I. Sadiq Gill - How To Increase Web Traffic To Websites And Traffic To Blogs

Guest Blog Post by Doug Champigny

When trying to increase web traffic to websites, most website owners and bloggers focus too much on increasing web traffic from search engines and don't spend enough time building web traffic using the myriad of other sources of free website and blog traffic.

Make no mistake, search engine optimization (SEO) is a very key element in successful traffic generation strategies, and proper SEO that leads to higher rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs) can have a major impact on the volume of targeted traffic to websites - but it's equally important to keep it in perspective. There are a great number of ways to drive targeted traffic to sites and blogs, and spending too much time on SEO tasks will prevent you from getting the most possible traffic to websites you're promoting.

Your website promotion activities should include a lot of different ways to drive free traffic to websites, especially those promotional efforts that have proven to be successful long-term traffic generating strategies.

Effective article marketing tops the list of long-term traffic generation techniques, since article submissions made 5 and 10 years ago still get exposure today, and many of those older articles have been consistently driving traffic to websites for years now. Time spent on article writing and submitting articles to a top article directory like EzineArticles will often rival, and can surpass, the effectiveness of spending the same amount of time on SEO activities when it comes to driving targeted traffic to websites.

Newer forms of e-marketing like social media marketing and social networking are also powerful ways to get more visitors to websites and blogs. Using the Twitter social network, the Facebook social network, etc... can be a major source of targeted traffic and targeted leads, with the bonus of being a great forum for branding yourself, your company and your website.

And when driving web traffic to blogs, your RSS feed opens up whole new avenues of website traffic generation. Blogging software creates and updates a feed that lists each new post you make, and that feed is referred to online as an RSS feed. While websites are limited to search engines and similar directories for promotional purposes, blogs can use those and a growing number of directories that only accept information from RSS feeds. As such, submitting your blogs' RSS feeds to as many of these directories as you can is one more online promotional activity that often outweighs SEO efforts in your efforts to increase website traffic.

And the list goes on and on - press releases, banner advertising, linking strategies like blog commenting, reciprocal linking and social media bookmarking, forum marketing, affiliate program marketing - each can have a profound effect on driving traffic to websites and increasing blog traffic. But each takes time, which is why your e-marketing plan can't be too heavily weighted in favor of the search engines and SEO activities.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to drive traffic to websites and increase blog traffic, and a balanced approach will always give you the most stable flow of traffic to websites and blogs you're promoting.

I. Sadiq Gill - Local SEO Industry: Current Status and Future Projections

By Ajay K. Prasad




What Is SEO?

This is a common question that most people especially those who are either new or not familiar with online marketing might be asking. SEO stands for search engine optimization. In layman's language, it the process of capturing traffic from the search engines such as Google listings. Through this read, I am going to give you facts about the SEO business, current market status of SEO as well as the future projections in this field.

The Major SEO Players

Like any other industry in the world, the online SEO business has its players. This includes SEO local tools providers such as small digital agencies, SEO free lancers and web-designers among others.

Returns for SEO Players

The major reason as to why people get into business is to profit and expand their economic status. In the field of SEO business, the rates of returns are promising. This is because a recent research on SEO returns for a period of 12 months shows that at least all the players had something to take home. However, the returns are varying depending on a players' hardwork and skills in the field. For example, according to this research, 34% of the interviewed SEOs said they received an amount less than $ 30,000 while another group of respondents, 17% said they received returns that were above $ 500,000.

From the above statistics, it is evident that the size of an organization played a role in the determination of the amount of returns received. It beats logic for one to expect a large organization to receive low amounts of returns and vice versa. In addition, the presence of part time SEOs as well as the entry of newbies into the market could have let to the low rates of turnover due to low operation capacity. However, it is hard to predict the course the SEO market is likely to take due to lack of clear shift in SEO earnings since the year 2011. However, the demand for local SEO services seems to be growing day in day out and this is attracting more players thereby tightening the competition among SEO service providers.

