BuildTheDotCom | Web Development Blog

There are a ton of ways to generate buzz and traffic for a new web site, and I’m a fan of using everything you can rather than relying on just one or two traffic sources. It’s the “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” approach. More than once I’ve seen a friend with a successful site who was only using PPC (pay per click) and organic search traffic fall flat because Google tweaked their algorythms.

So, while search engine traffic is certainly high quality and often high volume, it shouldn’t be your only traffic source. And you really shouldn’t only focus on one single search engine either. Many site owners hang on all things Google and lack any focus on Yahoo! or MSN or any of the smaller niche search engines out there.

One of my most profitable web sites last year was nearly non-existant in Google’s index. In-fact, Google sent me less than 500 visitors for the whole year on that site. However, Yahoo! sent me nearly 500 per day; and MSN has been a steady traffic source too.

And here’s a little theory I’ve developed over the last decade online, Google search traffic is far less qualified than Yahoo! or MSN search traffic. Sure, Google has the large share of traffic, but it also has the larger share of casual browsers who tend not to convert for site owners too. On the other hand, MSN traffic tends to convert at a slightly higher rate than Google traffic for me, and Yahoo! search traffic tends to convert at almost double the rate of Google traffic for me.

So, if just getting high volume traffic to your site is the goal then Google should be a priority, but if you’re trying to build a loyal community, or membership, or if you’re selling a product or service then I caution you not to overlook Yahoo!, MSN and other niche search engines.

When it comes to other methods for building buzz and traffic for a new site I always try to focus on efforts that will serve dual purposes for me. In other words, if I can generate some buzz and get a few backlinks to my site for SEO at the same time that’s a bonus, and it leads me to the first method I recommend,

1. Article Marketing

You’ve probably heard this before, maybe a million times, and maybe you’re like many who think it’s out-dated due to over use by online marketers–but the fact is it still works like a charm to get people talking about and visiting your site if done right.

Don’t fall into the trap of churning out garbage articles just to get lots published quickly. This will have the opposite effect from what you want. People who read them will think (and maybe talk) negatively about you and your site, and the articles will be buried in archives sooner leaving you with little or no SEO value from the links.

To really work your articles need to be impressive, informative, entertaining… in other words, amazing. That may sound like a tall order, but it’s really not. If you’re launching a site on any topic then you should have some unique ideas and thoughts about that topic, and that’s what readers are looking for and will respond to.

Write your personal views and perspectives down as a bullet-point list, then expand on each point to explain it further and emphasize your unique thoughts on it. With a little time and care you should be able to turn each bullet-point from the list into its own article.

And if you can’t, then use your list with detailed explanations to guide a freelance writer you hire as (s)he turns them into articles for you.

2. The Social Web

The web has become a very social place, and services from Twitter to YouTube allow you to not just share your message, but to also engage and gain feedback (market insights) from others.

Two years ago if I wanted to get insights from potential users of a product I was developing I would build a special web site that offered some free gift or eBook/Report in exchange for the user answering a handful of Survey questions I designed. Then I’d spend some money on PPC (pay per click) advertising to get people to the new site and hope that I could get about 100 surveys filled out before I spent a fortune on the traffic.

That was a fast and easy way to gain feedback and insights, though it could be costly at times.

Today however, thanks to social networks I can get the same information from my potential market without having to buy a new domain for the survey, without having to spend time designing the survey and site it sits on, without having to create or find a free gift to give away… and without having to spend a penny on PPC (pay per click) traffic.

There’s also the dual purpose (remember I hunt for these) of being able to start slowly building some buzz for my new project even while I’m still gaining the feedback from potential customers that will determine how I develop it.

Think about that, I’m getting people to talk about my product even before I start building it at times, that’s powerful mojo. And it works just as well for launching a new site as it does for a new product.

3. Offline Promotions

It amazes me how few people are taking advantage of this given how cheap, easy and successful it can be for getting buzz and traffic to a new site.

It can be as simple as posting a Flier with tear-off tabs that contain your web site URL on the community board at your local grocery store, or as elaborate as renting a Blimp, having your web site URL displayed on the side of it and then offering free rides over the city through some local radio show contest.

The bottom line is you can be creative and stay within your budget, yet achieve grand results with offline marketing strategies.

This again can serve a dual purpose if you’re creative about it. I know of one site owner who ran an offline “scavenger hunt” at a local college, but the way the hunt was set up contestants had to find certain things and take digital videos of themselves next to the items, then post those videos to an online video service like YouTube, Google or etc. to get points.

And for “extra points” the contestant could also write a blog posting about their experience finding the item, either on their school provided web space (free .edu links there) or by creating a free blog online at Blogger, WordPress or a similar site.

With a single scavenger hunt that had a prize worth a couple hundred bucks, this guy had lots of people talking about his site, sharing and spreading videos that talked about his site, and a ton of college students online building backlinks to his site for him.

4. Word Of Mouth

This is more of a wrapper for the three points already mentioned than it is an individual tool, because word of mouth advertising isn’t something you really “create” as much as it is something you can guide.

If you get your message out there, and generate some buzz, then people will be talking about you or your site. The key to success is to do all the other things right so that you can guide them to be talking positively and saying the right things when talking about you.

So the point here is to remember not to cut corners on anything you do while promoting your site. Always be engaging, informative, helpful, respectful, entertaining… always be amazing and you’ll get the kind of word of mouth promotions you really want.

Technorati Tags: article marketing, offline marketing, social marketing, traffic