign. Know what area to target, what kind of people to focus your attention on, and how to win their interest so that they would come to your site.
* With visitor tracking, you would also be able to know the sites your visitors would go to after lingering in yours. You would be able to ascertain an aspect that has eluded even the best socio-oriented marketers in the world: consumer behavior. Visitor tracking would allow you to determine a pattern based on the conduct of online users, and you could make this work to your advantage.
* With visitor tracking, you would know how much time your visitors spend in your site. If their visits last for mere seconds, then such is a telltale sign that something is wrong with your pages, and adjustments need to be made to sustain their interest and make them stay longer.
* With visitor tracking, you'd know which links work best. This is awesome for two reasons:
A. You'll be able to find out which of your links are producing the best results, and you could pattern subsequent campaigns based on that method; and
B. You'll be able to increase your Google AdSense revenue by knowing which ad links are actually being clicked and which ones are just collecting dust.
* With visitor tracking, you would be able to know how your visitors go about in every visit to your site. Which pages do they open first? Where do they go next? Where do they stay longer? This is an invaluable knowledge as it would help you tweak your site to lead your visitors where you want them to go, instead of relying on where they would rather proceed.
It has been said that success can only be attained and sustained by constantly improving ourselves to meet every challenge thrown our way. With all the benefits that visitor tracking provides, success won't be that far away.
Wrong!
It is a fact that traffic, or the number of people who visit your site, could make or break an online business. After all, we cannot sell our products if no one would get to know about them. The problem is, most webmasters would rather concentrate on generating more traffic by dabbling in countless marketing strategies instead of honing a particular one to perfection. The former is susceptible to new risks, while the latter eliminates old problems for improved performance. Clearly, tweaking your site is the way to go. And you could do this efficiently with the aid of visitor tracking.
Visitor tracking has long been hailed as a science, and for good reasons! The accurate findings that visitor tracking can provide is the key to creating a site that is both friendly to everyone who would grace its pages, and enticing to everyone so that they may try its features.
How is visitor tracking capable of all these, you might ask. Consider the powerful deeds that visitor tracking is capable of:
* With visitor tracking, you would be able to know where your visitors are coming from. With this knowledge, you could make corresponding adjustments to your marketing campaign. Know what area to target, what kind of people to focus your attention on, and how to win their interest so that they would come to your site.
* With visitor tracking, you would also be able to know the sites your visitors would go to after lingering in yours. You would be able to ascertain an aspect that has eluded even the best socio-oriented marketers in the world: consumer behavior. Visitor tracking would allow you to determine a pattern based on the conduct of online users, and you could make this work to your advantage.
* With visitor tracking, you would know how much time your visitors spend in your site. If their visits last for mere seconds, then such is a telltale sign that something is wrong with your pages, and adjustments need to be made to sustain their interest and make them stay longer.
* With visitor tracking, you'd know which links work best. This is awesome for two reasons:
A. You'll be able to find out which of your links are producing the best results, and you could pattern subsequent campaigns based on that method; and
B. You'll be able to increase your Google AdSense revenue by knowing which ad links are actually being clicked and which ones are just collecting dust.
* With visitor tracking, you would be able to know how your visitors go about in every visit to your site. Which pages do they open first? Where do they go next? Where do they stay longer? This is an invaluable knowledge as it would help you tweak your site to lead your visitors where you want them to go, instead of relying on where they would rather proceed.
It has been said that success can only be attained and sustained by constantly improving ourselves to meet every challenge thrown our way. With all the benefits that visitor tracking provides, success won't be that far away.
Improving Your Conversion Reduces the Need to Constantly Promote Your Sites
I just got off the phone with Michael Fortin, one of the top copywriters and conversion experts on the web.
We were doing a teleseminar for our members on conversion and testing for website owners wanting more out of the traffic they already enjoy, rather than constantly having to promote their sites to support low conversion rates. Specifically, we were talking about all the things you can do to test different "calls to action."
A call to action is anything you are trying to get people to do on any particular site or page of a site. It could be buying a product or service, getting people on an announcement list or newsletter, or getting people to click on your advertising links.
Most web publishers are so happy when they finally have a site up that they consider their work done and get right to marketing it. Once the traffic rolls in, they enjoy whatever sales or clicks they get and try to make more money by driving MORE traffic to the site.
Then they start building another site. And another. And another.
This is a disturbing trend that is creating a massive amount of waste. Both in resources and time. Especially when it comes to niche publishers who are building massive networks of sites on different topics in order to capture emails, generate advertising revenue, sell affiliated products and services, or to build their lists to generate backend sales to their subscribers.
The waste is generated when people are in too big a hurry to build more sites, add more products, and get more traffic to sites that can convert sometimes 1000% BETTER than they do now.
They are moving at a hectic pace, in this scenario, to build build build, when their income goals can most often easily be met without so much waste.
One example of waste is when someone builds a content-dry site that has nothing but Adsense and some links on it. People hit that kind of site and can't wait to find a reason to leave. The thinking is, "Great! My 'click thru ratio' is sky high! I am getting almost everyone to click on my ads!"
