How do you get more traffic to your website?

[cocobeet2]

I was wondering what techniques can be used. I heard about search engine optimization but what else is there? I also notice some companies that can guarantee x number of unique visitors to your website for a fee. Are these services worth it? what do they do to get that type of traffic?

[imisidro]

Be careful of those services that guarantee you X amount of traffic -- some are often low quality and some uses techniques that search engines hate that could lead to your site getting penalized

Here are some shoestring marketing ideas that can help you get the visitors you need at the least cost possible:

1. Create the best content you can with the best products you can possibly offer. Your content is your best advertisement - if visitors love your content, then they will go back and spread the word to others.

2. Use social media. Twitter, Facebook, Stumbleupon, LinkedIn, Reddit, Digg and others can be a big source of traffic for your business. Make it easy for users to recommend your site. Viral marketing is very important -- and easy to tap on the Web. But give your users the tools.

AddThis http://www.addthis.com

3. Rank well in the search engines (organic search results, not the pay per click). SEs can be a big source of traffic. The key is to create the best content in your niche. If you have good content, other websites will gladly link to you and offer your site as a resource to their audience. Check the on-page factors and be sure to get linked from authority sites in your topic area.

Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide (PDF format) http://static.googleusercontent.com/exte...-guide.pdf
Brett Tabke of WebmasterWorld.com's "Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone: 26 steps to 15k a day." http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/2010.htm

4. Send out press releases. While outfits charge as much as $650 per release, there are free press release submission places on the Web. Press releases allow you to (a) attract media attention; (b) get more back links to your website without sending each website an email request; and © get more visibility especially if your press release gets in Google News or Yahoo News.

http://www.przoom.com/
http://www.prweb.com

5. Submit articles. Write articles and submit them to websites accepting author submissions. You get exposure for your business; establishes you as an authority in your field, and allows you to get backlinks for your website. If 50 websites publish your article and it contains a link back to your website, then you easily get 50 links from a single article. The more links you have, the greater your chances for increasing your search engine rankings.

Here is a comprehensive list of where to submit your articles http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...6022407481

6. Improve your conversion. Getting visitors is one thing; getting them to buy your products is a whole different story. Read the article " How To Sell More on the Web: 30 Tips To Increase Conversion Rates For An Ecommerce Site " http://www.powerhomebiz.com/092006/ecommerce.htm for tips on how to improve your conversion rates.

7. Post a link to your site for free where it is allowed (always read the Terms of Use). Examples are:

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.com
Google Base http://base.google.com

[Jake Birdem]

Those traffic services will probably deliver worthless paid 3rd world visitors or even fake robots.

Paid advertising is the alternative to SEO, costs add up quickly, often only a business with a sound sales process can profit from advertising traffic.

Google Adwords PPC is one of the more expensive but well focused sources, paid search visitors are expressly seeking a subject. Facebook also has PPC ads with better demographic targeting, but unlike search, you don't know what's on their mind.

Various media networks can provide cheaper banner, popup window, etc advertisements some require minimum commitment in the $thousands.

[raysor]

Why would visitors come to your site (or anyone's site)??
Because they think there is something good there.
How do they come there?
Through Google search?
Then you have to make the site attractive to Google (robots).
How?
SEO
What's SEO?
Good content is most important - and I don't mean loads of keywords, I mean ux. Write your content FOR your visitors, write something YOU would find interesting and you're half way there.

Then validate your code - google w3c validator. VERY important.

Then get your description tags sorted also very important.

Then keep your page load quick - google website optimisation.

Then get on webmaster tools - submit a sitemap and check the HTML suggestions regularly - google will tell you if there's anything it doesn't like.
Do these things and I GUARANTEE you'll see an increase.

It gets harder after this. Page structure - make sure things are in the right order - title, h1, h2, paragraphs. Put your important keywords near the top.

If you've done all this, google wordtracker - find the popular terms and track your positions - if you want to move up, make sure these terms are in your title tags etc.

Even harder - build some links (genuine ones) and use the keywords in the links.

Then keep repeating all these steps whilst adding content regularly.

Of course you can 'cheat' and buy vistors, links etc. But for what purpose? You need visitors who are coming to your site for a genuine reason (targetted visitors)

[Anuj Kumar]

you need to do SEO and SMO for your website
Through SEO you will get relevant visitors to your site because it will be listed on 1st page of search engine results
Through SMO, you will get a lot of hits on your site because of which your site popularity will increase

[Smart Alec 88]

You will get more traffic to your website when you post free ads or featured ads at Biggest Classifieds or Largest Classifieds.

[Vishal Netake]

Here is the best way to Promote or Advertise your Website for free and also earn money from your website - http://www.businessworldlist.com/members...shalnetake