Five Proven Methods to Drive Traffic to Your website

Website owners, online marketers, and so-called gurus often disageee about the keys to success in the world of online business. But, there is one universal point of agreement: if you can’t get traffic to your site, your days are numbered. Nothing can compensate for a lack of website traffic.

Of course, you can pay for traffic by purchasing banner advertising, email blasts, adword advertising, etc. But, you really do not have to spend a lot of money to get the traffic you need.

Here is how you can generate plenty of traffic on a budget.

1. Article distribution is my favorite marketing activity because it has paid such great dividends for the websites with which I am associated. At last count, my article writing has netted those sites more than 30,000 links. The process is pretty simple. Just write articles that will be interesting and/or helpful, and use one of the many available software tools to submit them to article distribution sites. Include an author’s box, like the one at the end of this article, with links to your website(s). As Webmasters looking for content find and use your articles on their sites, you will pick up links; often lots of them.

2. Send out emails offering to swap links with other website owners. Target those whose visitors might be interested in your site and those of high quality.

3. One way link building is even better than exchanging links because the search engines are more “impressed” by one way links than reciprocals. If your website is good enough or if you can offer webmasters an ebook, a widget, or something else of value, try for some one way links.

4. Blog. Blog. Blog some more. A post a week would be great. A goal of one post a month should be your absolute minimum. Blog on subjects related to your website, and be sure your blog links to it.

5. Just as website owners need content, so do bloggers. Offer to write guest blogs (followed by an author’s box with a description of and link to your site).

6. This may surprise you, but press releases can get you hundreds of links (and lots of publicity). There are agencies and software tools which will help you distribute your releases. Neither are expensive: you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I realize that not everyone can write. If you are “writing challenged”, don’t despair. You might have to search around awhile, but there are folks who write blog posts and/or articles for less than $10. Press release are generally more, but the cost is not prohibitive. Remember, your potential return for each project can be hundreds of links. And, you know what that means.