3 Steps to Driving the Right Traffic to Your Website
by Alicia M. Forest
One of the biggest challenges many
of my clients have is getting enough
visitors to their websites. And not just
any visitors, but the right kind of visitors
- the ones who are high quality prospects
for you.
There are literally hundreds of ways you can drive the right kind of traffic to your
website, and usually a combination of several brings the best kind of visitor to your
site -- the ones who are most likely to takeaction with you -- whether that's to sign
up for your teleseminar, join your bootcamp, buy your info-product or simply sign
up for your ezine list.
But once we get into looking at a client's site, the piece we often find missing is a
clearly defined niche. If you don't know who your target clients and customers are, it
makes it really difficult to find them and to let them find you.
Step #1. Who is your target market?
Once you define who it is that you're most meant to serve, the easier it will be to
know where and how to find them.
Once you have a clearly defined niche, you want to be sure that your website is
optimized in the sense that it's ready for the traffic that you're going to be sending to
it. There are two essential pieces that you need to have in place before you start
driving that traffic to your site:
~ An Invite Site:
This is a simple one-page website where you direct your target market to sign up for
your list.
~ A Free Taste:
This is your free offering to entice people to join your list once they arrive at your
Invite Site.
I'd like to invite you to take a look at your website and make sure that it's super-clear
what step people should take when they arrive. The first thing that your visitor
should see is the sign-up for your Free Taste.
If you're going to make the effort to get people to your site, you want to make sure
you have a way to capture them once they get there to get them on your list and in
your marketing & product funnel. Following this model is a foundational piece to
building a successful and sustainable business online.
One you have that foundation in place, you need to find ways to access your niche, to
get in front of them, so you can drive traffic to your website. There are two key ways
to drive traffic to your site:
Step #2. Find Them
The second key to driving traffic to your website is to find out where your target
market is hanging out online. Here are some ways you can do that.
> Join Online Networking Groups/Discussion List/Forums/Blogs
Find three online networking groups and list your profile and website address that
points directly to your sign-up page for your Free Taste. Some great groups can be
found on Ryze.com and LinkedIn.com. Search Google Groups or Yahoo Groups for
other groups that apply directly to your niche.
The key to utilizing this tool is to build that relationship with your target market, not
to sell anything. Every list has it's own set of rules, but most lists will allow you an
email signature where you have your URL listed that points to your Free Taste on
your website. Many lists also have Promo days where you can point people to your
website as well.
> Offer Free Teleseminars
Another way to get in front of your target market is to offer free teleseminars for
groups and associations that are made up of your target market. You invite people to
visit your site during the teleseminars, and/or when they register - depending on
how the association wants it set up. Associations are always looking for speakers, so
put together an offer to speak and send these out.
> Do Internet Radio or Podcast Interviews
Offer to be interviewed for a Internet radio or podcast show whose audience is your
target market. Make sure you are able to give the URL of where you want people to
sign up for your Free Taste. To find an appropriate show, Google "your niche +
podcast" or "your niche + radio shows."
Step #3. Let them find you
The third key is to leave clues for people to find you online.
If your niche isn't clear in the sense that they're not necessarily hanging out together,
this is sort of a sideways way to reach them.
> Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Google Adwords or Yahoo Overture are the two biggest players in the pay-per-click
arena. You can create a PPC campaign for a very small investment, and because you
have complete control over your budget, you can set it for whatever amount you feel
comfortable with. It's very difficult to get to the top of the "organic" search results (on
the left side of the search results page) but can be very easy to get on the first page of
results with a PPC, bringing targeted traffic to you. And, the best part is you only pay
when someone clicks your ad that takes them to your website.
Use the PPC's research tool to help find the best keywords for your target market
(keywords are just search terms that help people find you online), and then use them
in your articles to help the search engines drive traffic to your site.
> Write & Submit Articles
There are several reasons why you want to implement this strategy. One is to educate
your target market about you and what you do. Another is that it helps to position
you as an expert. And another reason is that your articles give people a taste of your
style, what it is that you offer, and it gives them an opportunity to get to know you a
bit without risking anything.
When someone enters your keywords in the search form, your article will pop up and
that will drive traffic to your site.
> Optimize Your Website for the Search Engines
You'd have to be a full time search engine optimization expert to keep up with all the
changes the major search engines make, but there are a few basic things you can do to
help your site come up for relevant searches. Here are some to get you started:
a. Define your keywords - this is how people will find your business online. The trick
is to find keywords that are highly relevant to what you offer and popular enough
that they will attract decent traffic to your site, but not so competitive that you can't
rank well using them. Use your keywords in your web page copy.
b. Create your metatags - this is how the search engines "read" your site. Put your
keywords in your metatags on each page of your website.
c. Submit your site to the search engines:
Why wait for the search engines' robots or spiders to find you? Submit your website
(it's best if you submit every page individually) to at least these three major search
engines manually. It's easy and only takes a minute.
