I have been working quite a bit on SEO lately. It works but it is
very time-consuming. It is frustrating because every time I create a new
Squidoo page, create a new blog post or relevant link I know I will not
see immediate results. So what can you do to get traffic to your site
now? What if you can’t or will not wait? I believe in long term strategy
over short term strategies because tomorrow generally rolls around.
However, the two strategies are not mutually exclusive. You can work a
short term plan and a long term plan at the same time. Here are 10
things you can do to get traffic relatively quickly to your website:
1. Send an Email to Your List – Ok you already knew
this. However, if you are not building a list you are crazy. A targeted
email list of people who actually have come to your website and
specifically requested info from you about your niche is a gold mine.
You should have opt in forms on every page of your website. Being able
to send an email blast to a real, interested targeted list of followers
is one of the fastest and best ways to generate traffic to your website.
2. Send an Email Blast to Somebody Else’s List –
What if you do not have a list? Well see if you can find other people in
your field who will allow you to pay for a solo email to their list.
There are places like the Warrior Forum where people swap mailings and
offer solo email spots on their lists. Here is a list of several reputable places where you can purchase solo ad slots.
If you already have a list, even a small one, you can find a few other
sites in your niche with quality offers and propose that you mail an
offer for them if they mail an offer for you. This way you both benefit
from each other’s audiences. Places that accept solo emails.
3. Post Classified Ads – I love Craigslist. They
make more money than almost anybody, even without the escort ads. They
have not changed their site design since 1980, they don’t care about
social media, and they are the best classified ad site out there because
they get real eyeballs looking at their ads. Start posting some
classified ads for your business on Craigslist. Here’s an article which tells you how to post on Craigslist. There are many other classified ad websites as well. Here’s a list of 36 classified ad websites that I have successfully posted ads to.
All the sites are Alexa 100k or less and are easy to post to. The
downside with classified ad marketing is that it is very time consuming.
If you want to try using a classified ad submission service here is one that will submit your site to 500 classified ad sites monthly.
4. Start a Google Adwords Campaign – I used to spend
about $3000-$4000 per month on Adwords. Then they started slapping me,
banning me, humiliating me. It was horrible. I guess I just did not know
the safe word. I tried to comply with their TOS but it seemed that they
just did not want my ads. Now a few years later I received a coupon in
the mail for $100 saying they wanted me back. Hmmm? I set up a campaign
with normal keywords. My site even has a pop up on it. I started the
campaign and it seems to be going fine. Of course time will tell. But it
seems as if, at least for the moment, Adwords is back. You might try
setting up a campaign. The traffic is generally very good if a bit
expensive. But Google Adwords is one of the fastest ways to get traffic,
if they run your ads.
5. Start a Yahoo Search Marketing Campaign – Yahoo
has traffic. It is not quite as good as Adwords, but they are a little
easier to work with. Plus, the prices are slightly lower. Hint: I seem
to get better conversions and lower prices for Australian Yahoo traffic.
If this market applies to your business, you might try going down
under.
6. Purchase PPV Traffic – PPV traffic is short for
pay per view traffic. Generally, pay per view traffic is pop ups that
you buy on pay per view traffic networks. One network I work with has
about 5 million users who have downloaded their applications and agreed
to receive ads. When they type in their favorite sites in the browser or
search bar, little pop up ads are triggered according to the URLs and
keywords they type. The traffic is keyword and/or URL targeted. So, if
you want your ad to pop up on your competitor’s site, you can do this
with ppv traffic. Remember you only have a second to capture their
attention. You must create a landing page which immediately catches
their attention and gives them a clear call to action. Generally, email
opt ins work best. Here is a site which explains more about ppv traffic.
7. Guest Blogging – Wait a minute, we are supposed
to be talking about fast traffic techniques not long slow SEO type of
stuff. Getting a guest blog post published on a busy blog that actually
has real readers eye-balling your post and commenting is a fast way to
get traffic. Once the article is published potentially thousands of
readers will see your post immediately. Getting
your post published on an A list blog is also about the best SEO you can
get as well. You also have the implied recommendation of the host
blogger. Guest blogging is both a long term and a short term strategy
for traffic and SEO. Give it a shot. Here is an article which will give
you some ideas about guest blog posting.
8. Video Marketing – YouTube is the second busiest
search engine after Google. And, of course Google owns YouTube which
does not hurt. I have noticed that videos on YouTube show up quickly in
search results. Depending on the how hot your topic is, traffic can
start flowing pretty quickly too. There are several techniques you can
use to get more targeted visitors such as
using your video as a video response to other videos and commenting on
other related videos. Do not forget the other video hosting sites such
as DailyMotion and Metacafe. Here is a list of 35 video hosting sites that I actually submit videos to.
9. Buy Cheap Paid Click Traffic – This is traffic
that Google hates. If you have Adsense on your site, you cannot use any
type of incentivized traffic. This is traffic where people are actually
either paid or given an incentive to view your site. If you have a site
with no Adsense, you can use this type of traffic. The advantage of this
type of traffic is that it is cheap. Real cheap. Plus you do get real
eyeballs looking at your site because generally they have to type in
some sort of code or test to show that they viewed your ad. If your
offer is great and appeals to a wide audience you might have a shot with
them. I have made sales and recruited affiliates using this type of
traffic. Conversions are very low, but you do not need high conversions
because you can get so many views for so little. I have paid prices in
the neighborhood of $20 for 100,000 views. Two more advantages to this
type of traffic is that it is quick and it starts to give your site some
momentum in the search engines because of all the views. I suggest
using this type of traffic in conjunction with all the other techniques.
A site to check out for this type of traffic is Donkeymails.
10. Cold Calling – Are you kidding me? Nope, I am
not. Get on the phone and actually call prospects who you think would be
interested in your service and direct them to your site. It actually
can be fun! Ask them for referrals, ask them if you can add them to your
list, Facebook etc. Better yet, go door-to-door and cold call. Get
rejected, sweat, and try to close some deals. Get off your iPad and hit
the streets. It’s brutal, it works and is more effective than Tweeting.
Plus, you could actually make some “real” friends.