[TIPS] Ten Ways To Get Web Traffic Fast - And Free

By James Gladwin (c) 2009

There are several ways to get website traffic fast and free, and I'm going to share ten niche ways with you.


Article Submission

You don't need to be an award winning expert on the topic you are writing about - just pick an area that is related to the theme of your website, do a bit of research using a search engine and before you know it you will have more knowledge on that subject than most. Write in a relaxed, straightforward way. And, of course, when you add your details at the end of your article, make certain that you include your web address as well.

URL Submission

This sounds so obvious, yet so many people overlook it. Website URL submission is about getting more links to your website to help your website get ranked high on major search engines, thus getting more visitor traffic by, well, submitting your website URL to the major search engines. You can buy or subscribe to software that will do this, but it is quite possible to get a good return by submitting manually.

Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a way for internet users to store, classify, share, search and discover Internet resources that they find useful. Since social bookmarks are saved online, users are able to access them from anywhere - at home, at work or while travelling.

These lists can be accessible to the public by users of a specific network or website. What you need to do first is register with a social bookmarking site which allows you to store and tag bookmarks. Most social bookmarking services allow users to search for bookmarks which are associated with given "tags", and rank the resources by the number of users which have bookmarked them. This means that other visitors and members of social bookmarking sites can search for resources by topic, category, keyword, tags, or popularity to see what others have saved. As a user, social bookmarking sites let you find useful, informative resources through pages that have been tagged because others have found them to be valuable sources. Voila - more web traffic. Free.

Forum Posting

Forum posting is a hands down alternative to paid advertising methods. For only a few hours of work every week, you can capture batches of interested leads everyday. The more forums you contribute to, the more you will gain traffic. If you are an active forum poster, you will also get a good feel about the kind of products that are hot on the market.

Please don't overlook the forum signature or commonly called resource box - it's a powerful free advertising tool for you. What you must do is edit your forum signature. Basically, a curiosity inducing one-liner and a link to your website is great. Once you have edited and saved your signature, it will appear at the bottom of all your comments in the forum discussions. That means, the more you participate in the discussions in the forums, the more people see your semi-ad written on your signature. I promise, this will encourage people to visit your website, and hopefully buy from you.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing is one of the best ways to get the word out about your website and can be done with very little technical expertise and therefore is easy to start up. If you have a product or service you believe in, visit a site such as Clickbank and open an account. Follow the simple instructions to gain affiliates - and traffic.

Press Releases

It's a fact that a well-written Press Release can dramatically increase your sales, expose your company to the masses, and greatly enhance the image of your business or products. Publicity is the most cost-effective web traffic building marketing tool there is, and, surprisingly, web traffic can be generated by ink and paper!

Classified Ads

Again, it's easy to associate Classified Ads with yesterday's technology, but they are extremely cheap and a one line product or service description, together with your website, will pay dividends.

Blog Comments

If you are an avid blog follower, you have to include Blog Commenting in your web traffic arsenal. You will almost always find a "comments" link at the end of each post. Good blog commenters add to the discussion and are known as knowledgeable, informative, friendly and engaged. Join them!

FaceBook

Don't forget that you can use Facebook to its full potential to attract more visitors to your website. You can get away from just interacting with your school or college friends and start interacting with people within your industry or other industries that you want to get into.

An easy way to do this is to join groups that interest you as well as make friends with people that you want to get to know. Fill out your profile (fully) - the best profile on Facebook is a complete one.

Videos

Finally, why not make a video and post to video sites too! This is not a Warner Bros. effort! Your PC or Mac may well have a webcam, or you can borrow a camcorder or Flip. Write a brief script - lights- camera - action - and upload to YouTube. (Just remember to be sure to link it back to you.)

Well - there you are. Not all of the ten suggestions I've outlined may appeal, but if you select three or four, stick with them, and implement them on a regular basis, you will see your web traffic increase significantly. My best to you.

Source: Site Pro News

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[TIPS] First Impressions: Make Sure Your Website Follows These 10 Things

by Kimberly Reddington

When a visitor first sees you website, they form an impression about it within the first 10 seconds of its loading. Depending upon the feelings they get when viewing your site, they either decide to leave or to get a better look around. Here are ten items to think about when deciding if you are giving off your desired impression:


1. Your website should appear professional, clean and simple.

When you walk into a physical store, you are more apt to buy from a store that is clean, easy to walk around the aisles, sells quality products that are neatly placed on shelves or racks, and has a friendly yet well-established feel. Your website should have a similar look and feel. Avoid clutter, allow for white space around items and make it easy for the visitor to move around.


2. Your navigation should be easy and simple.

If your visitors are having trouble finding what they are looking for immediately, it is much too easy for them to return to their search and find a competitor with easier navigation. Keep navigation in a prominent location with simple to use tabs and links.


3. Select colors that are attractive and comfortable for the eye to look at.

Learn what colors your audience prefers, as well as the impression you are trying to set off. If you want to relax your visitors, then use subtle and light colors. If you want to excite your visitors, then use vibrant colors. Stick to colors and shades that work well together. Use a color wheel to see which colors complement each other.


4. Create a branding statement and utilize that statement throughout the whole website.

Your business should have a special brand that makes you stand out from competitors. Your brand is your unique look that grabs your visitor's attention. Place your brand prominently near the top of your home page or landing page. Make sure to keep you brand throughout the whole site to give everything a consistent look and feel.


5. Display what your business is all about.

It only takes visitors about 10 seconds to know whether they want to leave your site or continue viewing it. Make sure that they learn what your business is all about within those first 10 seconds. If your url or business name doesn't easily explain your business purpose, then make sure to create a tagline and use that as part of your branding statement.


6. Make sure that important "calls to action" are in places where the user can see them.

Most visitors will not read your entire home page. People tend to peruse a web page quickly. The use of colors and bolding can make important words and phrases stand out more and catch the reader's attention. Make sure that important links or buttons are easy to see, stand out, and are not too far down the page.


7. Prominently display quality graphics and images.

Graphics and other images on your website will grab your visitor's attention much more than text. Make sure that your images are high quality graphics and are optimized for fast loading.


8. Use photos to display the quality of your products.

Since visitors cannot pick up your products to look at them, they rely on images and graphics. Use attractive images and photos that are large enough to show important details.


9. Use stand-alone web pages.

Unlike a magazine or catalog, you cannot predict which web pages your visitor will read first, next, or last. Avoid having content in your pages that is dependent on your visitor having seen another page first. Make sure each page can stand on its own.


10. Test your navigation and links.

Test your completed design by showing it around to others. See how they navigate. Ask open-ended questions to get a feel for how they perceive your website. Are they having trouble finding certain features of your site?

Your website may be your visitor's first impression of you and your business. Colors, images, fonts, text and other visuals will bring out certain feelings and thoughts the second a visitor views their first web page of your site. You want to be sure you are sending out the right messages that are inline with what your niche is expecting.

Source : Website First Impression
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