Get traffic from alternative sources
Recently I found this article on one webmaster board, and since I liked all the ideas posted, decided to change it a little, to add some of my thoughts and then to post it here for my visitors too. Honestly I think that all the information in this article is highly important and it could mean a lot to your websites and conversion if you decide to give them a try.
Each of the methods described below will reveal you alternative ways of getting traffic to your website. Traffic that could get you more sales, clicks, better conversions and so on, so you really don’t want to pass by this article without reading it.
Blogging.
Proper blogging can really give you some extra traffic that wouldn’t depend on search engines, and yet it can be highly producive so I don’t see a reason why you would want to miss it. Blogging is a great way to achieve different, more personal approach to your visitors, to talk about things you are selling or you are interested in with intimate touch that visitors really love. Blogging also allow you to show your content in different form as with blogs you have ability to be up to date with all information that you have to give away.
Blogs also supports RSS feeds which are very nice advantage for getting more traffic with various RSS aggregators, feedlists, blog directories and so on. Social websites love blogs too. There is tons of services like Techorati and similar that can send you a lot of traffic. Using your blog to comment on other blogs in your niche is a big plus for getting lot of other advantages for your blog, plus for getting more traffic.
At the end, if you do all those things in the proper way, search engines will love your blog too and would for sure send you some more of their traffic.
Podcasting.
I don’t have any specific stats on podcasting, but just ask yourself, “Do I or anybody I know listen to podcasts?” I’m betting the answer is, “Yes!”, and the number is higher than it was a few years ago. Like blogging, Podcasting is a great way to control your message and bring it to market quickly.
Link buying.
Search engines turn up their noses at link buying, but I have been buying links long before they were used to juice link popularity scoring. A good link can deliver tons of targeted traffic. Some Wikipedia links deliver way more benefit from their traffic than they ever did from their link authority.
Just think about it, no matter what search engines have to say about this subject, getting more links to your sites means more traffic. Period.
TV Buys.
It turns out TV time really isn’t that expensive in local markets. Check out Spotrunner. You can buy great air time for a whole lot less than you probably expected. With use of catchy and easy to remember domain name in your TV ads, people will come to your website for sure. Maybe even in greater amount than what would you expect.
Web Directories.
This is how the Internet used to be organized and the genesis of Yahoo. While most fly-by-night directories won’t ever send you enough traffic to merit the fee, take a look at Aviva Directory’s List of the Strongest Directories. Work your way down this list and you’ll see targeted traffic.
Plus, that will bring some other benefits to your sites, like more links that, at the end, search engines will love too.
Ad Networks.
One of the things I always try to do is buy ad inventory on any pages that rank above me. Many of the most trafficked sites on the Internet sell ad space or let ad network services like AdBrite or IndustryBrains resell the space. There is gold in some of them hills! And in pretty nice number of cases you will be able to „buy“ those spots for pennies.
Online Forums.
Like web directories, online forums can trace their history back to the earliest days of Internet traffic. But like blogging, it’s a great way to personalize your interaction with your audience while building traffic. Plus, forums are often dedicated to particual subject or a niche. If you find good forums in your niche, and you are regular poster, other members will start to trust you, therefore they will be more likely to click on your link and probably to buy what you have to offer.
Social Media.
Aside from search engines, this is the motherload of traffic. Whether you’re building a large Myspace and Facebook presence, establishing yourself as a thoughtleader on linked in, or seeing your content promoted on Digg, Netscape and Reddit… this is probably the largest yield of any audience building effort. There is also very big possibility to get familiar with your audience, your friends on such a websites, who will gain more trust into you by getting to know you better. Yup, some time needs to be invested in this approach, but at the end it can pay off pretty well.
Email List Rentals.
This is a huge driver of traffic in the B2B and direct marketing worlds. If you can get the right cross section of traffic in a list, it’s very profitable. Just make sure the provider of the list is in compliance with all the laws regarding this activity. Also, there is no reason why you shouldn’t start to build your own lists and have your own audience around particual subject or niche.
Webinars/Video.
Webinars just might be the hottest audience building tool in the B2B world. Like podcasting, you can really go the extra mile in personalizing the message and interaction with your audience. Video communities like YouTube are a great source of traffic. What the audience lacks in buying intent, it makes up for in the ability to take your content viral. Also, some experiences shows that people are more likely to believe in what they saw on videos and what they can really heard with their ears than what they read on the web.
Online Press Releases.
Maybe the oldest and most resilient of the traditional media promotional tools, the online version is also effective. You’d be surprised how many news outlets rely on newswires. Take advantage of that through online press release agencies like PRWeb.com.
PR Firm.
A PR firm won’t pull a rabbit out of a hat, but the good ones are amazingly good at creating inertia behind your product or service. Their Rolodexes will make it easier to do everything else on this list.
Event Media Sponsorships.
If you are a news blogger…or your site can pass as a news site…this is an amazing source of traffic and branding that most online publishers have overlooked. Just about every major conference, seminar series, or symposium is looking for media sponsorships. You’ll get a valuable link on the event website plus you can market to eventgoers with other materials in the registration bags, booths at the show, and email blasts. The results of doing this in the B2B world are nothing short of amazing.
Sponsored Reviews.
There are a million of bloggers out there who are looking for topics to write about and get paid. In many cases you will get reviews on high quality blogs and sites, who already have lot of visitors with builded trust, so when someone makes review of your website, product or services, visitors will be more like to believe in what is said there and to do proper action when they land on your website. The concept of the sponsored review was designed by firms like ReviewMe and PayPerPost to solve this problem. Many of the Technorati Top 100 blogs can send you thousands of visitors.
Syndicate Your Content.
There are thousands of other businesses out there who are unable or unwilling to create their own content. For example, many Fortune 500’s display third-party content to aid their audience in buying decisions. There are also a ton of article sites with active audiences and/or good traffic. Make sure you require a link back to your original source, though. You know… to establish canonicalization for those search engines we are trying to ignore.
Posted: November 23rd, 2008 under Online Business.
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