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In order to succeed online, you MUST have these three elements:
Something to sell A website that makes the sale People coming to that site and buying
Deciding on and setting up numbers one and two are as easy as pie. In fact, you could have these in place within the next 10 minutes.
The third element, getting real people to come to your site and buy something, has most people stumped.
In Internet terms, getting visitors to your site is called getting traffic. There is no other topic on which so much is written, and so much is wrong.
Being a fairly simple minded fellow, I like to keep things simple and easy to understand. In that light, here are some thoughts on understanding, and getting, traffic.
There are basically two types of traffic, paid and free.
This means you are going to have to pay for traffic through either your efforts (free traffic) or your pocketbook (paid traffic).
Everybody pays... some with time, others with money. I'm sure by now you know that the "three click" wonders don't work for anyone... except the people selling them!
There is paid traffic and free traffic; nothing more and nothing less.
Let's take a look at free traffic, and see how it works:
Free Traffic
'Free traffic' is the siren song of the digital age.
Is it possible to really get free traffic to your site? Sure. Can you build a business based on this traffic? Yes.
BUT you will have to work hard, and learn how to get (and use) free traffic.
The main sources of free traffic are:
SEARCH ENGINES
Often considered to be the best way to get free traffic, the goal is to get your site listed in the coveted 'top ten' search results. You can't trick the search engines, so the best way to do this is to provide lots of good content.
If your site is helpful to readers, you will do well.
If you try and outsmart the search engines to get traffic you will go broke buying the latest and greatest. These items either won't work, or won't work for very long.
Create a content rich site (with original, high quality content) and the search engines will reward you by displaying your site when people search for the type of information you provide.
FREE ADS
Free ads are a mixed blessing. While they are free, which is good, they usually don't work, which is bad.
If you can place a free ad in a place where ads are usually sold, it might be worth your time.
Word of warning: ad blasters and automated submitters do not work in testing, and should to be avoided.
ARTICLES
Without a doubt, marketing with articles is the number one free traffic method, and anyone can do it.
You start by writing a short article - around 500 words - that describes a problem people face and provides ways to solve that problem.
Once your article is written, you can submit it to article directories, ezines, etc, to get the widest possible distribution.
Write and submit an article each week and soon you will get very interested visitors who are proven to buy.
VIRAL MARKETING
This is when you create something of value that others can give away, while making sure you benefit from it being given away.
The key here is that you both win when the product is given freely.
In most cases, the person who gives the book away for you wins by providing good information that they don't have to write. You win because the product contains links back to your site.
The most common form of this is either some type of software, short e-book or report.
PUBLISH AN EZINE
Publishing an ezine is highly profitable and easy to do. All you need to do is gather, or write, articles about a specific subject and publish an ezine (like the one you are reading now) on a schedule. That might mean every week, or every month.
You can get great articles from all sorts of places, like article directories or ezine directories.
Publish an ezine, offer it to everyone in your address book and who visits your site, and watch your traffic grow.
PUBLISH A BLOG
This is super easy today. If you have a hosting account, the chances are you have blogging software on that account free. If not, you can always use Blogger.
Just as with a website, on a blog you publish great content and search engines will send traffic over time.
It's easy to interact with your readers by letting them comment on posts, and you can tailor the structure to meet your personal needs. Plus you can offer an RSS feed, rather than just emails, for those who prefer getting content automatically.
PARTICIPATE ON FORUMS
This is an excellent, and free, way to earn while you learn. Visit forums that are specific to your site and post questions or make comments.
This works well if you understand reciprocity and are wiling to give a bit before you receive. Don't use your forum post as an ad in disguise.
Once forum members get to know and trust you, they will visit the site you list in your signature area. By becoming involved in the forums specific to your topic of interest, you will get very targeted free traffic on a steady basis.
As you can see, there are many ways to get free traffic to your site. Remember that these methods will take time. But if you have more time than money right now, these techniques will work to get traffic to your site.
I hope they work for you too.
Charlie Page owns the Directory of Ezines and is the author of 10 books about Internet marketing. Through his membership sites and personal consulting, Charlie helps people achieve their goal of independence in record time. Can Charlie help you? Find out at http://www.CharliePage.com
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