According to the Internet Usage and World Population Statistics, there are 1,086,250,903 internet users worldwide as of September 2006. So, how many of these people are visiting and/or purchasing products from your website? If your answer is not many, then you might benefit from the tips below on how to generate free website traffic.
1. Take advantage of online forums and online communities. This is a great way to get you and your business talked about for free. Target the forums and communities that relate to your business. For example, if you sell home decor products, join home decorating forums and communities. While talking to other members of the forum, you can promote your business, share tips, get advice, and often find other members willing to do link exchanges and free advertising swaps. Tip: When posting information on a forum, be sure to include your websites full URL so the search engines and other members can visit your website. Also, be sure to read and follow the forums rules and guidelines.
2. Create a monthly newsletter for your website. Provide registered newsletter members with special promotions, interesting and entertaining articles, free products, contests or anything else that will make people want to sign up for your newsletter. The more people that sign up for your newsletter, the more website traffic you will receive.
3. Exchange links with other quality websites that are related to yours. One mistake that many webmasters make is trading links with any website that will accept link exchanges. This does not increase your traffic or benefit your website in any way. In fact, some of the major search engines will actually penalize your website for having a huge amount of unrelated links. So, take the necessary time to link with quality, related websites.
4. Write articles and submit them to article directories. At the bottom of each article, include a short description of yourself and/or website and include the full URL to your website or product. This will allow viewers of the article to follow the URL to your website, resulting in more traffic. Many websites offer free submission and posting of your articles. Here is a short list of free article directories:
5. Write good content for your site and add it frequently. Many search engines track down the keywords and keyword phrases used in your websites content.
6. Use an email signature. This is possibly the most under-rated way of advertising on the internet. Email signatures are very useful for providing important contact information and can be an effective way of marketing. In your email signature you should include:
Your name
Your email address
Your website URL
Optional information might include your phone number, mailing address, or your title.
6. Get your website listed in online directories. There are many directories on the internet that will allow you to list your site information for free. For example, if you sell home and garden products, search for directories that specialize in the home and garden industry. There are also directories that charge a small fee but may well be worth it.
7. Create you own eBook. Write an eBook that is relevant to your websites subject matter. Be sure to include a link to your website on every page of the eBook. To market your eBook, make sure that it is clearly stated in your eBook that it can be freely distributed as long as it is not altered in any way. Give it away on your website and distribute it to eBook directories and other relevant websites.
8. Hold a contest on your website. A contest on your website can have tremendous traffic building potential. Hold a contest on your site for a prize that is relevant to your website. For example, if your website sells software products, you could offer a prize of a popular piece of software, which you know everyone that visits your website will be interested in. Having contests on your website can bring you unlimited popularity and traffic.
9. Create a Blog for your website. Blogs, short for web logs, are free and easy to create. They can also be an awesome traffic generating tool if you use and promote them properly.
If you dont already know, the key to building free search engine traffic is to receive as many related, high-quality websites that point back to yours. Your Blog will act as a related website that points to your own website, will build traffic to your main website, and attract its own traffic.
There are many good, free Blog hosts to choose from. Blogger.com is very popular because each new post creates a search-engine friendly web page. Blogger.com is easy to use and they offer great features such as visitor comments, customizable templates, archiving options, and much more.
10. Create RSS Feeds for your website. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is an XML based content format for distributing headlines, news, articles, and other updated content. For webmasters, this is an excellent way to bring repeat traffic to your website.
By providing an RSS Feed, you will not have to rely on your visitors to bookmark your site and return at a later date. Instead, their RSS reader will keep your site fresh in their minds.
There are numerous free tools for creating RSS Feeds. Do a Google search on create free rss feeds and this should help you find the tools available for you to use.
The above ten methods have the potential to drive a lot of free traffic to your website. All it takes is a bit of effort, patience, and time. Try to research and learn all you can about the methods listed above and you too can be on your way to generating a great traffic flow to your website for free!
Lesley Dietschy is a writer, jewelry designer, and the founder of a network of popular websites including http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com and http://www.HomeGardenExchange.com Both of these websites feature valuable information and resources to assist you in decorating your home and garden.
For beautiful beaded bracelets, please visit: http://www.BeadedBraceletBoutique.com