The Emerging Issues with the Current SEO Returns

With the above distribution of returns, several questions emerge. This includes the following:

• From the statistics, a large percentage of SEOs receive a low income something that suggests low pricing of SEO services.
• It is also possible that small and medium businesses do not understand the value of SEO services provided to them.
• The low SEO income earners, those who received less than $ 30,000 annual returns are also being doubted if they can provide quality services while earning that low.
• It is also unknown if most SEOs will still be in operation if their income remains static.

The Current SEOs Income Per Customer

Just like the annual SEO returns, SEO income per customer also varies. This is because there are those clients who would pay less than $100 a month while others will pay more than $5000 a month. This variation in income per client can be attributed to the type of services provided as well as the depth of services. The size of business a client is seeking SEO services for also play a role in determining the amount to be charged.
For example, small businesses are charged less simply because their requirements are much smaller as compared to large multi-location franchise businesses.

Research also shows that some SEO service providers operate on high volume basis. Such SEOs provide simple SEO services at very low monthly rates. As a result, such SEO service providers end up having a high customer churn with a large dedicated network of sales team.

Similarly, some SEO service providers provide services that are more comprehensive in a much more professional manner customized according to the client thereby leading to a low number of clients.

Due to the above statistics, it therefore becomes essential for any SEO service provider in the current market to operate in a manner that matches his/her setup.

Handling Capacity of the Modern SEOs

Currently, SEOs are handling more clients as compared to the previous years. Statistics show that about 40% of the SEOs in the market handle at least 11 clients while 23% SEOs handle at least 21 clients. Such large numbers of clients to handle lead to more audits to be done, lots of tasks, research, reports and even more calls from the clients to be attended to. The high numbers of clients also demand a high level of efficiency so that the clients can be assured of quality services.

Market Structure for Most SEOs

SEOs have been using several marketing techniques to promote their businesses. Offline marketing channels such as word of mouth has been cited by most SEOs as the most effective marketing technique. This can be attributed to the trust level, business reputation as well as relationships build during the offline campaigns.

Alongside offline marketing, SEOs also practice online marketing such as the use of LinkedIn and social media. However, most SEOs have cited LinkedIn as the best option as compared to the social networks because it is better placed for lead generation and networking.

Services Offered by SEOs

Majority of the SEO players offer onsite optimization with 91% of the SEOs practicing this. Google+ optimization has also a good number of SEOs practicing it as 86% claimed to be offering this service to their clients. For affiliate marketing, only a small percentage (11%) of SEOs are offering this service to their clients.

Other services offered by SEOs:

• Content creation/optimization
• Link building
• Citation building
• Social media marketing
• Website development
• PPC
• Mobile site development
• Video marketing and mobile marketing.

The most demanded service by SEO clients is onsite marketing, while the least demanded service is affiliate marketing. The other services are somehow averagely demanded. However, most small and medium businesses do not understand the opportunities that video and mobile marketing can unlock to them and therefore tend not to use these services. SEOs therefore need to educate their clients on these marketing channels so that they can go for them.

When asked about the online SEO services SEOs feel are effective, 82% of them said that the General search is the most effective for generating leads. Local search appears to be the second best after 62% of the respondents in an SEO survey voted in its favor. PPC is the 3rd with 53% while social media is the 4th with 26%. Daily deals appear to be an appealing to most SEOs because only 1% voted in favor of it.

Tedious SEO Tasks

55% of the current SEOs in the market find link building to be the most tedious and time-consuming work. Others, though 15% only believe that content writing is the most tedious and time consuming task among all the tasks they do. It therefore emerges that to the 55% who find link building tedious, this task is also boring to them.

Future Projections

This is an outline of what we expect in the near future as far as SEO business is of concern.

Expansion of SEO Businesses

Compared to the previous years, SEO businesses has been growing and expanding steadily. Most SEOs (about 93%) are not only optimistic about expanding their businesses, but are also expecting to grow their business. In what seems to be a determined move to grow their businesses, most SEOs (82%) are willing to recruit more staff members so as to realize their desired levels of growth.

The social media is also expected to grow and be more effective even than the local directories. This is because most SEOs believe that social media can perform better because of recommendations from friends.

