Blog and Web Site Traffic Sources and Strategies
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Search Engines
When people think of getting traffic to their blog or web site they usually think of search engines. Higher search engine rankings equals more traffic to your blog. When selecting target keywords for high search engine rankings it is important to be specific, focused and realistic.
Specific:
Choosing specific or “long-tail” keywords, as they are often referred to, is important for two reasons.
- More often than not it is easier to achieve high search engine rankings for specific keywords than it is for general keywords. Because, specific keywords usually have less competition. (i.e. custom rhinestone jewelry vs. jewelry)
- Users searching for more specific keywords/phrases are more likely to make purchases than those searching for general keywords/phrases. Specific searchers are in “buy mode” while general searches are in “research mode”.
Focused:
Every aspect of your blog design and posting should be focused on the top keywords/phrases you are targeting. This will help you get higher search engine rankings, as well as, the desired reaction from your visitors.
- When a human visitor lands on your blog you have less than 10 seconds to capture their attention. Therefore, they need to see words and images that are directly related to the keywords/phrases they searched for to find you.
- Search engine spiders need to “see” keywords in the proper place and in the proper density in order to give you a high ranking.
Realistic:
It takes time and effort to achieve long term, organic search engine rankings. Of course the more competitive the phrases you are trying to rank for the more time and effort it will take.
Factors that Determine Search Engine Rankings
- Competition – The number of search results for a specific keyword / phrase
- Proper inclusion of keywords in blog code. (i.e. Title, Description, Keyword Meta Tags and Image Alt. Tags)
- Proper keyword density in the body of blog posts. (3-6% is optimal) This means that if you are writing a web page on “custom jewelry” then the keyword “custom jewelry” should appear 3-6 times for every 100 words.
- Keyword(s) in Domain Name
- Links to your web site or blog from other web sites or blogs. Preferably related sites that have high rankings. The links “anchor text” should also include your keywords/phrases.
- Regularly updated content.
- Age of Domain Name
Pay Per Click
PPC or Pay Per Click campaigns are an excellent way to get traffic to your blog instantly and test keyword effectiveness, as well as, on-page variables. (i.e. Headlines, Images, Colors, etc…)
When setup and monitored correctly PPC campaigns can give you a very good ROI. Depending on your budget PPC campaigns also allow you to get traffic for the more competitive keywords / phrases in your market faster than waiting on organic search engine traffic alone.
Conversion Goals and Testing
When running PPC campaigns it is imperative to setup conversion goals and on-page testing in order to get the best ROI.
With these in place you will be able to immediately tell which keywords, ads and on-page factors result in the highest number of conversions and/or sales.
Google Analytics and Web Site Optimizer are good tools to help you with this.
Web 2.0 – Social Networking / Media Sites
This is one of the newest, and for some markets, most effective ways of getting high volumes of blog traffic. It utilizes the popularity of social networking sites to drive traffic to specific, related pages on your site.
In short Web 2.0 sites are any sites that allow users to add and/or make comments on content. Vote content good/bad or up/down thus affecting the amount of traffic that content generates.
Web 2.0 campaigns affect your blog traffic in two ways.
- They provide you with direct traffic to your blog or web site. In many cases this happens overnight.
- They help increase your organic search engine rankings by providing keyword relevant back links to your main blog. Thus, it’s important that all of your Web 2.0 marketing efforts focus on the primary keywords/phrases you want to rank high for.
Examples of Social Networking / Media Sites:
Strategies for Social Networking / Media Sites:
- Submit Demo / Training Videos
- Submit Photo Galleries
- Blogging
- Blog Commenting
- Article Submission
- Forum Participation
Get the Low Down on Everything Web 2.0 and Social Media….
Other Traffic Sources for eCommerce Sites
Auction Sites
Another excellent way for ecommerce sites to attract visitors and gain immediate exposure is to use popular auction sites like eBay.
Affiliate Program
Affiliate programs reward members for promoting your blog/products on their web sites and/or blogs. This is an excellent source of advertising that has the potential to rapidly increase sales exponentially.
Conclusion
A successful keyword targeted, Internet marketing campaign will include a combination Search Engine, Pay Per Click and Web 2.0 traffic strategies. While the principles are the same every market is a little different. Each of these methods will give you deeper insight into your market and you will quickly be able to recognize which methods are the most affective and prioritize accordingly.
Author: Barry Ochsner, 1Cat.biz Online Biz Consulting and Coaching
Technorati Tags: blog traffic,web 2.0 marketing,social media
Are Free WordPress Themes Really Free?
April 29, 2008 by 1Cat.biz · 4 Comments
To some of you that might sound like a dumb question. “Of course they’re really free!” you might say. But, if you build a lot of WordPress blogs and try to find a different free theme for each of them then you know the time it takes to figure out all the special little features and sometimes less than friendly CSS and theme code.
Plus, you have to be aware that many free themes not only include bad code and misuse of tags they also include Spammy links to sites that you probably wouldn’t want to link to. Many times this poor coding can cost you in SEO rankings and reputation. So, be careful and only use trusted WordPress theme sources.
