It's a great feeling to turn an idea into a website. Most of the time however, your idea doesn't end with just building the website – you probably want to build your visitor base as well. So you put on your marketing cap, scope out the social scene, and begin considering a myriad of methods to build your website traffic. But before you spend any money on ads, hold a YouTube contest, or give away free t-shirts, keep these three considerations in mind: 1. You've Got One Shot with New Visitors
There are literally thousands of ways that people will end up on your site and you can't really predict how or when they will arrive. If your site is a content-driven one, then most of your visitors will see your site only as a page in the "internet encyclopedia." For instance, if someone wanted to know about sIFR, he would google "sIFR Guide" and maybe find this sIFR tutorial -- but once he gets (or doesn't get) the information he needs, your "page" in the "encyclopedia" is never visited by him again. So it's your task to find ways to keep him interested (and no, that doesn't mean pop-under ads urging them to bookmark your site). Some methods that I think are useful hooks are:
- Obvious Tagline of Your Site's Purpose
- Easy Link Access to Your Best Content
- Linkage to Related Content For Every Post
- Something Free to Give Them
- Accessibility of Subscribe Buttons
2. You'll Keep Visitors the Same Way You Got Them
If you filled a room with marketers, told them you had a website you wanted to promote, and explained that your marketing budget was very limited, what would they suggest? Well, I guarantee that almost all of them will sugggest holding a contest or sponsoring a free giveaway. In fact, every single day (literally, not figuratively) I see another website or blog giving away something and usually making a big deal about it. Now I'm by no means against giving away stuff (we do it often here), but if you're doing it primarily to grow sustainable traffic, you may be disappointed. Why? Because people who came for the free coffee coupons at your site will not come back to read your weekly articles on social media. In other words, if you got your visitors using giveaways, then you'll keep them by continuing to host giveaways (which I'm guessing is not the kind of traffic you want).
Instead, get your visitors by having great content and they'll stay as long as you continue to produce such. Save the giveaways as tokens of appreciation. (Exception: If you give away value-added content related to your niche [like files or documents], you might keep these visitors around. Just don't expect that giving away free advertising, t-shirts, or even cash prizes translates into future readers or consistent traffic.)
3. Remember That Your Visitors are Wanted Elsewhere
It's simple math: there are a limited number of people online, all with a limited amount of time. Furthermore, the number of websites that cater to the same audience that you do seem to be increasing all the time. Worse still, many of these websites are being started by people with more knowledge and experience than you. If you're not staying ahead of them, you will eventually fade away. Both the real and online world are full of examples of places/websites that failed to raise their game amongst competition and are now defunct. Guard against this by first, staying informed, and second, innovating no matter the level of success you experience. Let the competition drive you to create more value for your own visitors.
Community Comments
Landon