Mobile usage is also expected to grow further and become relevant for local businesses.

Upsurge of Confidence in SEO Business

Unlike other businesses, the SEO business is showing a positive growth of confidence among the players.

Despite this being a dynamic and innovative industry, most SEOs are still willing to recruit more staff to help drive their businesses ahead. 84% of the sampled SEOs in the SEO research are also optimistic that the SEO business is going to be more profitable starting this year 2013.

Confidence is also running high that if the SEO players increase the understanding of SEO/social among the business owners they serve in future, they will not only increase the business owners' rate of investment, but also make them transfer their marketing budgets from other channels to the digital channels.

Ajay Prasad is the Founder and President of GMR Web Team, a leading Internet strategy, marketing and development firm. Ajay guides small and medium size businesses in designing their online strategy, marketing and development campaigns for maximum impact. Ajay focuses on a client's products and services and their target market's needs to achieve the best possible results.

I. Sadiq Gill Keirin: Online Reputation Management

By I. Sadiq Gill Keirin

The best time to do online reputation management is when you don't need
online reputation management.

Whether you like it or not, people  –  customers, prospects, competitors
and haters –  are talking about your business and its products and
services on the Internet.

They're writing blogs.

They're commenting on forums.

They're writing reviews, some of which are written only to cause you harm.

They're asking their Facebook friends about you.

They're complaining about the tiniest details on Twitter.

Are you listening?

Before you are forced to react to an immediate online reputation
management (ORM) issue, you must be proactive in establishing a strong
reputation on the Internet.

If you're not actively reviewing your online reputation and you don't
have a plan in place, then you're setting yourself –  and your business
–  up for disaster.

Don't worry. It's never too late to get started. Even if some damage has
already been done (i.e., bad reviews, negative comments, etc.), you can
create a plan to begin mending a few "fences" and moving forward.

The first steps to being proactive with your online reputation are as
follows: check for current damage, make repairs if necessary, and then
take action to become more assertive and engaging with your online audience.

Step One: Check your personal and professional online history.

Begin with simple Google searches of your name. Check for previous
addresses, photos, videos, comments, etc., connected to your name.
Sources such as www.123people.com are excellent tools for reviewing your
personal history. Make sure you check your full legal name, too (e.g.,
search for “Robert A. Smith” instead of just “Bob Smith”).

Always check Facebook. Facebook is a potential source of personal and
professional disasters, such as that which may occur when someone from
your college days decides to post a picture of you getting hammered at a
toga party.

If your company has other executives (president, vice president, etc.)
or a board of directors, check their personal and professional online
history as well. One Midwestern company is currently catching some grief
from local media (and customers) because a member of its board of
directors made an unpopular move with a separate company he owned. His
online reputation has put the company he advises in an uncomfortable
situation.

Step Two: Research your company name and brand.

After performing basic searches in Google, create Google Alerts (free
service) so that you’ll be alerted via e-mail anytime someone mentions
your company name or brand online.

Be sure to conduct initial searches on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and
YouTube, as well.

You can also sign up for paid services that will monitor your company’s
online reputation activity – good or bad – and notify you of any events
within the hour.

Step Three: Repair any damage, if necessary.

As a result of your research, you may discover that your reputation has
already suffered a little damage online. This might include bad or fake
reviews, forum comments, Twitter posts about poor service, etc.

Depending on the amount of damage, you might be able to respond to each
negative comment or review   in a professional manner. In some cases, a
simple (but sincere) apology will go a long way to show that you are
willing to fix the problem. This will also give potential customers the
impression that you’re an engaged business owner who will listen and
respond to customers.

If the damage is more serious – bad press, court proceedings, lawsuits,
legal matters, etc. – then you should consider working with an online
reputation management professional or service to help you rebuild your
online reputation. Keep in mind, however, that repairing a badly damaged
reputation is a slow process, requiring a lot of time and work.

Step Four: Write awesome content for your website.

You can start improving your online reputation and online audience
engagement by writing and providing better content on your website.
Articles and white papers offer more information about your products and
services. Write and post a “Frequently Asked Questions” document that
answers some common questions about your company.

