21 Ways Content Drives Your Traffic
Continued...Here are a few suggestions and examples you can use to improve your search engine position and create hyperlinks to your website. Which methods will work for you depend on your website, writing abilities and determination.
Forums
Forums – groups of internet users that discuss common interests online – are a fantastic way to share information.
Search for a forum that discusses something related to your website. Be sure to spend time ‘lurking’. That means reading the posts and becoming familiar with the style of discussion and written (and unwritten) rules. Most forums forbid spamming. What is considered spam by one forum is perfectly acceptable by another, but blatant advertising rarely is appreciated.
In most cases you can either post a link to your website in your signature or share information that arouses questions about your website from other posters. Some forums permit you to post your articles (if the forum is business related). If you are unsure about the policies, be careful. Offering free advice can sometimes be enough to establish credibility and if you have a blog or other non-marketing site you may be able to send traffic to that first and encourage visitors to visit your website from the blog.
Linking Pages
Are you creating linking pages to impress the search engines? How much more value would they have if you offered quality, optimized content for each of your categories?
Rather than having a bland list of ‘linking partners’ you could be using your links to gain more credibility AND provide more content for the search engines.
Create a separate page for each link category and write 200-400 words of content on that subject. Offering your recommended links at the end will make you a source for information rather than just a catalogue of links.
Optimizing each page for a popular keyword will draw more traffic to your site than links alone. It will also be more beneficial for your visitors who are searching for related resources.
Press Release
If you thought you were starting to grasp the importance of content, you haven’t even started to see the potential yet.
Press releases should become an important part of your marketing. What do you need to create a press release? Content.
Press releases are notices to the media about newsworthy events, accomplishments or information. By creating a press release to announce a new product, results of a poll or related news event, you can get free advertising in the media.
News media is always looking for new content for their readers. Learning how to compose and deliver a press release will give you access to this pool of willing advertisers.
To create your own press release, go to a website like www.PRweb.com and read the releases that are posted there. When you are familiar with the format you can write your own and submit it. Just avoid advertising copy and be sure to highlight some new thought or angle to make your press release newsworthy for publishers to use. If you want to invest the extra money you can hire a press release writer or have your release reviewed by a PRweb specialist.
Newspaper
Press releases can work just as well in your local paper as they do in online news websites.
Submit your press release to the editor or the writer for the section of the newspaper you want to target.
You could also try to submit your own column, giving tips and related information to your topic, as a free form of advertising. Smaller newspapers may find this idea more appealing since larger newspapers would not be likely to publish your works without formal working arrangements.
Magazine Articles
Just like online magazines, printed magazines need fresh content all the time. If you are writing articles you may be able to submit them to magazine editors for review.
Be sure to follow their policies which may be listed on their website or you can email or phone for instructions. Just like newspapers, you will have a greater chance for success if you target smaller publishers first.
Classifieds
Online classifieds have gone through some fluctuations of their own. Originally touted as one of the best methods to get traffic, the inundation of ads by internet marketers nearly flooded the market and made it impossible for readers to find what they were looking for.
However, using classifieds can still send you some traffic and will also help your site get listed in the search engines. Use keyword phrases in your ad and include a hyperlink. You are not putting a lot of content in these ads, but what you do put needs to be effective.
Offline Brochure
Do you promote a product, information or service that can be used locally? Consider creating a brochure that gives information on a question related to your topic. Include reference to how using YOUR service or product will assist them in solving the problem. Give some brief answers and point out your website as a source for more information.
Offer to leave your brochures in places that might attract your audience or post them on community boards. Pass them along to friends and family who might pass them along to others for you.
Traffic is people – whether they come to your site or directly to you, they all count...
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