Think Big Blog

When we travel by car we certainly hope that the road between our destinations is a smooth one and free of any possible hindrances in our journey. But a pothole or damage to the road can impede otherwise uneventful travel. In fact, the obstacle along our road may be so great that we may decide to turn around and go another way.

If we think of web site traffic in much the same way we can better understand how important it is to provide our potential visitors smooth and unhindered access to our web site. And the way to do this is through comprehensive search engine optimization.

Normally SEO is only attributed to a web site’s effort to increase their page rankings through the search engines. When done correctly, the use of content containing specifically chosen keywords will work to propel the site organically to the top of the search engines’ results. Keyword infused content along with a strategic linking campaign can help keep a web site at the top of its game.

But – like those potholes in the middle of the road that we travel – the errors that are on a web site can put up a road block against good search engine optimization. Such errors may include:

* Broken pages on web sites as well as broken links. Such broken pages or links stop users in their tracks and do much damage to web sites in their efforts to high page rankings on the search engines.

* Duplicate Meta data. Nothing does harm to a web site in its search engine optimization efforts than duplicate data.

* Missing information. Titles and Meta data should be in place utilizing chosen keywords to help in the SEO process.

Any SEO specialist that a web site uses should be able to offer assistance in putting these important components in place for proper SEO.

It’s been said that it’s not what you know but who you know. What this means, of course, is that often people are propelled to success because those who they know – who believe in them and what they have to offer – are able to open doors along the way. There’s no shame in taking this kind of help; it’s the way that the world works and the reason that networking in business is so effective.

When it comes to promoting web sites, the goal of any web site owner is to propel their site to the front of the line in terms of search engine rankings. This is the objective of search engine optimization – to optimize a site so that it naturally moves up in search engine results.

In order to make this happen, web sites engage in a number of things to optimize their site including the use of keyword rich content on their site; something that can be very effective if targeted keywords are chosen that are in line with what the site has to offer in terms of products and services.

But – like the traditional world of business – networking is still a huge part of the puzzle and a way that web sites can climb to the top of the search engine rankings. In the virtual world networking is accomplished through reciprocal linking. Each link counts as a vote for a web site; and the more links they have, the more votes are counted by the search engines which subsequently move the site up in its page ranking so that they can enjoy increased web traffic.

Most importantly, it is crucial for web sites to link with other sites that enjoy a high page ranking of their own. This alignment with already highly ranked sites will help a web site find its own success.

Have you ever been to a restaurant and had one of those survey questionnaires left on your table? Your server may ask you to fill out the questionnaire at the end of your visit and leave it on your table so that the restaurant will know how better to serve you should you come back in the future. This is one of the ways that businesses of every kind are able to keep up with their customers and clients so that they can learn of any areas in which they may need to improve; or about things they are doing that are meeting with positive feedback.

For web sites this is also critically important. After all, a web site is a business that provides a particular service for a customer. And in an effort to increase web site traffic and grow their business a web site owner will try all manner of things to appeal to those who are logging on; free giveaways and contests, video, blogs, links to relevant information, and a number of other “extras” that provide the site with additional value.

Forums can be enormously helpful in this regard. Not only will forums offer visitors a reason to return again and again – thus increasing web site traffic – but they can be a way to gage your visitors’ satisfaction with the site itself.

Include a forum on your site about a topic or topics related to your industry and allow visitors to post their comments. Someone from your company can act as administrator to answer questions, start a thread, and gather information about the users’ experience.

Additionally, a well-run, oft visited forum will create a buzz around the site, which may lead to other sites wanting to link to the forum. These increased links, of course, will raise your site’s ranking with the search engines in this cyclical life of search engine optimization.

Video is all the rage these days. We used to be content with the level of convenience we received from the written word online but now it’s all about moving images. As we have become more adept – in the face of expanding technology – at uploading video, web sites have had to adjust in order to compete in the online arena. And so it has become that those web sites that are working to increase web traffic are looking to video to help them achieve their goals.