Write and share up-to-date information on your company’s blog. Plan on
posting one (or more) blog posts per week; you’re not going to seem very
engaged if you only post once a month. Here, you can share industry
news, opinions, brief overviews of articles and white papers (with links
pointing to where customers can find them on your website), and more.
Encourage and allow readers to comment on your blog. Start a conversion
with them on your blog.

Step Five: Get busy with social media.

Like it or not, you’re going to have to join the social media club.

Again, your customers and potential customers are talking about your
company and its products and services on Facebook, Twitter and other
social networks. You should be there to “listen” and engage them in
conversation.

Bad news can travel fast on social media. However, people appreciate it
when someone listens to their complaints about a product or service and
helps them solve their problems. You can regularly check on your social
media reputation management status with the help of an ORM subscription
service, or you can become more proactive by creating Twitter searches
and filters on targeted keywords.

Don’t wait for something bad to happen. Get involved now. Answer
questions on social media, even if it doesn’t result in a sale. Show
that you are willing to help and educate.

Remember, your reputation’s at stake.

Imran Sadiq Gill Keirin: The Comprehensive Guide to Getting Website Traffic in Today's World - A General Overview

 

By Yousef M Julaidan

I think it is important to have the big picture in mind before starting to devise a plan to generate traffic to any website. Why? Because not all websites are the same. One traffic generating method can only work with certain types of websites and another method can only work with other types of websites.

For example, the methods used to generate traffic to an e-commerce website might not be as effective in generating traffic to an information nonprofit website. Generating website traffic can be classified into two big groups based on the cost incurred. One is paid even though as cheap as few cents per visitor and the other one is free! As good as it might sound; generating free traffic is harder than and not as effective as paid traffic generation.

This is pretty natural because in general, the companies that specialize in the service of generating traffic to websites have breakthrough technologies and experienced teams of specialists with the only purpose of generating quality targeted traffic for their customers. I'm not trying to degrade free traffic as it is important to reduce costs, but in general paid traffic still supersedes free traffic in terms of quality and quantity. Paid traffic isn't affordable by all advertisers, but still it offers a lot of peace of mind and results. Here is a list of the most prominent paid traffic generation methods:

1. Pay per click (PPC):- Known by all yet most hated for sucking cents and dollars out of advertisers pockets without as much satisfying results. Google being the king of PPC has been making life harder and harder for PPC advertisers by imposing more and more criteria to determine which ads get higher positions in PPC ads. Believe it or not, if your website isn't optimized enough for Google, your ad will not get better positions even if your bid is higher than others! This proves the point that even though PPC is disappointing many advertisers, there is actually a logic that you have to figure out to get better results from your PPCs.

There are techniques to get better results from your PPC campaigns using low and pocket friendly bids, which is going to be a topic of another article that I'm going to write about.

2. Paid SEO services: - SEO is a short for Search Engine Optimization. In short it is about optimizing the
design and the coding of a website so it can get better free ranking in search engines. This is referred to as organic ranking. Even though the end result is free better ranking, still SEO companies charge tons of money to make a website search engine optimized. I will address SEO in more detail in future articles.

3. Paid targeted 100% opt-in e-mail blasts: - There are advertising companies that have huge lists of 100% opt-in subscribers. 100% opt-in means that every one of their subscribers has agreed to receive promotional e-mails from them on the topics of their choice and this is how it is targeted. This method has proven its effectiveness, but there are a lot of fake companies out there that claim 100% opt-in, but actually have much lower opt-in percentages or even not at all. This is important because you don't want to pay for a campaign that ends up in the junk or spam folder of the users e-mail. Be careful and deal with the reputable ones only.

4. Banners and image based advertising: - this form has lost its effectiveness over the years, but still is used by many advertisers. Find the ones that work like PPCs, which means you don't get charged for impressions...only clicks.

5. Guaranteed visitors schemes: - These are companies that promise you a number of targeted traffic for a fee. Usually they will tell you that they get the traffic from expired domains and traffic redirected from other sites. Trust me, for the most part, these are scams so beware. It could work well for those who have gambling or sex related websites because they can't use PPCs to promote their websites.

