28 Strategies That Will Drive Traffic to Your Web Site.

There are various strategies to utilize in order to drive traffic to your web site. I've listed below 28 of the most effective strategies business owners are currently utilizing successfully to drive traffic to their web site and increase their revenue. Any of these strategies can be custom designed to your specific needs as long as you understand the concept behind the strategy. These strategies are an exerpt from the book "How to Sell Anytning on the Internet".

Read each of the strategies below in order to get familiar with them. They are listed alphabetically for your convenience-- not in order of importance or effectiveness. Each strategy can be implemented on its own, or in combination with each other.

1. Advertise: Whenever advertising, include your web site address. Create curiosity and invite the prospect to your web site. Don't just mention your web site address in your ad, the way most businesses do. Give them a reason to visit your web site. Write something like, "For more information, visit our web site at www.___.com" (For advertising tips, see section "Advertising Effectively")

2. Affiliate programs: Companies such as Amazon.com, eBay.com, and hundreds of other companies have utilized affiliate programs to spread the word about their products. Most importantly, they've used their affiliate programs to sell more of their product than they would have without their affiliate's help. A well-designed affiliate program will have others advertise your product or service in return for a percentage of the sale. This is the perfect vehicle for companies who want maximum exposure with low out of pocket expense. You can have your affiliate enroll in your program free of charge, knowing that if they don't sell your product or service, you don't have to pay them. It is in the webmaster's best interest to promote your product or service in order for them to receive payment from you.

3. Auctions: Online auctions like e-Bay, Yahoo and others are a great way to draw traffic to your web site. E-bay, being the largest on-line auction, draws millions of visitors to their site. These visitors search for just about every type of item imaginable. This means that there is a section for your product or service available to you no matter what you're selling. In order to drive traffic to your web site, you should run an auction of one of your products and although eBay does not allow you to add a link to your web site, you can mention it as long as you're not selling products. You should then invite the visitor to your web site.

4. Auto responders: An auto responder is a mechanism by which you can automatically respond to requests sent to a specific e-mail address. The beauty of an auto responder is that it works 24 hours a day - seven days a week without your supervision. Auto responders can be used in many ways to automate your web site and increase traffic to it. If selling a product, you can request an individual to request information about your product and an instant message will be sent to the requestor. You can send sales material, diagrams, trial software programs, menu of the day, recipes, special presentations, product or service information and/or anything else you can electronically transfer. This can all be done automatically once you set up your system to do so. Your hosting account should have autoresponders available to you. If they don't, you can try aeWebHosting.com.

5. Banner advertising: You can create and place a banner on other highly targeted and heavy traffic web sites in order to target a specific audience. There are different cost structures when banner advertising. You can exchange banners, making it free to you, pay a fixed monthly fee, or pay-per-click-through. When designing a banner, make sure you create a call to action instead of simply advertising your company's name. The possibility of an individual clicking on your banner will always increase if you give them a reason to click on it. Be careful, however, not to simply drive general traffic to your site, you want to drive quality traffic in order for you to better address the needs of your customers.

6. Brochures: Use your web site as a brochure on-line and off. You can save your web site to a disk and send it to your prospects. The disk holds all the information you need to educate and sell your prospects. You can also link your electronic brochure to your web site and have the reader "link" directly to your web site. This allows you to keep your web site updated, even if the information on the CD is out of date. If you create a physical brochure (tri-fold, etc.), make sure your web site address is listed. If you currently have existing brochures, either print your domain name on a label, or create a rubber stamp to label it.

7. Business cards: Your business card can tell your whole story when you indicate your web site address on it. Make sure that your web site address is clearly printed on your business card so that the holder can get more information about your company. You can also use business cards as a promotional tool if you utilize both sides of the card. One side will be your traditional information, and the other can be a message inducing the reader to visit your web site.

8. Business expos: When hosting a business expo, make sure you promote your web site address by inviting prospects to your web site with an enticing offer. A business Expo will place you in front of thousands of targeted prospects waiting for you to give them a reason to visit your site. If you offer anything of value to your prospect, and place it on your web site, they will flock to your site to acquire it and hopefully stick around to see what your company is all about.

9. CD Business Cards: It is possible to create a business card presentation similar to an electronic brochure above. There are business card sized CDs (which are shaped like a business card), which can hold an entire presentation, including short videos, interactive forms, and a link to your web site, or contact form. The CD can be played on an individual's computer, where your information, or presentation will be displayed at their leisure. The CD is invaluable because you can create rich multimedia presentations that would normally take long to load on the Internet. You can check out TheUltimateBusinessCard.com for some samples and ideas on putting together a unique and enticing presentation.

