Traffic Philosophy
So just HOW MUCH traffic is enough? Do you need 100’s of visitors? 1000’s of visitors?
Successful web site traffic is never JUST about HOW MUCH traffic you can bring. In fact if it was only about how many visitors … you could drop a few hundred bucks and bring in hundreds of thousands of the least expensive visitors possible … and you’d be done.
NOT!!!
Here’s the key. You need the RIGHT type of visitor (whether it’s paid traffic or free traffic.) That’s because if your traffic isn’t interested in the product or service you’re selling, then there’s no hope at all of making any sales.
Let’s relate this to the offline world. Let’s say you own a small retail store that sells landscaping products (for example topsoil, mulches, and other ground covers.)
But if the people who walk through the door live in apartments, then chances of making a sale are slim to none.
To sell your landscaping products … who would need to walk through your door? Can you describe your customer?
A successful philosophy starts with the mind of the consumer. What do they want? What do they need?
This is exactly the process that an ONLINE marketer needs to do when deciding what type of traffic to bring to their site.
So let’s go back to the online world now.
Take a look at the product or service that you’re selling, and of course we’ll make a step of faith here that it’s something that people do actually want to buy.
Since buyers are looking for solutions to problems, then you need to know, where do they go when they want information? Yes, they’ll be doing some searching on the internet. They’ll go to their favorite search engine and start looking for some free information.
To get YOUR information into the results, you need to address their problem, and this can be done in an article, a blog, a youtube video, a podcast or any other CONCISE form of sharing information online. Be sure to ALWAYS include a call to action at the end of your info-piece because your goal is now to bring that CAPTIVE AUDIENCE back to your web site.
One of the ways to encourage them to come to your site, is to offer a free report or e-course series. Develop some credibility and rapport with your new lead, and then work on converting them to a buyer as a second step.
Traffic sources like youtube, forums, article directories and podcast directories are excellent in producing targeted free traffic. And although in the beginning it may only produce hundreds rather than the thousands you are hoping for, always remember that every one of these visitors is HIGH QUALITY because they are already targeted to your market or niche.
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June 1st, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Yes targeted traffic and a good conversion process is always the key. More targeted traffic leads to more money.
Mike Paetzold’s last blog post..Manage your time and focus your business
June 1st, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Fred, very good points on traffic. If you can get traffic that wants what you are offering, the battle is half won. Target traffic is key to any business – online or offline.
Lonnie Minton’s last blog post..Are You Into Affiliate Marketing?
June 1st, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Developing a target niche is more important than I first realized. Failing to understand that has hurt the effectiveness of my biggest list. It will eventually self correct, as those I am not speaking to leave the list. Starting with a targeted plan and maintaining the conversation are essential to developing a long term successful list.
Earl Netwal’s last blog post..Twitter Tactics For Marketers
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:32 am
You hit the nail right on the head, Fred – to sell a product online, you have to define who your buyers are, and what they’d be entering at the search engines when looking for the information or services your site offer. Once you know what they’re searching for, you can target all your promos, blogs, sites, etc to rank for those search phrases and bring in a very targeted group – for free!
Doug Champigny’s last blog post..Creating Free Traffic To A Website
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Yes, I do believe you are right about targeted traffic. Good to know that you are putting information in front of people who are actually looking for it. It can make a difference.
Andre Arnett’s last blog post..The Trouble With Tweeting
June 4th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Very true Fred!
If you really want to make sales, not just any traffic will do.
You made a very good comparison to the offline world. It is very important to know who your customer actually is BEFORE you put up a website and have just anybody walk through. Once you know who they are you still need to find out where they congregate and then you get your message in front of them there. That way you are getting the people who are looking for your product and are much more willing to buy it.
Great post!
Brett McEllhiney’s last blog post..Is Marketing on Twitter Effective?
June 18th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
I initally thought build website, create links, and blog and they will come. I have now learned it is far more like you wrote. Being ranked high in Google is nice, but the internet shopper is much more savvy and has learned to get what they want from other sources.