As a webmaster trying to build traffic there are two different realms you need to work on. The first realm is everything within your website. You know you have to build quality content and you have to optimize it well. But you also have to focus on building quality content off your webpage. Working this off site content is often called off-page optimization.
Off page optimization, if the term is new to you, is all about the things you do on websites other than your own. And it is very important because when it comes down to it the only way you are going to get traffic to your website is to get it to come from other websites (or search engines) which are pseudo websites. One of the most popular techniques of this is link swapping with other webmasters and I will talk about this first.
There are two distinct benefits to off page optimization. The first is that you get traffic from that other site. But the second and even more important benefit is that the search engines take notice of your links on other sites. They figure if your site is good enough to have a link on another site your site must be pretty good. And the more links you have on other sites the better your site must be. So search engines will rank you better and list you better if you have lots of quality links on other sites.
The Best Off-page stuff to do:
1. Links with other websites - As a normal course of action you are probably spending time on the web looking at other websites that have the same subject as your site. Do you send those webmasters link requests? You really should. Make it a daily habit of requesting links. And, make sure you stay in your subject area. Don’t request links from sites that have nothing to do with your site. And always use text links. A lot of people like banner links but they are veritably worthless. A good text link with keyword text explaining the subject of your site is like gold.
2. Write some quality articles and submit them to article directories - This is a fantastic way to get ranking and traffic. You need articles that are around 400-700 words in length for most directories. And your article has to be of some quality. Don’t just post junk articles, they are worthless. And you don’t have to spam the article directory community, just pick a few good ones. My top three recommendations are ezinearticles.com articlesfactory.com and searchwarp.com.
3. Create or translate your documents into word format, embed relevant links to your website and upload them to scribd.com. This is a great document site with a great ranking and reputation. Only post quality materials that are relevant to your subject.
4. Edit the Wikipedia - Once your site has some good material on it check wikipedia for your subject and related pages then add your link or edit the pages. Make sure you only do this in a quality manner. Do not spam them and do not just add your links. Do it only if your website or page really adds quality content. Even better: Check the wiki pages in your subject and see if they need something. Then go ahead and write it, post it to your website and then update the wiki page with a link to your content.
5. If you have a blog you really need to automate the pinging process. This saves time and spreads your blog around. Sign up for a free account at feedburner.com then use their pingshot tool. Automation is good!
6. Do a press release every time something major happens on your site or blog. Start a podcast? Create a new eBook? Start a new site? New section of your site? Redesign your site? Press release it with a service like prweb.com. Don’t be afraid of press releases. They are there for exactly that purpose.
7. Find a popular portal site in your subject area and become a regular reader/contributor. You will learn a lot about your subject and you will develop a reputation as an expert. Of course you will point out new and interesting stuff on your site or blog. Haunt their forum and post regular. Post to their blog too. But, as always, make it high quality. If you are not sure what I mean by popular portal site here is an example: I do a lot of writing about the craft of writing (thats the subject area) so I am a member of the writerscafe.org website. They have a forum, articles, etc.
It is going to be a while before people crank up their web browser then type your url into the explorer bar and come straight to your website. Until then you have to do smart things on other websites that will get you noticed by people and by the search engines. These are 7 of the best things you can do.
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