Submit your web pages to:
Yahoo
Google
DMoz
About the Author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach(TM) teaches
self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and
services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on
how to create wild abundance in your business, visit ClientAbundance.
by Alicia M. Forest
One of the biggest challenges many
of my clients have is getting enough
visitors to their websites. And not just
any visitors, but the right kind of visitors
- the ones who are high quality prospects
for you.
There are literally hundreds of ways you can drive the right kind of traffic to your
website, and usually a combination of several brings the best kind of visitor to your
site -- the ones who are most likely to takeaction with you -- whether that's to sign
up for your teleseminar, join your bootcamp, buy your info-product or simply sign
up for your ezine list.
But once we get into looking at a client's site, the piece we often find missing is a
clearly defined niche. If you don't know who your target clients and customers are, it
makes it really difficult to find them and to let them find you.
Step #1. Who is your target market?
Once you define who it is that you're most meant to serve, the easier it will be to
know where and how to find them.
Once you have a clearly defined niche, you want to be sure that your website is
optimized in the sense that it's ready for the traffic that you're going to be sending to
it. There are two essential pieces that you need to have in place before you start
driving that traffic to your site:
~ An Invite Site:
This is a simple one-page website where you direct your target market to sign up for
your list.
~ A Free Taste:
This is your free offering to entice people to join your list once they arrive at your
Invite Site.
I'd like to invite you to take a look at your website and make sure that it's super-clear
what step people should take when they arrive. The first thing that your visitor
should see is the sign-up for your Free Taste.
If you're going to make the effort to get people to your site, you want to make sure
you have a way to capture them once they get there to get them on your list and in
your marketing & product funnel. Following this model is a foundational piece to
building a successful and sustainable business online.
One you have that foundation in place, you need to find ways to access your niche, to
get in front of them, so you can drive traffic to your website. There are two key ways
to drive traffic to your site:
Step #2. Find Them
The second key to driving traffic to your website is to find out where your target
market is hanging out online. Here are some ways you can do that.
> Join Online Networking Groups/Discussion List/Forums/Blogs
Find three online networking groups and list your profile and website address that
points directly to your sign-up page for your Free Taste. Some great groups can be
found on Ryze.com and LinkedIn.com. Search Google Groups or Yahoo Groups for
other groups that apply directly to your niche.
The key to utilizing this tool is to build that relationship with your target market, not
to sell anything. Every list has it's own set of rules, but most lists will allow you an
email signature where you have your URL listed that points to your Free Taste on
your website. Many lists also have Promo days where you can point people to your
website as well.
> Offer Free Teleseminars
Another way to get in front of your target market is to offer free teleseminars for
groups and associations that are made up of your target market. You invite people to
visit your site during the teleseminars, and/or when they register - depending on
how the association wants it set up. Associations are always looking for speakers, so
put together an offer to speak and send these out.
> Do Internet Radio or Podcast Interviews
Offer to be interviewed for a Internet radio or podcast show whose audience is your
target market. Make sure you are able to give the URL of where you want people to
sign up for your Free Taste. To find an appropriate show, Google "your niche +
podcast" or "your niche + radio shows."
Step #3. Let them find you
The third key is to leave clues for people to find you online.
If your niche isn't clear in the sense that they're not necessarily hanging out together,
this is sort of a sideways way to reach them.
> Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Google Adwords or Yahoo Overture are the two biggest players in the pay-per-click
arena. You can create a PPC campaign for a very small investment, and because you
have complete control over your budget, you can set it for whatever amount you feel
comfortable with. It's very difficult to get to the top of the "organic" search results (on
the left side of the search results page) but can be very easy to get on the first page of
results with a PPC, bringing targeted traffic to you. And, the best part is you only pay
when someone clicks your ad that takes them to your website.
Use the PPC's research tool to help find the best keywords for your target market
(keywords are just search terms that help people find you online), and then use them
in your articles to help the search engines drive traffic to your site.
> Write & Submit Articles
There are several reasons why you want to implement this strategy. One is to educate
your target market about you and what you do. Another is that it helps to position
you as an expert. And another reason is that your articles give people a taste of your
style, what it is that you offer, and it gives them an opportunity to get to know you a
bit without risking anything.
When someone enters your keywords in the search form, your article will pop up and
that will drive traffic to your site.
> Optimize Your Website for the Search Engines
You'd have to be a full time search engine optimization expert to keep up with all the
changes the major search engines make, but there are a few basic things you can do to
help your site come up for relevant searches. Here are some to get you started:
a. Define your keywords - this is how people will find your business online. The trick
is to find keywords that are highly relevant to what you offer and popular enough
that they will attract decent traffic to your site, but not so competitive that you can't
rank well using them. Use your keywords in your web page copy.
b. Create your metatags - this is how the search engines "read" your site. Put your
keywords in your metatags on each page of your website.
c. Submit your site to the search engines:
Why wait for the search engines' robots or spiders to find you? Submit your website
(it's best if you submit every page individually) to at least these three major search
engines manually. It's easy and only takes a minute.
Submit your web pages to:
Yahoo
DMoz
About the Author: Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach(TM) teaches
self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and
services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on
how to create wild abundance in your business, visit ClientAbundance.
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