WordPress on Steroids – Texas Custom Choppers
April 25, 2008 by 1Cat.biz · 13 Comments
Four months of hard work finally pays off! This week I launched pehaps the biggest WordPress project I’ve ever undertaken.
OK. I have to admit it. This was one of those projects that on several occasions I really wondered whether or not WordPress was the best platform to build on.
The client was very particular about how they wanted the pages to layout and it required a lot of customization of the theme. I actually started with the WPRemix theme but ended up with a hybrid of the WPRemix and my own customizations.
So why was I so insistent on making this work in WordPress?
Install Your WordPress Blog In These Easy Steps
April 23, 2008 by 1Cat.biz · Leave a Comment
Install Your WordPress Blog In These Easy Steps by Mikael Peters
Blogging is becoming popular these days. In fact, there are several websites that offers blogging. Blogs can be use for different purposes; others would use it as an online diary, while others would also use it for web marketing. For this reason, setting up a perfect blog for your own purpose is very vital. I will provide you the things that I believe would surely help you on setting up your own blog.
I will teach you how to setup a blog in wordpress. Now, why wordpress? I prefer wordpress since wordpress is already tested through time and wordpress has many viewers, millions around the world. This is the best site if you would want your blog to be read by countless individuals.
Before we get started, it is important to know that a blog script is very important to make your blog controllable. For this matter, I will provide you the best PHP codes. Moreover, please do ensure that your host supports PHP and MySQL database. The minimum requirements are PHP v4.1 and MySQL v3.23.23, but I would prefer up-to-dates.
After assuring that your web host supports PHP v4.1 or higher and MySQL v3.23.23 or higher, you can download WordPress script from developer’s website for free. Save the script in your hard drive. Mostly, these scripts are zip files. You could just extract it with the use of winzip or winrar and open the file with the use of Notepad.
Input or edit the name of your MySQL database, your username and password and your MySQL server. After you have done these, upload all of the files to your web host. Click /wp-admin/install.php and follow the instructions carefully. After the installation, you will be provided an admin password. Never forget the password because you will need this information later.
Signing up an account on a quality web hosting will make things easier for you. Most of these web hosting offers a preinstalled PHP scripts. If this is the case, then simply go to your control panel and go to preinstalled scripts and select WordPress. All you have to do is select the appropriate script for your own wordpress which is obviously much easier. After the installation, simply go to wp-login.php in your wordpress and login with the username admin and the password that has been generated. You could change the password anytime you want, just edit your profile.
I know you are now concerned with the looks of your blog. You could simply apply a template and change the layout of your blog. This feature is free from charge. But before that, surf the net and look for wordpress themes that would fit your blog. If you found the appropriate theme for you, just go to wp-content/themes/your-new-layout-name folder and upload the theme.
Setting your wordpress blog should never be a problem for you. If you want more help regarding wordpress installation, feel free to visit http://wordpressmadeeasy.net for more tutorials and tips.
Article Source: Install Your WordPress Blog In These Easy Steps
The WordPress Dream Theme Goes to Church
April 23, 2008 by 1Cat.biz · 8 Comments
A friend of mine who is the associate pastor at a local church recently had an assessment done of his church’s website. The church had a static HTML site that he updated himself using Dream Weaver. When he got the assessment back he quickly realized that he was in over his head and needed help.
Some of the things that needed to be fixed other than the out-of-date design were; inconsistent fonts and colors, content scattered randomly throughout the site, poor navigation, and bad SEO. (Search Engine Optimization)
Another need they had was the ability for staff members to be able to login from any computer and change/update content without having to purchase and install additional software.
101 Ways to Improve Your Conversion Rate
April 7, 2008 by 1Cat.biz · 3 Comments
While doing a little light Sunday morning reading I came across this unbelievable article on improving your conversion rate.
The article itself is titled “101 Easy Ways to use Google Website Optimizer”. Don’t let the title fool you though. The lessons taught in this article can be applied by anyone doing business online. Not just those who use Google Website Optimizer.
It’s written by “The Conversion Rate Squirrel” which I suspect is really Dr. Karl Blanks. (Who really is a rocket scientist.)
Anyway, if you want some great tips on improving your conversion rate and marketing your website in general then I highly recommend this article.
“101 Easy Ways to use Google Website Optimizer”
Enjoy, Barry O.
Using WordPress as a CMS for a Lead Gen Site
April 6, 2008 by 1Cat.biz · 4 Comments
I frequently talk about using WordPress as a content management system for building all types of websites. Well, this week I thought I would actually show you a project I’ve been working on for a friend of mine.
My friend is a local roofing and home remodeling contractor. He wanted a site that looked professional, was search engine optimized, could be set up quickly and managed easily. And, although their not doing it yet, he wanted the ability to add blog posts in the future. So, of course I recommended WordPress.
The first thing I did was purchase Ben Cope’s WordPress Dream Theme. I told Ben exactly how I wanted the design to look and within a day or two I had my website design.
