Driving website traffic is of utmost importance to the thousands of entrepreneurs all over the internet today. A count of the traffic hits on a website is a good indicator of the health and success of the site. Here are some suggestions on how to drive traffic like the pros.
Among the benefits of a steady stream of visitors to your site are the higher likelihood of sign-ups as well as a greater number of clicks on your ads. On top of this a popular site draws the attention of other internet users and brings even more visitors to your site, who will in turn also click on ads and do sign-ups. What began as an adventure quickly turns in to an enterprise.
While there is no secret formula used to increase web traffic, some failed methods that have been used with little success include: adding hallucinating graphics to your site, spamming potential site visitors with your site's URL sent via email, and other shady practices. However, if you really want to drive website traffic to your site, there are three questions that every owner/operator should ask.
What is the purpose of the site, do enough people know or care? Blogs and retail sites are often bland and uninteresting to the majority of web surfers, causing them to stagnate. There is only so much time in the day for a person to visit sites and they are going to concentrate on ones that provide good content for them. What will make this site become a 'favorite' for them, something that will become a part of their daily surfing rounds.
Entertainment. Consider how intriguing your site really is. This factor is even more important than usability. People are so stressed they will go out of their way to run by your site for a good laugh or an amusing anecdote during their hectic day. Particularly at work, people will welcome the entertaining diversion of a really good website for a few moments in the middle of working. Getting your website address passed around the office is a surefire way to get website traffic.
Competence. Do you realize what you're doing? There aren't enough folks out there who pay attention to their lives so that they would care to plan. They just go through with the tide, and this is exactly the same with amateur site operators too. Is there enough stuff in your site that is interesting and different to satisfy 20-somethings? This generation of surfers are looking for sites that have all feeds and links within a professionally maintained Web 2.0 site. No corny wallpaper or jumping .gif stuff.
Teenagers are more concerned with outward appearances rather than loyalty. In order win over this audience, focus on entertainment value. Teens are very much into pop culture, social networking, and other trends; so be sure to update your site often.
Finally, don't forget the older crowd. This group can think back to the Web 1.0 era sites, and perhaps they even miss them for their simplicity. Appeal to this group by keeping your site basic and truthful. While the younger generation will leave the site forever if they run into broken links or other problems, the older generation will probably complain about errors.