6. Video advertising: - A new and growing advertising trend that Google is pursuing heavily. Yes I know that you can post videos in YouTube for free, but I'm talking about a new wave of video advertising that is very similar to PPC. It will be more popular soon so watch for it. Now for the fun and most pleasing part....free traffic! Getting results from free traffic requires much more work and time compared to paid traffic. Even though these methods generate free traffic, I see a lot of courses and e-books sold for hundreds and even thousands of dollars to teach people these methods.

So much for the free part! Luckily, you will be able to get an overview of these free traffic methods for free today. I'm not going to explain each in detail, but will be the topics of some of my future articles:-

1. Article marketing: - You write good articles, post them in article directories with links pointing to your website. People read the article, like what they read and visit your website. I will address it more in future articles.

2. Website directories: - these are directories that organize websites in categories which makes it easier for people to find what they are looking for. Even though all will let you submit your link for free, a lot of them offer a "premium" listing for a fee which is worth paying if they have high search engine ranking.

3. Video sites like YouTube, Yahoo and MSN videos: - don't underestimate its power! Find at least 10 more video sites and submit your videos to them. But how can you advertise your website with video? Get a screen capture video maker. There are free ones online and sold. My advice is to buy one for the quality of videos as free ones produce low quality videos. Make a small presentation about your website on your own screen, capture it on video and upload it to video sites...that's it! It will be helpful if you use a basic video editing software like windows movie maker to add your URL on the bottom of the video.

4. Forums and blogs: - This works in two ways. Either you own a blog or forum and generate your own community using quality content and funnel this traffic to your website. The other is to post comments with links pointing to your website in high ranking blogs and forums.

5. RSS feeds: - you can set up an RSS feed linking to the topics and issues in your website and syndicate it. More on this on future articles.

6. Groups and newsletters: - Can be found in all major search engines and internet service providers like Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN. Establish relations and spread the word about your websites. Avoid spamming and misbehaving!

7. Online free classifieds: - There are so many. The only problem is that your ads in these classifieds need re-updating every 1 or 2 days which is very time consuming.

8. Social bookmarking: - These are sites where people leave sort of brief descriptions about their websites, blogs, forums etc. and a link to visit.

9. Social media/interaction websites or what is called web 2.0:- My Space, Face book, twitter and Squidoo are all examples of this new internet trend. Basically they are all about an online gathering point where people express themselves and share knowledge, experiences, hobbies, passions, pictures, videos, music and much more. Why not use it to get traffic to your website?

10. Going viral: - Don't ever think that this is not important because this is number 10. It can be the most powerful traffic generating tool if you know how to use it. An example would be giving away a free report with lots of information and your website links inside. Give it to as many people as you can and in turn they give it away. This can continue forever and never stop. That's why they call it viral and is very powerful! If you ask me which methods are the best and should be used to get traffic, I would say all of them. The only problem is that we have limited resources and I mean time and money. I suggest using a mix of free and paid traffic. The mix to be determined according to what type of website is promoted and traffic objectives.

Watch out for more detailed articles on the subject.

Yousef is an expert writer in business and money making topics and issues. His insights combined with his clear and informative style of writing has attracted a lot of attention lately. To subscribe to his free and valuable newsletter send a blank email to=> ibm-newsletter@aweber.com

Also check out Yousef's website [http://www.internet-business-and-money.com]

Imran Sadiq Gill: Improving Website Traffic - What Does It Really Mean?

In the world of online marketing, an enormous amount of attention is given to the subject of "improving" website traffic. This emphasis seems to be put in the right place, considering the central role traffic plays in any online marketing campaign. But despite the popularity of the subject, it would be difficult to find two Internet marketers that share the exact same idea of what it actually means to "improve" website traffic.

Every marketer has a solid feeling for what it means. But by failing to ask, in detail, what it actually means to improve traffic, too many online marketers miss out on the benefits that come form a deeper understanding of effective website-traffic improvement. Effective and lasting traffic improvement is made up of multiple layers.