Just like any business, a web site can very quickly become out of date and out of touch. So in order to not only survive, but continue to thrive, web sites have had to learn to quickly adjust to the newest technology, the best methods of search engine optimization, and the things that an online audience wants to see when they logon.

Those web sites that are promoting a particular product or service can use video the same way that they use written content to draw the attention of the search engines and increase web traffic. Just as content has been successful, so too can video.

* SEO. Content has long been used to increase the page rankings of web sites. This has been done by including keyword rich content on the site itself, or on third party sites. Keywords can also be infused into the descriptive copy and tags of any videos that the web site includes and such content will work the same way to direct potential customers to the site and raise the site’s page rankings on the search engines.

* Value. Visitors will come back to a web site if they find information that is worthy of returning for – such as blogs, informative articles, forums, etc. Videos are another great way to add value to a site. By including relevant videos on the site you are giving your visitors another reason to logon.

The goal of any web site – like any other business – is to succeed through attracting their target audience and converting these potential customers into actual customers. And, like any other business, web sites face similar challenges in making sure the planets align and they are able to bring to the table what it is their audience is interested in and do so in a way that is engaging.

Web sites have certainly clued into the importance of search engine optimization. They understand that the work required to seduce and capture customers is on them; but these potential customers must first be directed to the site in the first place. Search engine optimization efforts – when done correctly – work to increase web traffic and ultimately bring potential customers in the door so that the company can then work to close the deal.

Those who have worked with a web site optimization firm understand the importance of content in its role in helping propel SEO efforts. Continually updated content that contains specifically chosen keywords and keyword phrases work to raise the visibility of the site with the search engines and ultimately increase the site’s page rankings with the search engines.

So too does the inclusion of links to and from other sites of relevance. These links act as a vote of confidence for a site and work also to increase their page rankings with the search engines.

But in working to increase web traffic through SEO efforts many web site owners tend to overlook their biggest advantage - their expertise. If the site in question is one that promotes a particular topic, those who work within the business are often more than qualified to write articles on their area of expertise; articles that can be submitted on a variety of sties and that will ultimately link back to the expert’s web site.

In the next post, we’ll continue to talk about how expertise online can increase web site traffic and grow a business.

In the last post we talked about how important it is to not only attract visitors to your web site through appropriate marketing and search engine optimization, but to give them what they want right away once they get there. Owning and running a web site is a competitive business; you never want your potential customers to get frustrated because they can’t find what it is they came there for in the first place, log off your site, and head to a competitor’s web site.

In order to make sure your visitors (and potential customers and clients) are properly welcomed, treat your web site like the destination that it is, and roll out the red carpet for those who make the effort to log on, including:

* Forget the bells and whistles and give them what they want. It’s great to have animation on your site but keep it as simple as possible. The more “stuff” you have, the slower the site takes to load, and the more time you are asking of someone who may be in need of something quickly.

* Follow the two click theory. A general rule of thumb is that visitors to a web site should be able to find what they need in two clicks. This means keeping the navigation plan on your site simple and user friendly. Don’t bury your products and services; these are what they came for in the first place.

* Add value with content. Including updated information on your site that is relevant to your industry is another way to increase web site traffic; there is value that is over and above your core products and services. Additionally, if you include well chosen keywords in your content you are simultaneously increasing your search engine optimization efforts and bolstering your web traffic.

Web sites that market products and services are in the business to make money. No matter how much web site traffic they are able to generate with the clever use of content, if there is no sale at the end of the day then the goal has not been achieved. At the same time, search engine optimization – in the effort to increase web traffic – is interconnected with sales because if you can’t get people to your site in the first place you don’t have the opportunity to sell them anything.

Consider your web site to be an island. It looks beautiful from far away but people might even know it’s there unless there’s a way to get there and some fanfare regarding it as a destination. So on the mainland you market your island and you build a lovely bridge for visitors to traverse. This bridge is your search engine optimization; and every step on the bridge must be solidly constructed in order for visitors to find their way and make it to your island – your web site.

Say you sell fancy umbrella drinks on your island which is what you promote to potential visitors. But when they get there there’s no bar in sight; it’s in the jungle and the path to it is overgrown. They don’t know how far away the bar is and even if they’ll like what they find once they get there so they just figure it’s better to just turn around and go back now.

