Traffic generation on a budget
Most webmasters keep their prized web traffic generation systems to themselves or charge an arm and a leg. I'm one of the guys in the trenches. Before I share with you the simplest and easiest methods to generate website traffic, I'll start with a bit of background information.
I have several websites and in the last ten years I have worked with gurus who promised to send traffic to my sites. In fact, I've paid anywhere from $200 to over $2,000 for traffic to my sites. I had one person charge a reasonable fee and my traffic went from 500 visitors to 8000 visitors. Three years later, their rate wasn't quite as reasonable, but I decided to go ahead and try another website. After three months and two thousand dollars I saw no results.
As many people know, search engines create algorithms so that no one can beat the system. Gurus find a way around this and charge a lot of money to drive traffic to their site. So the dance continues and the search engines create new algorithms. The next thing you know you are going back to the guru or looking for someone new.
Many of us have been sold a list of products on generating traffic to our websites and the allure of being in the top ten. I can tell you from personal experience that I have been in the top ten and it was not a huge shock. The hook the gurus use to charge a higher rate is the number of keywords you need to be in the top ten. After a while, you will realize that ONE keyword can have more than a hundred variations.
Your traffic and sales depend on the gurus and search engine algorithms. When you stop working with the gurus, or their magic doesn't work, your website traffic and sales hit rock bottom.
Yes, there are rewards for working with gurus, but you better have a good-looking site that sells. Start with methods that cost less and allow your traffic to increase. Check your status reports to learn more about your visitors and the keywords they used to find you. A good hosting provider will offer this with their hosting package.
A marketing expert once told me that the best thing to do was get off the roller coaster and put my money into methods that would generate consistent website traffic. As a website owner, learn how to update your own pages so you're not dependent on someone else updating your website. The same goes for generating website traffic. When you take the time and invest in building traffic on a regular basis, you will be free from search engine gurus and algorithms.
The simplest and time-tested techniques that take very little time are your best answers. One method that I know you've heard time and time again is to submit articles. Let me give you WHY submitting articles is important. When you are found in the search engines, you are just one more listing on all those pages. By submitting articles, I get a loyal audience that reads my articles every week. In fact, when they visit another website and see other articles I've written on other topics, it builds more credibility, relationship, link popularity, and traffic.
Website traffic generation is using a combination of methods. Submitting to search engines is still important, but it's only one part of your overall traffic building strategy. With most search engines, it can take anywhere from one to three months to see results.
Now here's the INSIDE INFO that most gurus won't tell you. I am using a traffic generation system that is available to anyone at no cost. In fact, it is simple to implement and only takes ten minutes of your time to set up. This system is instant and you will see an immediate increase in your traffic and you will be able to verify your results with your own status reports.