You’ve Built It…But They Will Not Come!
Didn’t the old expression go, “If you build it…they will come?” Yes, so imagine how disappointed website owners are when they spend thousands of dollars on a new website (probably complete with flashy animation, cool artwork, tons of photos and a great online store)—and yet no one comes. It’s discouraging enough to kill a web marketing campaign entirely.
However, it’s important to understand that building a website is merely "step one". Creating great content is "step two", and then there all of the steps afterwards, and this is what many website owners forget. Creating a website is just the first part of an aggressive campaign of content development, community outreach and linkbuilding.
So, if you have created a website (perhaps even overseen its development for a few years) and yet things are stalled as far as traffic, it’s time to re-evaluate your strategy.
Understanding the Role of the Website
One common misconception is that a website is like a brick and mortar store built right in front of a crowded highway. Chances are, if you build a McDonald’s in front of an old highway you’re going to get some decent foot traffic, because they all see the development. However, a website’s development is practically invisible to the masses, unless you happen to buy the “JustinBieber.com” domain.
Instead, websites have to be "discovered" and there are only a handful of ways to do this for free. Furthermore, the website is not the catch-all solution that web hosting companies and marketers make it out to be. A business website is just one avenue in a complete set of business applications that can be used online.
In the coming chapters, we are going to discuss multiple traffic generation methods that can be exploited, and all without you having to spend more than a couple of dollars.
How Websites Are Found by Search Engines
A refresher course on how websites are discovered may prove helpful as you start your free traffic campaign. No website is instantly “Googleable”. Rather, a site’s content is written and then you as the webmaster will "inform" the major search engines that there is new content to “crawl” and then “index.” Based on each search engine’s unique algorithm, your site will then be ranked and your Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) returned based upon keyword requests from users.
The question is: "How do you get the attention of search engines?"
When the Internet was young, the best way to do it was to simply submit your URL to a search engine’s “Suggest” page. However, times have changed and there are simply too many sites and too many pages to take into consideration. Now, companies prefer that you notify search crawlers by way of “pinging” search engines when new content is available. There is an automatic way to do this (which we will discuss a little later), as well as a manual submission method involving visiting the site you want to be indexed by, and submitting your sitemap document.
Keep in mind that just because a search engine has been “pinged” does not mean you’re going to get the royal treatment. While some popular sites and search-friendly sites have the privilege of practically “live” search results, less popular, new and rarely updated sites will only be crawled and indexed on a periodic basis.
For that matter, if your optimization methods are poor, you may actually be listed…but appear far down in the rankings that you might as well not be listed at all. This usually happens when you disregard advice about proper "optimization" techniques. For example:
You also have to remember that some search engines customize their own SERPs. Thus, while Yahoo is powered by Bing, results can vary. Yahoo definitely plays favorites and favors websites that: (A) pay the Yahoo business listing fee, and (B) link to multiple subdirectories within the Yahoo URL universe. Many search engines are powered by Google, but actually individualize search results based on various algorithm "tweaks", and their own human editors’ judgments.
There are multiple factors a search engine application will consider when listing your site for various domains and they can include everything from content-centric reasons, to keyword usage, to local interests or even personal affronts—that’s right, you can inadvertently annoy the search engines and they will penalize you!
Of course, this book is about free traffic generation, but just in case you’re second guessing the decision to buy traffic outright, let’s just cover the basics.
Paid guaranteed traffic is 99% scam. Sure, there is a 1% variable in there somewhere, however, statistics show that if you force users to view your website (usually through black-handed techniques like URL hijacking, malware installations, pop up ads and the works), they are NOT going to be the least bit interested in what you have to offer.
Unfortunately, this is what most paid traffic sites give you.
You can also take the commercial traffic approach and blindly advertise your website with local signage, TV/movie commercials, print publications, radio spots or even banner ads on a major search engine. True, you will get guaranteed views…but there is no telling whether you will connect with your audience.
The best way to market your website is through text related content (or SEO, to generalize a term), because this means targeted advertising. You only interact with traffic that admits to being interested in your products or services. Statistically, this is a no brainer. You are directly connecting with your best audience. All that matters now is the presentation.
Building Your Traffic Generation Strategy
In the next chapter, we are going to discuss why Search Engine Optimization is the best technique for web advertising. This will be followed by a discussion of other online avenues.
Long before you start trying these techniques, however, it is important to build an effective traffic generation strategy. Consider it a sort of mini-business plan, focusing exclusively on your online marketing methods. Without a traffic generation strategy, you will not really understand how effective your marketing is…nor will you be able to figure out the ROI - Return On Investment - for all of your time spent.
Your basic need here is to create a comprehensive plan, and then track your success, just as you would with an operational business plan. Based on the results you observe, you will be able to determine your next course of action.
Truthfully, (and as we are going to emphasize in this book) the best way to approach any marketing strategy is to work on as many traffic generation methods as possible, rather than intensifying efforts in one area—a plan that could very well backfire. (It’s the old, all your eggs in one basket analogy)
You want a complete web marketing plan that is going to establish your website through diversified content development and linkbuilding.
Ultimately, the Internet is only a collection of connected links. Within your site are a number of internal pages that allow viewers and search robots to find all the pages available. When your site links to another site via an external link, more connections are made, making it easier for people to discover you through this large collection of links. It’s basically a computerized version of the whole “friend of a friend of a friend” dynamic.
You want your company, indeed, your brand, to be all over the place—all over the Internet! This is precisely what huge websites like Wal-Mart, NBC, Disney, Exxon- Mobile and so on have. They spread themselves thick and they do it everywhere. So let’s discuss how to do just that!
Steps to a Successful Traffic Generation Plan
Step 1: Develop a complete step-by-step strategy, based on the information we are going to uncover in Chapter 2-6.
Step 2: Create a list of realistic goals, specific and based on your online progress. (i.e. total number of links, PR rank, #1 for targeted keywords, total traffic, sales conversions, leads, total sales, profit in sales, etc.)
Step 3: Create a means of tracking investment for time spent, any expenses you use, and compare profit/loss to determine if you are generating cash flow.
Step 4: Install analytics software on your site; either through individually pasting code into each page, or installing an application that analyzes your log files. Note trends and discuss these with your leadership team. Most web hosts offer site analytics for free, though Google also has its own
Step 5: When you are ready to begin the campaign, make changes to your site (based on our upcoming recommendations) and notice positive trends that you can capitalize on.