Blog and Web Site Traffic Sources and Strategies
April 30, 2008
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Search Engines
When people think of getting traffic to their blog or web site they usually think of search engines. Higher search engine rankings equals more traffic to your blog. When selecting target keywords for high search engine rankings it is important to be specific, focused and realistic.
Specific:
Choosing specific or “long-tail” keywords, as they are often referred to, is important for two reasons.
- More often than not it is easier to achieve high search engine rankings for specific keywords than it is for general keywords. Because, specific keywords usually have less competition. (i.e. custom rhinestone jewelry vs. jewelry)
- Users searching for more specific keywords/phrases are more likely to make purchases than those searching for general keywords/phrases. Specific searchers are in "buy mode" while general searches are in "research mode".
Focused:
Every aspect of your blog design and posting should be focused on the top keywords/phrases you are targeting. This will help you get higher search engine rankings, as well as, the desired reaction from your visitors.
- When a human visitor lands on your blog you have less than 10 seconds to capture their attention. Therefore, they need to see words and images that are directly related to the keywords/phrases they searched for to find you.
- Search engine spiders need to "see" keywords in the proper place and in the proper density in order to give you a high ranking.
Realistic:
It takes time and effort to achieve long term, organic search engine rankings. Of course the more competitive the phrases you are trying to rank for the more time and effort it will take.
Factors that Determine Search Engine Rankings
- Competition - The number of search results for a specific keyword / phrase
- Proper inclusion of keywords in blog code. (i.e. Title, Description, Keyword Meta Tags and Image Alt. Tags)
- Proper keyword density in the body of blog posts. (3-6% is optimal) This means that if you are writing a web page on "custom jewelry" then the keyword "custom jewelry" should appear 3-6 times for every 100 words.
- Keyword(s) in Domain Name
- Links to your web site or blog from other web sites or blogs. Preferably related sites that have high rankings. The links "anchor text" should also include your keywords/phrases.
- Regularly updated content.
- Age of Domain Name
Pay Per Click
PPC or Pay Per Click campaigns are an excellent way to get traffic to your blog instantly and test keyword effectiveness, as well as, on-page variables. (i.e. Headlines, Images, Colors, etc…)
When setup and monitored correctly PPC campaigns can give you a very good ROI. Depending on your budget PPC campaigns also allow you to get traffic for the more competitive keywords / phrases in your market faster than waiting on organic search engine traffic alone.
Conversion Goals and Testing
When running PPC campaigns it is imperative to setup conversion goals and on-page testing in order to get the best ROI.
With these in place you will be able to immediately tell which keywords, ads and on-page factors result in the highest number of conversions and/or sales.
Google Analytics and Web Site Optimizer are good tools to help you with this.
Web 2.0 - Social Networking / Media Sites
This is one of the newest, and for some markets, most effective ways of getting high volumes of blog traffic. It utilizes the popularity of social networking sites to drive traffic to specific, related pages on your site.
In short Web 2.0 sites are any sites that allow users to add and/or make comments on content. Vote content good/bad or up/down thus affecting the amount of traffic that content generates.
Web 2.0 campaigns affect your blog traffic in two ways.
- They provide you with direct traffic to your blog or web site. In many cases this happens overnight.
- They help increase your organic search engine rankings by providing keyword relevant back links to your main blog. Thus, it’s important that all of your Web 2.0 marketing efforts focus on the primary keywords/phrases you want to rank high for.
Examples of Social Networking / Media Sites:
Strategies for Social Networking / Media Sites:
- Submit Demo / Training Videos
- Submit Photo Galleries
- Blogging
- Blog Commenting
- Article Submission
- Forum Participation
Get the Low Down on Everything Web 2.0 and Social Media….
Other Traffic Sources for eCommerce Sites
Auction Sites
Another excellent way for ecommerce sites to attract visitors and gain immediate exposure is to use popular auction sites like eBay.
Affiliate Program
Affiliate programs reward members for promoting your blog/products on their web sites and/or blogs. This is an excellent source of advertising that has the potential to rapidly increase sales exponentially.
Conclusion
A successful keyword targeted, Internet marketing campaign will include a combination Search Engine, Pay Per Click and Web 2.0 traffic strategies. While the principles are the same every market is a little different. Each of these methods will give you deeper insight into your market and you will quickly be able to recognize which methods are the most affective and prioritize accordingly.
Author: Barry Ochsner, 1Cat.biz Online Biz Consulting and Coaching
Technorati Tags: blog traffic,web 2.0 marketing,social media
Jack Humphrey Strikes Again
February 11, 2008
Jack Humphrey, the author of the definitive Web 2.0 resource, The Authority Black Book and the creator of Social Power Linking strikes again with Social Marketing Central.
Social Marketing Central is a brand new community site for bloggers and Internet marketers who are involved in, or want to learn more about, driving huge amounts of traffic to their websites using social networking sites.
Click here to see what Jack has to say about his latest creation, Social Marketing Central. Then, go and sign up for an account.
See you on the inside, Barry O.
Firefox Extension SearchStatus - Are Your Comments Being Followed?
January 18, 2008
As a blogger you know how important it is to participate in conversations about your niche on other blogs. And you do that by commenting on other high traffic blogs in your niche.
Why is it important to comment on other blogs in your niche?
- Participation
- Exposure
- Backlinks
But, what if you comment on a blog that uses the "nofollow" tag in the comment links? Read more
Start the New Year Off Right - Your Blog Marketing Web 2.0 Plan!
January 1, 2008
Has all of this blog marketing and Web 2.0 stuff got your head spinning? Do you find yourself reading 10 blog posts a day and going in 10 different directions only to wind up frustrated at the end of the day?
Maybe you've got a good understanding of it all but could use a day-to-day plan to help you implement and get better results from your blog marketing Web 2.0 efforts. (i.e. More Traffic, More Subscribers, More Profits!)
How Easy Link Manager Saved My 1st Page Google Listing
December 21, 2007
In this video I show how I used Easy Link Manager to fix a mistake I made when retitling a blog post that was indexed on the 1st page of Google.
I accidentally changed my WordPress permalink but was able to correct it quickly with Easy Link Manager.
Oh yeah and my Easy Link Manager links are also getting indexed and ranked high in Google.
Checkout the video.
Read more
Traffic… That's All I Keep Hearing About!
October 17, 2007
As you may or may not know, 1Cat.biz is devoted to the subject of How to Monetize Your Blog or Website. Heck, we even wrote a free eBook about it.
But, we still get questions like this one all the time:
"You know Mr.Cat, the biggest issue is not monetization, I think that information is available a dime a dozen from the mega blogs, the thing that gets me is how to drive traffic. Most experts sing the same tune over and over, even the traffic generation products I buy sing the same tune, but nothing really works or works well I should say. One will earn money if you have traffic, thats just that. So traffic, traffic, traffic, how do I do that?"
OK! We're going to stray from our main topic of monetization this one time and show you a must-have, traffic generation, tool for all serious WordPress bloggers.
This tool puts social bookmarking on steroids!
If You Can Write A Blog Post, Then You Have All The Skills Needed To Automatically Increase Traffic To Your Blog, Improve Your Website Popularity And Generate Buzz — “Hands-Free”!
Watch this video to see what Social Bookmarking is all about and how easy it really is.
Yes, you must have traffic in order to monetize your blog. But, more importanatly, you must also have a good monetization strategy in place and be ready to capture emails and follow up when people land on your blog or website. Otherwise, you're wasting your efforts.
Funny Monkey Video
May 4, 2007
