08 Sep 09 Using Free Web Traffic to Build Your Business

When I first ventured forth into the world of Internet Marketing, I was a bit intimidated by all the information that was out there about building a business on the Internet. While the majority of the marketing guru's seemed to have their own opinions as to the best way to proceed, they all seemed to agree on the importance of building a list of customers that you could send your offers to. The problem was that in order to accomplish this, you needed to have lots of targeted traffic visiting your website. Since I was low on funds, I explored several free ways of increasing traffic such as FFA pages, blasters, safelists, etc. While most were useless in building my web traffic, through trial and error I eventually stumbled upon a few that actually did increase my web traffic. This article looks at several ways to increase website traffic that are completely free including reciprocal linking, traffic exchanges, writing short articles, and posting to forums.

One of the methods of increasing web traffic that many employ is linking to other sites. While there are a multitude of linking stategies, the one I'm referring to is exchanging reciprocal links with other sites. The first time I used this strategy was with an 'Oldies Internet Station' I had started several years ago. While our site was mainly about Oldies music, I was aware that there were many related sites such as collectibles, movie posters, CD and record sales, nostalgia sites, etc., that would be very interested in a reciprocal link exchange. After emailing several related sites, I received replies back from a few that were very interested in exchanging links. These savvy site owners quickly realized the advantage of linking to none competitive related sites. This has a been win-win situation for all of us, and I still receive targeted traffic from many of these sites today! If you decide to try linking to other sites, look for websites that are related to what your site is about, but don't try linking to sites that are virtually identical to yours, such as trying to link to another Oldies music site if that's what your site is about. Linking to related websites can be an excellent way to build long term residual traffic. The thing is, you just never know how much traffic one site can bring you over time.

Another method of building traffic is through the use of Traffic Exchanges. The mistake that many people make in using them is that they try and sell some product directly on the exchanges. A much more effective way to use traffic exchanges is to build a network of people who will continue to build traffic for you years from now. There are a couple of basic approaches to achieving this. First, you join numerous traffic exchanges and link one to another. For instance, you would advertise site A's link on B's site, B's on C, etc. A more effective way to do this is to advertise one U.R.L. that has numerous exchanges intergrated into it so that by simply joining one site, your prospect could conceivably sign up for numerous exchanges under you. A couple of things to bear in mind; a great percentage of prospects that sign up will do nothing. This is the reality of this form of marketing, and you must have patience and understand that it's simply a numbers game. You need to be persistent and understand that sooner or later you will sign up a go getter that joins all of your programs and actively works at building his and your business. It's also a good idea to set-up your own unique pages. There are a ton of people using the same affiliate pages, consequently diluting the effectiveness of these types of sites. Create a simple page or two and advertise them on the exchanges. Traffic exchanges can be a great way to increase web traffic but it does take time and patience.

When looking to build long term traffic, one of the most effective methods I employ is writing short articles for article directories. There are numerous benefits to be had by writing and distributing articles through Article Directories. The first benefit is the direct traffic you receive from people clicking on your link in the Resource Box provided at the end of your article. But the real kicker occurs when a webmaster or some other person with a website decides to post your article on their website. Not only will your article be posted for all interested readers to see, but your article will also include your Resource Box with your links pointing back to your site. Finally, as your articles and incoming links increase, more weight will be given to your links since search engines often give added weight to sites with many revelant incoming links. Undoubtably, writing articles for directories is a real win-win-win situation!

Lastly, another great way to increase website traffic is through posting to forums. An online forum is a place where people come together to exchange ideas on subjects of interest. The way to use forums to increase traffic is when you sign up for a forum they will allow you to include a 'signature' at the end of your posts, which is usually three or four lines of text which allows you to advertise yourself and your website. The key is that everytime you contribute a post, you are literally advertising yourself and your business. A very important benefit that comes from posting to forums is that Google indexes popular forums looking for relevant content, so if you're a regular poster you could receive lots of advertising and traffic from them as well. A couple of things to keep in mind; when posting make sure that you're adding something of relevance, don't just add a 'me too' sort of post. Also, when joining a forum, make sure that you're allowed to include your signature. Some forums require you to post 50 times or more before your signature is included. Be certain to understand the Forum's rules before joining.

While building long term traffic takes time and effort, it will help lay the foundation that produces tomorrow's success. Start today by using some of the free traffic builders, and be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, but...it was built.

About the Author:

Bill Thomas is actively engaged in Internet business pursuits. He also contributes articles on life, business and other topics. His current website is..Create Income from Home with your own Cash Generating Internet Business.
http://www.billthomas.ws