Web Site Traffic Acquisition Tactics

Posted on 08. Jun, 2009 by Pete Hollier in Search Marketing, Search Optimization, Social Media

Methods to Increase Web Site Traffic

A holistic approach to increase web site traffic and develop a high performance web site is required to obtain a competitive edge for you business web site. Web site traffic promotion relies on not one method, but the combination of all applicable methods working together to achieve a common goal.

Online and Offline Traffic Acquisition

To maximize the potential of your web site it is important to consider and utilize both online and offline traffic acquisition tactics to create awareness oft your company’s web site.

Online Traffic Acquisition Methods

Search Engine Optimization: Achieving visible results in Search Engines through Search Engine Optimization Programs is the most effective and productive method to increase web site traffic.

Obtaining visible Organic Search results in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) of Google, Yahoo and MSN enable you to connect with potential customers who are searching for your products and services.

Pay Per Click Programs: Pay Per Click Programs are similar to Search Engine Optimization due to both programs targeting the Search Engine Results Pages of the Search Engines for visibility for particular keywords associated with potential client searches.

The primary difference between Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click Programs is the fact that targeted keywords are paid for on a Cost Per Click basis and the Search Results are located in a different areas of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

Online Advertising – Banner / Text Advertisements: Banner Ads and Text advertisements offer an additional option to increase web site traffic. There are varied options available when purchasing Banner or Text advertisements.

In most cases Banner advertisements are sold on Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM), which is a fixed price per 1000 viewing of the advertisement. You pay per 1000s viewed regardless of the advertisement being clicked or not. Although CPM as been the traditional business model for Banner Advertising, new options are becoming available which include PPC type placement auctions for Banner Ads and performance based pricing which may be based on payment per agreed conversion.

Social Media Marketing: Social Media Marketing offers numerous options for acquiring web site traffic. Blogs, Social Networking web sites and Social Book marking are all effective methods to bring additional traffic to your web site.

Social Media Marketing often delivers extremely targeted traffic to the web site due to the prior knowledge a visitor develops about your business or web site from a Social Media interaction.

Email Lists – Purchased / In-house: Email lists can either be purchased from a third party or developed from within your business through contacts or online form submissions. Third party email lists vary with regards to the quality of the target audience, whereas your company’s email lists should be of higher quality and better targeted to your business niche.

Emails are capable of informing current and potential customers of the benefits of doing business with your company and will encourage email recipients to visit your business web site. Although emails can be beneficial, there is also a darker side to email marketing due to unsolicited emails often being considered SPAM. If your company’s email is considered SPAM it is highly likely it will be ignored or even have a negative impact on your business reputation.

Online Video Ads: The use of Online Video is increasingly popular and is a highly affective method to promote awareness of your business. Facebook, and YouTube are the most popular video web sites on the Internet. Uploading and having Online video available is a powerful method to create awareness and interest in your company. And of course the flow on affect is additional awareness and traffic to your web site.

Affiliate Programs: Affiliate programs have long been an effective traffic acquisition method. Affiliates generally drive traffic to your site from their web site or an advertisement of your product or service. The referring web site is identified and recorded and a pre-arrange payment is made to the affiliate when certain conditions have been met such as a sale or other stated conversion goal.

Off line Traffic Acquisition Methods

Off line marketing efforts should not only focus on the primary reason of the campaign but also use the marketing campaign as an additional resource to increase awareness of the company’s web site and drive traffic to the company web site.

Off line advertising imitative which can assist in promoting the company web site include:

• Radio and Television advertising
• Print, Magazine and Billboard advertising
• Public Relations
• Trade shows and Special Events
• Point of Sale Promotions
• Direct Marketing Programs
• Company signs, vehicles and business cards

Off line marketing programs are generally used to create awareness of the company web site by providing the web site’s URL,unlike On Line traffic promotion which uses varied techniques depending on the method selected.

Tracking the effectiveness of off line web site traffic generation is not as effective or accurate as online methods however it is possible. Off line monitoring of traffic generation effectiveness includes:

• Specific URL and landing page to the advertisement of promotion
• Offering printable coupons which can be submitted at time of purchase
• Online Sweepstakes and competitions.

Conclusions – Web Site Traffic Acquisition Techniques

Online web site traffic aquisition techniques are the predominant method to increase website traffic. Utilizing the various online techniques is far more likely to bring larger volumes of traffic than your off-line methods. However, this most certainly does not mean that the off line methods can be ignored. As I stated at the beginning of this blog post and in others, developing a high performance web site does require a holistic approach. Therefore off-line web site traffic generation is an important component to the overall web site marketing program.

Due to the nature of the Internet where came from, where they go and what they do once they arrive on a web site is highly measurable. Therefore, understanding and measuring the effectiveness of On-line promotion efforts is far more measurable and much more accurate than is possible with Off-line web site promotion techniques.

Written by: pete@seowizardry.ca a Web Site Performance Consultant

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