One Easy Way to Generate Traffic
Posted on | July 8, 2008 | drew stauffer
Traffic for any website is usually a main goal, but a lot of people don’t know how to generate traffic. I hear it all the time in the office, “We need to get the word out.” Then weeks or months later, nothing has happened.
We’ve all heard that creating unique and compelling content is the best way to get links and attract people to your website, but what happens when you’ve created your fantastic content and your traffic still isn’t increasing?
Users aren’t going to flock to your website as soon as you publish what you consider to be the most important piece of content on the web; you have to let people know.
One of the easiest ways to generate traffic is to comment on other people’s blogs. To take it a step further you have to contribute to the conversation with quality, insightful comments.
Simply posting “Great article” isn’t going to generate any traffic, but if you pose a question that peeks the interest of another viewer or add something useful to the conversation, you can.
Many times when I’m reading other blogs I spend more time in the comments area versus the actual post. These comments are where the real interaction takes place. You have questions, comments, and concerns all within a few lines of each other. If someone asks an intelligent question or provides a solution to something that was referenced in the post, then there’s a good chance that I’m going to visit their site.
I personally try to comment on at least 10 blogs a day. Thankfully, since I’m not that consistent with my actions, I have been able to see firsthand the effects of commenting. I can easily see in my analytics when I have been more active with my commenting.
Generating traffic is not a one-time deal, there’s no magic bullet, and there’s no finish line. Generating traffic is an ongoing task that everybody in the company needs to take seriously. The larger your staff, the more advantage you have.
How to get it done
Let’s say, for example, you have a marketing and/or PR staff of 5 people. If you asked everybody on your team to comment on 5 blogs a day, that could equal 125 references to your website a week. Not to mention the very likely possibility that one or two of those 125 references would spark someone to mention it to someone else, thus taking advantage of the entire viral world. Keep that up for as little as two weeks and I guarantee you will see an increase in your traffic.
The challenging part is actually doing it. Give your personnel time to search and think about their comments and you will get a better return on your investment. When your workload is so hectic that you don’t even have time to get another cup of coffee, your comments aren’t going to be that inspiring.
Commenting doesn’t have to be hard. Remember it’s a conversation. If someone asks you a question you wouldn’t just sit there with a blank look on your face, would you?
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2 Responses to “One Easy Way to Generate Traffic”
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July 31st, 2008 @ 3:46 pm
Funny. I MIGHT sit there with a blank look on MY face.
August 4th, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
@Dean
haha….I try the blank look as often as possible, but they never let me get away with it.