How to develop maximum web site traffic

If you want to derive income from your web site, you must maintain a rigid focus on client-centered VALUE and you MUST maximize traffic.

This message clearly has not gotten home to 99% of the people on the Internet who are acting more like "message posters" than marketers. However, since it's marketers,
and not posters, who make money on the 'net, this means understanding and properly using three essential traffic-development tools: search engines, free and paid links.

The Benefits & Limitations of Search Engines

Start by understanding the purpose -- and limitations -- of search engines. A search engine is simply an automated index; it's a place to register key words and concepts
about your web site. Searchers looking for this information can find it by going to the search engine and entering these key words and phrases.

Search engines are fine so far as they go, but as a marketer you must consider just how much real benefit they give you.

First, there are more and more search engines all the time. Do you have the time to 1) register with them all yourself and 2) keep your entries up to date? Probably not.

A year ago it was commonplace for web site owners to handle all search engine data entry themselves. Now that just doesn't make sense, because people don't have the time, don't know all the search engines, and don't do the data entry very well, either. Thus, get a service that does this work for you.

However, even if you're in every single search engine in just the right way, search engines are still inherently limited. After all, just because a book is listed in a card catalog doesn't mean anyone will either know it's there, much less read it. Ditto search engines. Exclusively relying on search engines to build web site traffic is crazy, because their function is essentially passive -- posting -- not active marketing. Marketers, remember, always maintain the initiative; when you're merely listing in a search engine you've transferred the initiative to the searcher, which is the antithesis of real marketing.

Free Links (And Free Classified Ads & Newsgroup Posts)

Lots of web site owners try to enhance traffic with free links, but this has its limitations, too. Face it. People give free links to get you to their site, to look at their ads, advertisers and content. Giving you a free link (or free classified ad) is NOT their first priority.

What's more, the way free links and free classified ads are "stacked" dramatically limits their usefulness. The latest ad is always on top. In a popular site, this good position may last for a few hours, or even minutes; in a slow site, you may be at the top of the stack longer, but so what? Nobody's visiting anyway! Thus, whether you're making a free link, free classified or free newsgroup posting, the impact on YOUR traffic is decidedly minimal.

As a result, while doing these things is helpful, their overall value must be placed in context. You're not going to get rich on the Internet merely by taking advantage of free links, free classifieds, and newsgroup postings -- no matter what anyone says!