11 Free Ways To Increase Website Traffic

"How can I increase traffic to my website?"

Next to "how do I best serve my customers", this should be the most important task for every online business owner.

Of course, as you already know, more traffic generally equals more money. Now, before you start screaming out-loud, "I already know that, but HOW do I drive more traffic to my site?", let me assure you that it is actually relatively easy to increase your website's traffic using a few simple and free methods.

To help, I've compiled a list of 11 methods that you can use to drastically increase traffic to your site. In addition, there are two resources listed with each tip that will help you get started implementing these suggestions. (links open in new windows)

1. Social Bookmarking: Social bookmarking is a method for internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of websites they find interesting or helpful. The good news is, these users can then share their bookmarks with others, organized by tags(keywords). The more people that bookmark your site, the higher it gets ranked by the bookmarking service and the search engines, which in turn leads to more traffic. Two of the more well-known social bookmarking sites and those that I use almost exclusively, are del.icio.us and Digg

2. Start a Blog: Unless you're brand new to the internet you have probably heard about the power of blogs. Internet users today are becoming more comfortable surfing and reading blogs instead of relying on formal sources and media for the information they're looking for. And if you haven't started one yet you should create a plan right now to take advantage of this traffic pulling tool. There are many sites on the web where you can create a blog at no cost. The two most popular are Blogger and Wordpress.

3. Directory Listings: When the internet first gained popularity, Yahoo became famous for having a well-organized directory. Although they now charge money for inclusion into their directory, it is still possible to find plenty of other highly visited directories. By having a listing on these sites, you can generate a steady amount of highly targeted traffic. The following are two of the more popular directories that offer free listings: Web World Directory and dmoz.org.

4. Win a web award: A number of places give out awards to webmasters that go the extra mile when designing their site. In addition to prestige, winning an award can generate interest and traffic from the giving site. If you have a unique looking site, then you can be assured that a web award will bring a good deal of traffic. The two sites listed here are directories of websites that give out awards: Award Sites and United Website Award Givers.

5. Use of Datafeeds: There's no getting around it,to keep visitors AND the search engines coming back to your site on a regular basis you need constantly updated content on the site. But creating that content can be taxing, on both your body and your time. That's why the use of datafeeds that automatically update your website with fresh content are a great resource to use. To see examples of two websites with content that is updated regularly and automatically, visit: JanRon Media How-To Videos and JRM Software. Two resources that enable you to add datafeeds to your site quickly and easily are, Niche-Content-Stores and Golden Can.

6. Viral Marketing: There was a time when you heard the phrase "viral marketing" that you automatically thought of a report or ebook that contained helpful free information that people could share with their friends and collegues. Of course you included your marketing message in the report, which would help you receive traffic from those that you wouldn't be able to reach on your own.

And then along came YouTube. Since it launched onto the internet scene a few years ago, viral marketing has taken on a whole new meaning. It is now possible to post a video on YouTube and have hundreds of people visiting your website within minutes. There's been dozens of other sites that have sprung up within the past year that enable you to post videos with your marketing message included. The 2 that I recommend are FreeIQ and Imeem.

7. Press Releases: Writing a press release is an incredible way to boost your web traffic. By describing the unique aspect of your business, product, or service, you allow reporters and publishers to give you free publicity that can bring in tons of traffic. If you choose a company whose releases are picked up by search engines like Google or Yahoo news, the amount of traffic you can recieve can be almost mind-boggling. And if they archive your press release on their website you can conceivably still be getting traffic to your site months or even years later. Two of the PR sites whose releases are most likely to be picked up by the search engines are PRWeb and PR.com.

8. Webrings: Many webmasters join up with similar websites and create what is called a webring. By combining forces with other complimentary sites, you'll receive traffic from people who are already interested in your product or service. Each participating site is given a code that they place at the bottom of their webpage. Visitors navigate through the sites by following the buttons that are in the webring code. To learn more about webrings check out these sites, WebRing and RingSurf.

9. Article or Bum Marketing: While it can be time consuming if you are not accustomed to doing it, well written content articles released for free distribution through article directories have the potential of gaining you credibility within your target market, as well as huge amounts of traffic through the use of your "resource box", which includes your name and a link to your site. As with press releases, if the articles are archived on the directory's website this traffic method can still be producing website visitors years down the road. Two of the most well-known and popular article directories are EzineArticles and GoArticles.com.

10. Social Networking: Contrary to popular thinking,social networking sites have been online long before MySpace became a commonly known buzzword. These networks can be an excellent way to meet up with people who have the same business interests and hobbies as you do. By allowing you to add your business links to your networking webpage, you increase the chance of receiving targeted visitors to your site as they come through your circle of friends. Check out the following two networks which are targeted more to the online business owner: Joe Popular and Ryze.

11. Posting on Forums: After losing some of the popularity that they had in the 90's, forums are again regaining the recognition that they deserve and you're most likely losing thousands of dollars if you ignore them. While I highly recommend this form of advertising, you should be aware of the proper etiquette before attempting to implement it. When joining any forum always familarize yourself with the rules that are posted by the forum's owner or moderator. Two forums that I recommend are, Mark Hendrick's Inner Circle Marketing Forum and Conquer Your Niche Marketing Forum.

By following these steps, you should see a dramatic increase in your web traffic. The key is to spend some time each day using one of these steps and it is very likely that you will be rewarded with more website visitors and greater revenue rather quickly.

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Sharon Bray-McPherson

Bonus

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Jan Tallent & Sharon Bray-McPherson

JanRon Publishing Digital Products

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