10. Classified ads: Advertising on or off the Internet with classifieds can be a very rewarding experience if you target your market properly. There are thousands of web sites, which offer free and fee based classified ads. The object of the classified ad is to find a small message that is powerful enough to drive traffic to your web site. Once the reader visits your web site, let the web site do the selling. See the section "On-line Classifieds" to learn where to place your ads. Some services are completely free, yet some are fee-based. You should test your classified ads until you find one that gets your desired results. Once you find that ad, you should plaster it all over the Internet, in as many targeted places as possible. One such place for free local classified advertising is hvFreeClassifides.com

11. Database marketing: Capture your visitors' e-mail addresses by offering special reports, electronic newsletters, special information, or a special contest. By offering such information, your visitor would be more willing to exchange their information for yours. Although not everyone will complete a form, those who do are more willing to accept your future offers. You should then place all this information on a database, which you will then use to market. There are several software programs available to you that will help you create a database. You can use Microsoft Access, Fox Pro, Act and many others for information storage. E-mail programs such as Netscape Communicator, Microsoft Outlook, and Eudora Pro are among some of the e-mail programs which will help you store this information as well. Depending on your hosting account, you can also allow its mailing list feature to grab, store and manage your database automatically for you.

12. Direct mail: Using direct mail to entice your prospect to your web site is one of the most effective ways to get visitors. If you use this method of attracting prospective clients to your site, the most cost-efficient and effective way to do it is by the use of postcards. Postcards are very visible and can get into places that sales people normally can't. A properly designed postcard or direct mail piece should contain a call to action by the reader. You can invite them to your web site because of its resources, or you can hold a special contest that they can enter through your site. Whether you're selling a product or service, your direct mail piece should be created to either get you a lead, or sell the item automatically. The beauty of the Net is that your business is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This gives the direct mail recipient a chance to review your products or services at their leisure.

13. E-books: Create your own e-book and you'll be considered an authority in your field. E-books differ from traditional books because of the way in which they are distributed. There are several ways of designing e-books. Each and every way costs a fraction of the cost of having your book printed as a hard copy. The beauty of e-books is that you can distribute your e-book 24 hours a day - 7 days a week, without you ever having to pay for postage, or running out of inventory. You also give your customer instant accesses to the book by having them download it. In order to drive traffic to your web site, you can offer your e-book at a discounted price, or for free. Once the individual downloads your book, make sure that you entice the reader to take advantage of your product or service by making them a special offer.

14. E-mail Marketing: Responsible e-mail marketing is by far the most cost-effective and targeted of all marketing strategies. However, you must be careful not to "spam". Spamming is the act of sending unsolicited e-mail to an individual. This is especially offensive to the reader when your message has nothing to do with their interests. Responsible e-mail marketers will either cultivate their own lists by acquiring the information from visitors to their site, or purchase an "Opt-in" list from companies such as postmasterdirect.com. An "Opt-in" e-mail list is composed of individuals who opted to receive information on a specific topic. You can purchase lists by just about any category imaginable. The cost varies by the type of list and can range from 20 cents to several dollars per name. Naturally, the best and inexpensive "Opt-in" list you can own is the one you create yourself. This is why it's important to offer something of value to your visitor in exchange for their information.

15. E-mail signature tag: You can automatically add a "tag line" at the end of each e-mail you send. The tag line can name your web site address, your phone number, USP, etc. This is a very powerful way to create traffic to your web site because every time you submit an e-mail, the message will be there. Once it's set up, it's automatic. You don't even have to think about it. Your message can be anything you want. For example: you can simply remind the reader to visit your web site for updated information. You can also invite the reader to enter your contest located at your web site; download information from your site, or see the top ten listing of whichever subject you choose. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

16. E-zines: Develop your own electronic magazine. An E-zine is simply an electronic magazine you create to send to your e-mail list periodically. The E-zine can be created in text format (no pictures), or in HTML format to include pictures, graphics, illustrations and the like. The E-zine should contain articles pertinent to your target market, and should promote your products and/or services. When composing an E-zine, it should contain an average of 3 articles. In order to run a successful E-zine, each article should contain at least 30% of information, which cannot easily be found elsewhere. E-zines should be sent only to subscribers who opt to receive it. You should also always give the reader a chance to "opt-out" of your list. Once you have created a successful E-zine and have a substantial number of subscribers, you can sell advertising space within it to create supplemental income for your business.

17. Free reports: Create a special report you can offer your web site visitors in order to capture their e-mail address and other info. The Internet is mainly utilized to acquire free information. Offering free reports will enhance the appreciation of your web site, thereby creating a viral marketing effect for your web site. The more reports you offer, the more popular your site will be. If you do not have the time to write the information, there are places on the Internet, which will allow you to purchase information and give you re-sell writes to it. You can then use this information freely to increase the traffic to your web site. To find this information, simply visit your favorite search engine, and run a search on the subject in which you want to write a report on. You can enhance the search by adding the phrase "reports with reprint rights for____"

18. Hosting account: Having the right hosting account is essential to being successful on line. Most hosting accounts only offer space, bandwidth and e-mail accounts. In order to be successful on line, you also need the right marketing tools necessary to automate responses, manage e-mail lists, help with newsletter management, make your web site interactive, give you web site traffic statistics and more. You should also ensure to have the proper domain name with your hosting account. A domain name can tell your prospect your company's name, or tell them what you do, or the product and/or service you offer. You can go to aeWebHosting.com or HudsonValleyHosting.com to establish an effective and reliable hosting account.

