How to Increase Hits with Traffic Generators

By Michel Fortin
Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2004

If you don't maintain a key presence on the Internet, whether your business is online or offline, your competition will devour you. Because the marketplace has become hypercompetitive and supersophisticated, access to information as vast and as fast as the worldwide web is all the more reason to market your company in cyberspace let alone to put your company in it.

Unlike phone numbers (or directories that list them in alphabetical order), web site URLs are found mainly through keywords (search engines), links, offline marketing, and referrals. In other words, they are found through third parties. Searching for your site will therefore be much more efficient if your company or product is positioned well -- in the mind.

Since the Internet is exploding in population and fast becoming a medium of equal stature to the TV and radio, a company not present on the web can no longer be considered as just plain old-fashioned. It will become easy prey to its competition and, more significant, to the negative perception of the marketplace that the product or service is also not up to par.

It's Not the Size That Counts
One of the biggest advantages of the web is the fact that the small or medium-sized company can look as good and be as effective as the larger ones. Current trends indicate that the demand for personalized services will continue to grow. Online businesses are not only more versatile but can also personalize their offers. Since a small business has the ability to closely tailor its products and services to specific needs, it is safe to conclude that the future of the Internet lies in personalized services supplied by small companies and individuals.

However, while they lack advertising budgets similar to those from the big guns, smaller-sized entrepreneurs can still obtain huge amounts of traffic through more economical means of promotion. These are not restricted to banners and search engines either. They comprise of many processes that should be included in one's portfolio of online marketing efforts.

There are emails, signature files, specialized directories, topic-specific indices, Intranets, strategic marketing alliances, links on non-competing web sites, buttons, discussion groups, classified ad sites (both free and paid), "opt-in" mailing lists, reciprocal links, newsgroups, online conferences, Internet chats, community-based sites, and specialized online discussion forums -- all of which can help market a company effectively online.

Think Link
Look at it this way: The greatest rule in marketing often taught in the academic world is "location, location, location." In cyberspace, that rule applies even more. In other words, your site must be located in as many places as possible, in front of as many eyeballs as possible, and be as easily accessible as possible. Thus, the goal is to get others to link to you. How do you do that? To cover such techniques within the scope of this article would be impossible. But let me share one of them with you that has been tremendously successful for me.

A great technique for generating traffic is to offer freebies. If your site offers free information, such as articles, reports, ezines, books, software, and so on, or a special incentive of some kind on a product or service you sell, use the "tradeoff" technique and ask for a link to your site in return. If you offer something of value, not only will people feel the need to reciprocate but also merely asking helps to elevate that value in the mind of the prospect.

In addition to freebies and special offers, you can also provide tools as a great way to get linked. Also known as "interactive" traffic generators, some examples of tools include games, quizzes, surveys, polls, form mailers, referral functions, videos, search functions, directories, contests, article archives, and greeting cards. There are also reminder services (like (http://www.constantcontact.com)), message boards (http://www.insidetheweb.com), and chat rooms (http://www.talkcity.com) and (http://www.beseen.com).

Other interactive traffic generators are often called "traffic plug-ins" since they help visitors to experience your site rather than just view it. But server-side plug-ins in particular are better since there is no need for a program to enable that experience. In other words, these plug-ins actually work on the site itself and not on the visitor's computer that may not have the needed software in the first place -- which is why I have a penchant for CGI or ASP instead of Java.

If you want to add more interactivity to your site, there are many scripts available that you can use -- and many of them are free. Some great traffic "plug-in" script sites are:

- (http://www.scriptsearch.com),
- (http://cgi-resources.com),
- (http://www.webmaster-resources.com),
- (http://newmillennium.net),
- (http://webmasterarchives.com),
- (http://solutionscripts.com),
- (http://www.freecode.com),
- (http://www.freewareweb.com),
- (http://www.webaddesign.net/shop/scripts),
- (http://www.lakeweb.com/scripts/begin.html),
- (http://www.utirc.utoronto.ca/CGI/cgi1.html),
- (http://www.webthing.com/tutorials/cgifaq.html),
- (http://www.perl.org/CPAN/doc/FAQs/cgi/idiots-guide.html),
- (http://www.boutell.com/faq/cgiprob.htm),
- (http://www.extropia.com),
- (http://www.speakeasy.org/~cgires/cgi-tips.html),
- (http://www.halcyon.com/sanford/cgi/cgi-tips.html),
- (http://worldwidemart.com/scripts/faq),
- (http://www.mcp.com/que/et/se_cgi),
- And (http://www.worldwidemart.com/scripts).

(There are also (http://javascript.internet.com), (http://www.javaboutique.com), (http://www.javascript.com), and (http://www.javapowered.com).)

Overlooked Traffic Generation Tools
But one of the simplest interactive traffic generators that is often overlooked is the process of delivering pages of consistently updated information -- in short, fresh content. It can be as simple as changing the content of your site to reflect current events and issues, continually adding new articles and special reports, or posting past newsletter issues in a special archive.

The element of scarcity is also a great way to generate an abundant quantity of visitors, such as by offering time-sensitive or password-protected information. In the case of the latter, people who wish to view "secret" information will have to apply for it. For example, if you offer a free report of some kind, don't make it accessible directly to visitors. Have a form on your site that visitors need to fill out in order to gain access or use an auto-responder to deliver it.

Beyond content, offline traffic generation is just as important. And the first rule in doing so effectively is to specialize. The most common mistake newcomers to any field of business make is to think that by expanding their portfolio they will secure more business, and nothing can be further from the truth. Specializing and narrowing one's focus as much as possible will paradoxically broaden the likelihood of your site getting more hits let alone business.

Specialization is in itself a fundamental marketing process. It's amazingly effective in creating top-of-mind awareness among a very specific target market because you will indeed find more with less. For instance, an accountant specializing in car dealerships will get more traffic than a general accountant will. An online clothing store specializing in babies and mothers-to-be will get more business than a typical clothing store will. A photographer specializing in weddings will get more hits than a regular photographer will. And the list goes on and on.

Specialization is often referred as "niche" marketing. As more and more businesses get started (as well as more and more web sites populate cyberspace), the less time, energy, and money people will have to spend in making choices for those with whom they will choose to do business. Therefore, have your site focused on a niche, a specific theme, or a particular concept. Think of a laser, which is basically a beam of highly concentrated light. You want to focus like a laser on a specific niche and in so doing burn your site into your visitors' minds.

Nevertheless, the bottom-line is that, while you can and should use them, never rely on search engines and banners alone for generating traffic. If you do, your competition will always be a step ahead of you. Be different, not only in what you offer but in how you generate traffic.

About the Author
Michel Fortin is an author, speaker and Internet marketing consultant dedicated to turning businesses into powerful magnets. Visit (http://SuccessDoctor.com). He is also the editor of the "Internet Marketing Chronicles" ezine delivered weekly to 100,000 subscribers -- subscribe free at (http://SuccessDoctor.com/IMC/).