HOW TO CREATE TRAFFIC

You've built a web site. Your giving away the greatest product in the world for free and if you can give it away to 100,000 people you will inherit $30,000,000 (it's a reach but go with the example). How do you get people who don't know about your site to visit it?

The first step is to create targeted traffic: 

Targeted traffic is going to produce the best result. They are looking for your product and presumably are going to buy the first product that solves there need. 

You can generate targeted traffic in the following ways: 

1. Banner Ads: These are the work horse of e-commerce. Many gurus and experts will say that the Banner Ad is dead, but well placed banner ads can be a very cost effective way to get people to visit your site. 

2. Pay-per-click Search Engines: This is a great way to generate quality traffic. These search engines allow you to bid and pay for your ranking. When a potential visitor searches for information on your key word, they are given a list of potential sites that could provide what they looking for. Your account is only charged if they click through to your site. 

3. Search Engine Listings: This is going to be the most effective way to generate a lot of traffic for your site. Unfortunately, it tends to be the most time consuming and can expensive. Many of the larger search engines charge a fee for inclusion in their directory. There are also numerous factors on how a web page is ranked so just getting your site listed may not be enough. Most people do not visit sites that are not on the first page (or two at most) of the list provided by a search engine. 

4. Mailings and E-Mail: Well designed mail and email campaigns can be a great way to generate interest in your web site. If you are doing mass email, make sure you are using an "opt-in" mailing list with a mechanism to remove any names from the list who do not want to be on your mailing list. SPAM is just a waste of time and resources, so don't do it. If you would like more information about correctly using bulk email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Creating Untargeted traffic: While untargeted traffic is not as effective as targeted traffic, it can be very profitable. If you have a product or service that is ideal for an impulse purchase (relatively inexpensive and unique), then you should seriously consider maintaining as high a level of untargeted traffic to your site as possible. Here are several ways to create untargeted traffic.

1. Exit Exchanges: These services work in one of two ways. They either open your web page directly or create a pop-up or pop-under ads when someone leaves a website. They can be rather bothersome but they are quite effective. Most exit exchanges work on a 1 to 1 ratio so you can effectively double the traffic on your website. 

2. Pop-Up or Pop-Under ad campaigns - Many sites will sell advertising space as a way of generating revenue. You can purchase ads that will open a new screen behind the page that a visitor is viewing. While these ads can be annoying, they are also very effective particularly if you place your ads on web pages that really make sense. (Billiards accessories on a Pool League web site, Fishing Equipment on a camping web site, etc.)