19. Join discussion groups (newsgroups): Visit, and take part in newsgroups where your ideal prospects dwell. Answer questions and become an authority. Do not try to sell your services in these discussions groups. You may already be part of one or more groups, but never took the time to discuss your products and/or services. Done correctly, over time, you will create an atmosphere of trust and can easily discuss your offerings.

20. Link exchange: Find other web sites that cater to your prospective clients, and request a link exchange. Make sure they are not your competition, unless you have a special relationship. There are various ways to correctly utilize this strategy. Implementing this strategy correctly will also help your standing with search engines. See section on "How to Use Link Popularity to Increase Traffic to Your Web Site."

21. Newsletters: Creating a newsletter will allow you to keep in contact with your clients/customers or prospective clients/customers. You can create an electronic newsletter whereby you'll e-mail it to your list, or a physical newsletter, which you'll mail to your list. Both ways have an advantage and disadvantage. However, an electronic newsletter will allow you to save thousands of dollars a year in postage and printing. E-mailing your newsletter is also a time saver for you because you can reach thousands of subscribers in minutes as opposed to spending time stuffing envelopes, printing and collating it. You can automatically grab, manage and update your e-mail list with the proper software program or with the proper hosting account.

22. On-line directories and free for all links: There are literally thousands of web sites which offer free links from their web site--without requesting an exchange. The more web sites you can get your web site listed with, the more qualified traffic you'll create. You can find web sites catering to your target market by searching on your favorite search engine. See section on "How to Use Link Popularity to Increase Traffic to Your Web Site" for more strategies and more in-depth information on this powerful strategy.

23. Press releases: Did you know that you can submit an article about your web site, product or service to thousands of magazines, newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations nationwide? Yes you can, but most business owners don't. You can take a few minutes per day submitting your information to companies listed on the "Resources" section. When you do this, make sure that the article you send is newsworthy. Don't simply tell them that you have a new web site. Since editors get dozens of press releases every day, you should make yours as informative and newsworthy as possible, and follow them up with a phone call if you can.

24. Promotional items (pens, mouse pads, magnets, calendars): Perfect when you want to have your web site permanently in front of your prospects. Mousepads for instance, are an ideal way to keep your web site address clearly in front of your prospect every time they use their computer. (Visit www.AffordableMousepads.com for more ideas.) You can offer your promotional item as a give away from your web site. This will ensure that you get your prospects name, address, phone and e-mail address. Once you have this information, you can follow up with your special offer. You can also distribute your specialty item through your storefront, expos and/or other facilities that cater to your target market.

25. Search engines: More and more search engines like Overture.com are charging for top search engine placement. It is now nearly impossible to get a high search engine standing, unless you devote a lot of time, effort and knowledge. However, it is possible to get top ranking positioning for your web site by the use of special software available in the open market. Contrary to popular believe, constantly submitting to search engines will not guarantee a top positioning for your site. Although it does help and increases the possibilities, the most effective way to reach the top is to understand how each search engine works and creating a site specifically customized for each search engine. These types of pages are called Doorway and Hallway pages. Each page created will then be submitted to the search engines frequently according to specific key words. You must be careful however, not to submit your web site to search engines too often because it may be banned forever. (See "How to Acquire Top search Engine Positioning for Your Web Site" section for more information on using this strategy more effectively.)

26. Update your site frequently: One reason for repeat visits and word of mouth advertising (Viral Marketing) is the frequency with which you update your web site. Consumers are constantly looking for new and updated information. If your web site is known as a portal or resource of information, you'll have residual visitors. The more targeted your information, the better the quality of visitors to your site. It is better to have quality visitors, than a large quantity of individuals.

27. Viral marketing: Viral marketing is the act of getting your site's visitors telling others about it. It is a way of supercharging word-of-mouth advertising. In order to create a Viral Marketing strategy, you must first offer something of interest to your visitor. You can offer free information, to enter a contest, a resource web site, controversial information, or anything else you can think of that'll get people talking about your site. Once you make this available to your visitor, you should then make it simple for your visitor to tell as many people about it as possible. We can create a special script specifically custom designed for your web site, or you can simply tell your visitor to email their friends about it. You can also increase the effectiveness of viral marketing by enhancing it with e-mail marketing.

28. Workshops: You can offer workshops on-line or over the phone. With today's technology, you can confer with hundreds of individuals simultaneously and interactively. One-on-one consultation is also possible with anyone in the world by the use of programs like Yahoo Instant Messenger, ICQ Chat, AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Instant Messenger and others like them. Teleconferencing is also a very good way to get a group of individuals to participate without having to leave your office. You can also create workshops in the real world and invite your attendees to your web site after or during your workshop. Your web site will act as a resource for all attendees after it's over and you are no longer around to answer questions. A properly executed workshop should be informative, educational and deliver the results you promised your audience.

Whether you utilize one, or all of these strategies, you should notice increased traffic to your web site by analyzing your web site's statistics. Naturally, the more strategies you utilize, the more traffic you'll receive. Be careful, however, not to over do it. These strategies are very powerful and can create an avalanche of responses. If you can't follow up to your requests, you will lose many prospective clients/customers. In order to avoid this, try to automate as much of your responses as possible by using some of the strategies we've discussed.