And by looking at what it means to "improve" website traffic at each layer, an overall view of traffic-improvement becomes much clearer.

At its most basic, "improving" website traffic means bringing more traffic to a site. At this level, it's a question of numbers and not much more. Bringing more people to a website is an essential foundation of traffic-improvement; but even though it's central to every online marketing campaign, it should not be seen as a final goal.

At a slightly higher level, improving website traffic means making the flow of traffic to a site as regular as possible: Getting new traffic is good. But regularly getting new traffic is even better. Traffic like this shows signs of sustainability and it's the type of traffic that a business can start to be built upon.

At the next level, improving website traffic means making the regular traffic of a site as targeted as possible. This targeting has a positive effect on traffic because it raises the overall quality of the traffic. Targeted traffic is made up of people that are genuinely interested in what is being offered. They are potential customers that are likely to respond to offers. And because of this, they improve traffic by improving its responsiveness. Ten highly-targeted leads are always more profitable than a hundred luke-warm leads.

At its highest level, improving website traffic means consistently reaching traffic at the right stage in the buying cycle. The buying cycle has three main stages: browsing, gathering information, and ready-to-purchase. In the browsing stage, people are looking to see what's available. In the information-gathering stage, they are weighing the pros and cons of particular options. And in the ready-to-purchase stage, they have already decided what to buy and are looking for the best deal.

It's important to draw traffic that is at the information-gathering stage because this is the stage where choices are being made. If traffic is reached earlier in the cycle at the browsing stage, it's difficult to make enough of an impression for the site to be remembered later on. If traffic is reached later, at the ready-to-purchase stage, it's too late - potential customers have already decided what to buy. Reaching traffic at the right stage in the buying stage is a very effective traffic-improving step that is often overlooked. Yet it has the potential to greatly increase the performance of a site.

By being aware of what it means to "improve" website traffic at each of the four levels mentioned above, serious online marketers will give themselves a clearer idea of what it really means to improve overall website traffic. They'll be able to easily judge where they are in the traffic-improving process. And, more importantly, they'll be able to see in which direction they should head to reach the next level. The long term effects can only be positive.

Eli Pedelty is a website traffic specialist that turns websites into a profitable aspect of overall business.

If you’d think you could benefit from a detailed explanation of five proven methods for increasing website traffic, sign-up for his free 5-day course, Direct Methods for Increasing Web Site Traffic, at EliPedelty.com - Improve Website Traffic [http://www.elipedelty.com].

Imran Sadiq Gill: Targeted Website Traffic - Without it Your Site Will Certainly Die

By JP McDonald

Targeted website traffic - you hear that term a lot these days. Most people know what it means and understand the concept. Some people actually strive for it. Some people don't.

In plain English, with targeted website traffic, your site has a chance to make some real money and there's a slight chance you might be able to make a living of the internet. But, without targeted website traffic, your site is doomed to die a slow, painful death until it quietly fades away into the dust like so many thousands of other websites.

If you do a search on any of the major search engines for the term 'traffic' you will get mostly websites regarding automobile traffic, traffic reports, road conditions, road closures, motor additives, etc.

If you do a search on any of the major search engines for the term 'website traffic' you will get mostly websites regarding traffic exchanges, stat counters, web searches, page optimization, how to build a website, etc.

If you do a search on any of the major search engines for the term 'targeted website traffic' you will finally get the picture of what this article is all about - making money on the internet. That's why you are here, that's why you have a website, that's why you are reading this article in the first place.

Targeted Website Traffic is King

Without sufficient targeted website traffic to your website nothing will happen - no sales, no rankings, no notoriety, nothing. You need this type of traffic in order to generate sales, provide leads, gather email addresses and create advertising exposure.

So many good things happen when one can actually tap into the targeted website traffic market that it's difficult to name them all. Here are a few examples of what I'm talking about:

* Sales

First and foremost, sales is what you are after. Only targeted traffic will get you the sales you need to stay in business on the internet.

* Links

More targeted traffic leads come from links to similar websites than any other source. These can be either direct links to your website, AdSense links, press releases, blogs, or any other form of advertising that gets your website in front of other people's eyes.