But here's what's happening in reality: you are working VERY hard to get traffic to such a site, only to "burn" it on a 35 cent click! No email capture, no followup, and most importantly no desire on the part of the visitor to EVER see your site again!
Would you rather have someone come through your site and click immediately on an advertiser's link, never to return? Or would you rather have someone come to your site, read some great content, sign up for your list and not click on ANY links that first time?
I will take scenario #2 any day of the week. And I won't have made a single penny off of that person with that initial action. But I will in the future!
If you have a site that you constantly test and tweak for performance (beyond its ability to repulse your visitors into clicking on an advertisement just to get to a QUALITY site) then you have a real business.
You can test and track SO MANY variables to make a site more profitable than it is now. Every site on the web can perform better than it does right now. Every single one!
The people who understand this never stop testing their calls to action to get their visitors to do more than something that results in a one-time action.
Traffic is the most expensive thing on the web both in the time it takes to get it and the resources you have to use up for each and every hit.
The traffic you have now might be all the traffic you EVER need on a daily basis to make a killing with your site. You will never know until you test and track everything about your site.
The headlines, the offers, the opt-in forms, the guarantees, testimonials, bullets, adsense placement, followup... In short, every webmaster on the net has a lot of work to do on every site they own if they really want to reap the kinds of profits their sites are actually capable of pulling in.
Most people get a site up and are happy with the sales or clicks they get and move on. NO! You are leaving so much money on the table thinking you are done with a site right after you put it up.
That site is the worst it should ever be! Wasting another domain fee, hosting fee, bandwidth and the costs associated with getting traffic to a brand new site before you have optimized your current site for the very best conversion it can pull is NOT good business practice.
I know people who have literally thousands of domains. And one thing I can guarantee you is this: They are making a pittance, even if they are making $60,000 a DAY, in comparison to what they COULD be making with far fewer sites and more testing and tweaking of that smaller group!
And Fortin seems to agree. He is going to be at my seminar in New Orleans September 9th - 11th, 2005 to expose everyone who attends to just how much money they have left on the table over the years because they have never tested different aspects of their calls to action.
It is enlightening, as well as depressing to find out how much money you COULD have made all this time had you tested from the beginning!
But the point is, you cannot go back to get all those lost subscribers, sales, or clicks. You can only start testing today to capture more money from each site you own. Thereby alleviating the need to have a massive network of sites all performing at half their potential or much less!
We were doing a teleseminar for our members on conversion and testing for website owners wanting more out of the traffic they already enjoy, rather than constantly having to promote their sites to support low conversion rates. Specifically, we were talking about all the things you can do to test different "calls to action."
A call to action is anything you are trying to get people to do on any particular site or page of a site. It could be buying a product or service, getting people on an announcement list or newsletter, or getting people to click on your advertising links.
Most web publishers are so happy when they finally have a site up that they consider their work done and get right to marketing it. Once the traffic rolls in, they enjoy whatever sales or clicks they get and try to make more money by driving MORE traffic to the site.
Then they start building another site. And another. And another.
This is a disturbing trend that is creating a massive amount of waste. Both in resources and time. Especially when it comes to niche publishers who are building massive networks of sites on different topics in order to capture emails, generate advertising revenue, sell affiliated products and services, or to build their lists to generate backend sales to their subscribers.
The waste is generated when people are in too big a hurry to build more sites, add more products, and get more traffic to sites that can convert sometimes 1000% BETTER than they do now.
They are moving at a hectic pace, in this scenario, to build build build, when their income goals can most often easily be met without so much waste.
One example of waste is when someone builds a content-dry site that has nothing but Adsense and some links on it. People hit that kind of site and can't wait to find a reason to leave. The thinking is, "Great! My 'click thru ratio' is sky high! I am getting almost everyone to click on my ads!"
But here's what's happening in reality: you are working VERY hard to get traffic to such a site, only to "burn" it on a 35 cent click! No email capture, no followup, and most importantly no desire on the part of the visitor to EVER see your site again!
Would you rather have someone come through your site and click immediately on an advertiser's link, never to return? Or would you rather have someone come to your site, read some great content, sign up for your list and not click on ANY links that first time?
I will take scenario #2 any day of the week. And I won't have made a single penny off of that person with that initial action. But I will in the future!
If you have a site that you constantly test and tweak for performance (beyond its ability to repulse your visitors into clicking on an advertisement just to get to a QUALITY site) then you have a real business.
You can test and track SO MANY variables to make a site more profitable than it is now. Every site on the web can perform better than it does right now. Every single one!
The people who understand this never stop testing their calls to action to get their visitors to do more than something that results in a one-time action.
Traffic is the most expensive thing on the web both in the time it takes to get it and the resources you have to use up for each and every hit.
The traffic you have now might be all the traffic you EVER need on a daily basis to make a killing with your site. You will never know until you test and track everything about your site.
The headlines, the offers, the opt-in forms, the guarantees, testimonials, bullets, adsense placement, followup... In short, every webmaster on the net has a lot of work to do on every site they own if they really want to reap the kinds of profits their sites are actually capable of pulling in.
