Increase targeted traffic to your website

Why having targeted traffic is so crucial Your website is the gateway to the world – it is probably the single most powerful interface between you and your customers. While there will be plenty of customers who visit your site, ideally having the right kind of customers is more important. If there are more targeted customers, chances of making a successful sale go up that much more and your website gains that much more relevance.

How to increase targeted traffic

There are several ways to increase targeted traffic to your website and it doesn't need to be expensive. Most small businesses who are just starting out, usually employ these methods to drive targeted traffic to their websites. Here we list a few of the methods used:

Blogs. Blogs remain by far the most popular way of enhancing traffic in your site. However the key is to use specific niche keywords that attract interest from your customers. More dynamic content in the blogs also means more repeat and new visitors as they'll want to know what's new in your site.

RSS feeds. These are also extremely popular. The way this works is that content from other sites is fed into a specific space on your website. This content is typically free for publishing. You can choose to subscribe to niche RSS feeds that cater to the specific theme and topic of your own website.

Articles. Articles are often underestimated on their marketing power. However fact is, articles are by far the best way to gain targeted traffic to your website. You can write helpful articles that give useful tips and ideas on common topics of interest related to your website. But the key is to use specific keywords that are most suitable to gain traffic from search engines. You could post articles on ezines which usually have thousands of visitors.

Viral marketing. This is a manner of marketing where you use a branded product that has a relation to your website and theme. You can give these products as free or for a nominal fee. This also attracts lots of targeted visitors.

Domain expert. The key to operating your website is to focus on the central theme of your products or services and build articles, products and concepts around that central theme. That way, once you've been operating the website for some years, you get established as an expert in your niche segment. That means more people will turn to your site for tips, ideas etc.

Exchange leads. This is a common mechanism whereby you get to exchange your leads for new ones from businesses that are similar to yours. That way you get fresh leads and it's a win-win situation.

Niche advertising. It is very important to advertise about your website on specific forums and publications that are related to the same industry you cater to. Else you risk having unrelated visitors come to your site. So, for example if your business is into automobile insurance, you could have advertisements in magazines catering to the automobile industry. You can even have the advertisement placed in insurance related publications. The key is to eliminate as much of untargeted visitors as possible to be able to reach the right audience at the right time.

Newsletters. These still remain a favorite to attract targeted leads to your website. You could get visitors to sign up for free email newsletters that deal with specific topics of interest, related to the theme of your website.

Free ecourses. These are also great because you provide useful lessons and tips on certain niche subjects. By getting visitors to sign up, you ensure that these are people who are really interested in this subject.

Press releases. Press releases are great to ensure the publicity of your website. You can keep having fresh content on the latest news and events happening in your business. These keep your website alive and the more frequent the updates, the more visitors you're going to have. The other great thing about press releases, is that you can publish them across publications and that ensures a wider reach.

Word of mouth. Finally you need to take the extra effort to spread the word. Therefore, when you meet people, let them know about your website.