* Free Advertising

As the search engines pick up on your increasing number of visitors, especially if they come from related linking websites, your rankings will hopefully rise and your PageRank wil improve. Having your site on the first three pages of any major search engine is optimum exposure for your site and will bring in customers 'off the street', as it were. This is free advertising.

* More Links

Another benefit to your rise in the search engine rankings, and your rising PageRank, will be your ability to inundated with link requests from every other website imaginable. Remember, stick with only those that relate to your own site. Again, free advertising.

It's one thing to get your website noticed by the search engines but it's quite another to get your website noticed by the buying public. Just because you have great links, great positioning in the major search engines, and great links will not produce sales.

So, how can you become successful where most of the others have failed? What is the magic key to making all these sales that everyone is talking about? I'm glad you asked:

The Magic Key

Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Do you have a paper and pen ready to take notes? Well, then, calm down, take a deep breath, and just remember this one simple fact of internet life: The website makes the sales, not you, not your links, not your search engine presence, not even your friends or comrades whom you sent to check out your 'wonderful little website.' Unless your site screams out to the world, 'BUY MY PRODUCT!!', you will not make enough money to buy one month's worth of internet cable service.

You can buy, grab, obtain, link, and get all the targeted website traffic in the world but it will not sell a single product and/or service unless your website is compelling enough to do the selling for you. Design is one thing, content is another and, remember, content is everything. It makes the search engine robots and spiders visit your site on a daily basis, it makes visitors want to buy, bookmark, or return for a future purchase, and it makes one think, 'Hmm...maybe I really do need this product and/or service.'

Just keep thinking to yourself, 'Design and content, design and content...', over and over. Plus, once your website is complete, it isn't. A proper website is always refining itself and a webmaster knows this. The search engine robots and spider love new content so a little change here or a little change there will make a huge splash with them as they cruise your site on a daily basis.

Targeted Website Traffic Can Make or Break a Website

While having a great design and excellent content on your website is the best possible thing that you can have on the internet, it will still sit there and gather dust until you get the traffic flowing. Unless your website is the only site on the internet that sells a particular product or service, you will be lost in a crowd of thousands or possibly millions.

Remember the term, 'Targeted Website Traffic', and keep this in mind:

* Is it really targeted?

Are the visitors you get to your website actually looking for what your site has to offer? If you buy your traffic from a service, how can you be sure that you get what you pay for?

* Will they buy?

There are no guarantees when it comes to how people make their decisions. All you can do is make your product or service as irresistible as possible. People, in general, are picky and they always want the best for less.

Buying Targeted Website Traffic From a Service

If you are new to this concept and have no idea which companies are reputable and trustworthy, then you will have to experiment, learn from others, hear about it by word of mouth, blogs, forums, etc. Check out each company you come across that offers the traffic you want and compare them against each other. What should you look for when comparing traffic service companies?

* Do they offer a guarantee?

If they do not offer a 100% guarantee then keep looking until you find only those traffic services that do.

* Do they have contact and privacy pages?
All reputable companies have these in place. Review them to your satisfaction before placing any orders.

* Do they have your category available?

Targeted website traffic must fit your site to a 'T' meaning that if you sell widgets then there must be a category for selling widgets, plain and simple. If there categories are not specific to what your website sells, move on until you find one that does.

* Purchase 10,000 targeted visitors, get 10 sales.

This is a general rule. If you do not get at least a 1% return on your investment then one of these things is wrong: either your traffic is not targeted to what you are selling or your website is not strong enough in its' message to sell the product and/or service.

* Does your page counter move?

Every site should have a page counter on their main index page, either visible or not. If that counter does not show the traffic that you purchased then you are not receiving real people but, instead, computer-generated hits. Have you ever made a sale to a computer-generated hit?

Whenever you try a traffic service, buy the minimum to see what happens. If the traffic campaign fails, and you are sure it is not because of your website's design or content, then try another service. Keep searching until you find one that works well for you and stick with it.

James McDonald is an executive at Dreamry, Inc. which has been successfully marketing and promoting websites since 2002.