Most people get a site up and are happy with the sales or clicks they get and move on. NO! You are leaving so much money on the table thinking you are done with a site right after you put it up.
That site is the worst it should ever be! Wasting another domain fee, hosting fee, bandwidth and the costs associated with getting traffic to a brand new site before you have optimized your current site for the very best conversion it can pull is NOT good business practice.
I know people who have literally thousands of domains. And one thing I can guarantee you is this: They are making a pittance, even if they are making $60,000 a DAY, in comparison to what they COULD be making with far fewer sites and more testing and tweaking of that smaller group!
And Fortin seems to agree. He is going to be at my seminar in New Orleans September 9th - 11th, 2005 to expose everyone who attends to just how much money they have left on the table over the years because they have never tested different aspects of their calls to action.
It is enlightening, as well as depressing to find out how much money you COULD have made all this time had you tested from the beginning!
But the point is, you cannot go back to get all those lost subscribers, sales, or clicks. You can only start testing today to capture more money from each site you own. Thereby alleviating the need to have a massive network of sites all performing at half their potential or much less!
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Traffic Exchange Sites
Traffic Exchange Sites are websites where you get page views of your own site in exchange for visiting others. Many such sites are available. However, choosing the right one or a combination of them can be a very time consuming process.
Basically there are two types. Manual surfing and Auto surfing. Some Traffic exchanges cater for Manual surfing only, some cater for Auto surfing only and some cater for both.
Manual surfing - This requires your input by clicking a button after a specified time period, generally 15, 20 or 30 seconds, although there are a few other variations. With manual surfing, the surfer is expected to view each site. However, with most exchange sites, it is possible to minimize or resize the windows. This defeats the purpose because it allows multiple sessions to be run simultaneously. On the better exchange sites, security measures are often used to deter this. These are normally random prompts that require user input. For example, after x number of page views, you may be required to enter a code, select a color or image or perform some other variation of this.
Auto surfing - This requires no input. However in reality, your input may be required because of popup or frame breakers. Some traffic exchange sites require that the pages run are maximized and although you can minimize the page yourself, it will automatically maximize at the next refresh. You will also find that with some exchange sites, pages will run on top whereas with others, pages will run quite happily underneath, allowing you to do what ever you like without ever viewing the page content.
Both manual and auto surfing will bring traffic to your website, but there is a much greater likelihood of your web pages being actually seen with manual surfing.
Credits - As well as surfing, credits are usually acquired for subscribing, for referrals and for any winnings associated with exchange site lotteries, games or competitions. These credits can then be used to increase the traffic to your site. Some exchange sites will also allow you to sell your credits to other members.
Free or Paid - The majority of Traffic Exchanges offer a paid option. This option may give you a better surf ratio, bonus credits, money for referrals or other benefits. Before paying however, it is important that you test how targeted the traffic is that you receive. There's no point in paying for extra traffic if it doesn't generate any more income for you.
Click for Credits or Buy Credits - Is it worth buying credits?
This can depend on a number of reasons. The two main ones are time and money.
Let's take an example
At the time of writing the cost of 2000 credits for free members of a well known Traffic Exchange Site was $40. This works out at $0.02 a click. For pro members the same $40 bought 2200 credits.
With the number of clicks limited to 250 per day and page views of 20 seconds this means that in theory it will take you 250 X 20 = 5000 sec or 83 minutes 20 seconds to view the 250 pages. However in practice you must allow extra time for clicking the next button, clicking the title of the page you will be viewing and any sites worth looking at.
Since I am a firm believer in practical results, I viewed the 250 pages. It took me 2 hours and 12 minutes to accomplish this. During that time, I accumulated 854 credits. To buy these credits would have cost $17.08 as a free member and approximately $15.53 as a pro member. Allowing for rounding up, this equates to almost 390 credits per hour or $7.80 per hour cash value.
Now ask yourself this. Would you work for $7.80 per hour?
I must emphasize that this is only one example and that other results will differ because of the random allocation of credits. It is shown here only as an example and to give you an idea of the cost implications for one particular traffic exchange site. The cost of credits may differ dramatically for different exchange sites. If you buy or intend to buy credits from a traffic exchange site, you can apply what is shown in the example. There's no need to click on a large number of websites to find out if your exchange site is giving you enough credits for your money. A sample of around 20 sites should give you enough information to produce a rough value-for-money guide.
If you enjoy this sort of thing or want a break from train spotting, you could expand on this. Increase your sample size, increase the number of samples, select a good representation of traffic exchanges and tabulate your results. Choose enough sites and you will be able to create your own league table. There's a market for everything.
Whether you use traffic exchange sites or not in the quest for more visitors to your site, you should at the very least know what they are and what they do. But don't totally dismiss them. They are part of an expanding market. I recommend that you try at least one traffic exchange site. You could read every book on the subject, but without active participation, you will not be qualified to comment on their worth or suitability. The time taken for a few mouse clicks is a small price to pay. If it works for you, you have learned. If it doesn't work for you, you have learned.
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