This is what happens when visitors to your web site don’t see what they want right away – or at least a clear direction to what they want. And this is how sales are lost.

In the next post, we’ll talk about how you – as a web site owner – can lay out the red carpet for visitors, helping to increase web site traffic and increase sales.

In the last post we gave some reasons why visitors to a web site may be “turned off” and choose not to logon to a site or choose not to return again once they have left. This relates to the importance of a web site offering value for its visitors. Web site traffic is not authentic if a web site can’t sustain this traffic because it can’t offer visitors anything once they get inside.

One of the turnoffs that we already discussed was a site that is slow to load. Some of the additional things that may cause a visitor to log off as soon as they logon include:

* A site that is not user friendly. Having to jump through hoops to find what you want does not make for a good experience on a web site. It is a good rule of thumb that a web site visitor should be able to get to what they need within one or two clicks of their mouse.

* A site does not deliver on what it has promised. If you promote a site through search engine optimization – and this is the way to go if you want to increase web site traffic initially – you are including keywords or keyword phrases on your site that relate to the products, services, or information that you profess to offer. If a visitor finds your site through the search engines and logs on expecting one thing and finds another you are not likely to retain that person as a regular customer.

* A site that is stagnant. If you don’t change out merchandise in a store then you are not staying engaged with what your customers want; today’s hot ticket items quickly become yesterday’s news. The same stands for web sites. In order to continually increase web traffic you need to continually update your site with fresh material.

The goal to increase web site traffic should not be short sighted. While it’s important to have visitors logon, ultimately we want them to stay for the duration.

Web sites throw around the term “web site traffic” a lot. This of course refers to the number of visitors a site receives on a daily basis and web sites consider their ability to attract and increase web site traffic a telltale sign of their success. But there is more behind web site traffic than meets the eye; and without what’s necessary to back it up, web sites traffic is just an empty term.

Consider it this way. If a traditional business bases its success on the number of people they get through their door, what does this really mean? Especially if once the people walk in the door they find the space inside to be completely empty. No matter how many people they get in the door, ultimately it won’t matter if the business is not able to offer them something inside that makes them want to stay and even return.

This very same principle can be applied to web sites. Web site traffic can refer to the number of people that enter the “door” of the site, or logon. But if these users logon and find nothing “inside” that speaks to them they will undoubtedly leave as quickly as they have come. The biggest turnoffs for web site visitors – the things that equate to an empty store – include:

* A slow loading site or a site that forces you to watch an intro video before you can enter. Those web sites that include too many files that are too large – such as Flash files – will load slowly for some computers and many users are not willing to wait. Additionally, those sites that make you sit through an opening without giving you the option to skip it, can easily frustrate visitors and cause them to log off.

Look for more turnoffs of web site visitors in the next post and ways in which sites can offer value for their visitors and subsequently generate web site traffic.

The challenge of anyone who is responsible for marketing a company is communicating the brand and the message of a business in a way that does not alienate your audience. Sounds easy; but the truth is that the more people “market” companies the seemingly further away they get from the audience. They begin to speak in taglines and just go about the business of advertising the company without really giving any thought to the language the audience will understand.

Remembering your audience – who they are and in what they are interested – will allow you to tailor your message so that it reaches its mark. Such is the case with bricks and mortar businesses; those who are in the business of successfully marketing companies go about it by identifying their audience before they craft a message to suit them. And marketing web sites should be done the same way.

If your demographic is skewed to the early twenties and the people visiting your site are likely to expect a significant video component, then missing the boat on this inclusion may cost you business. In order to increase web site traffic, you need to identify with your audience and then deliver on what they want and need. Any marketing company – traditional or virtual – will start with identifying your demographic.

Once you are offering tailored products, information, and services for your audience you can promote such offerings through the use of keyword rich content that will boost visibility on the online search engines and inspire people to visit your site. Once they logon, and find what it is that they want and need they are sure to return again and again thus creating more web site traffic through word of mouth. And word of mouth is the best marketing there is for any business including web sites.