Here are 6 tried and tested methods to boost the numbers of visitors to your website in 2009. The advantage these can give you is that your competitors may only be using one or two of these but they certainly won’t be using most of them and if you start testing and implementing them soon you are guaranteed to get some great results.
1) Reciprocal Links
Reciprocal links are links that you set up on a reciprocal basis on your site and a third party's site, which ideally should be related to yours but not in direct competition. You may already have a dedicated 'Useful Links' or 'About Us' page which is ideal teritory for these types of links. This sharing of links can help get new visitors to your site who otherwise may not have found you. If you are worried about visitors leaving your site then this can be avoided by creating links that open your 3rd party links in a new browser window, leaving your site open in the background.
Reciprocal links can be obtained from a number of places so be creative with your thoughts. A good place to start is to contact your suppliers, customers, friends, family and colleagues to see if you can get some link exchanges going. Then look further afield to other websites. Avoid anyone who offers paid link schemes as these are viewed very negatively by Google and your ranking could suffer if you are seen to be part of it.
2) SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the process of fine tuning your website content to make it more visible to the search engines with the objective being to improve your ranking for chosen keywords and key phrases in the search results. Techniques include optimising titles, headers, image alt text and filenames for web pages and images. SEO can be a bit minefield and requires certain technical knowledge to identify and implement changes so it is best left to an expert.
Good SEO should be carried out over time to try and test different combos of improvements. The benefits can be exceptional as the share of website traffic on results pages is substantial with 1st position getting 40% of clicks. A good strategy will be focused on a few main keywords backed up by a selection of less saturated keywords, known as the 'long tail'.
3) PPC (Pay Per Click Advertising)
PPC or Pay Per Click advertising is by far the best way to increase visitor numbers with instant results. If you look at the search results page for search engines like Google and Yahoo you will see groups of sponsored listings, usually 3 at the top and several down the right hand side of the page. These sponsored listings are adverts which companies use and only pay when someone clicks on their ad.
The major benefit is that your visitors are highly targeted because you only advertise on search pages where the keywords are related to your business. Google is the major provider and use their Google Adwords software to manage it. It's easy to get started and you can be up and running in minutes. Over spending is also not a problem as you can set yourself a budget which can't be exceeded.
4) Social Media Websites
The buzz words for 2009 are definitely social media websites. Since industry experts announced that social media was officially bigger and used more often than email, companies have been looking towards them as a marketing tool. Social media websites include FaceBook, MySpace and Twitter to name a few. They are social networks which enable users to quickly and easily share photos, comments and other content. As social media is such a new area and growing so fast there are no guidelines as to what you should or shouldn't be doing with your company. However, it is definitely worth setting up a profile and get involved in a community. Meet new people, talk about you and a bit about your company and products, then see what happens.
5) Directories & Business Listings
Directories and business listings have been around for a long time and the general rule of thumb is that they won't generate a huge amount of new traffic. However there are a few major directories which are worth a listing as the content and links they create to your site are also useful for improving rankings as part of an SEO strategy.
Major directories include: Thomson Local, BT Tradespace, Yell.com, HotfrogUK, Google Local Business Centre and The Free Index - all of whome provide free listings. The only downside is that increasing your exposure on these directories may also increase the number of sales calls you get from other companies. Overall, it is definitely still worth submitting your details.
6) YouTube
Finally, YouTube is the major player for user generated video content on the web. In 2008 alone 23.5 million viewers watched over 2 billion videos on YouTube.com and this is set to increase in 2009. The numbers speak for themselves so if you have an intro video for your company or if you are able to produce interesting video clips relating to your business then YouTube should be one of your main priorities. The price of video production has decreased rapidly over the past few years and it is now a very affordable option for marketing your website. You can even get some great results from fairly cheap digital cameras with a bit of creativity and practice.
Any Questions or Still Stuck For Ideas?
Feel free to drop me an email if you've got any questions or you'd like me to take a look at your site and come up with some more specific suggestions as to what could work for you and your website to boost visitor numbers. You can email me directly at info@alistairwhiteley.co.uk
How Can I Help You?
I offer successful and very affordable Search Engine Optimisation services (number 2 above) which are designed to improve your rankings, increase conversions and improve repeat purchase behaviour on your website. This service also comes with regular reviews and recommendations on how to further improve your website for better results through both on site and off site activities.
I am also able to offer services in management of your Pay Per Click Advertising campaigns (number 3), so if you don't have the time or resource to learn about and setup a PPC account then I can offer a fast and experienced solution.
Finally, If you are considering YouTube (number 6) and you need help capturing video I can offer assistance in this area as well.
If you require expertise in any of these areas or any of the topics discussed in this feature, get in touch today...
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