February
I am reminded of the great maxim of teachers everywhere, “It is not enough to simply be present; you have to engage.” Search engine optimization (SEO) and web presence is the same way. It’s not enough to build a site and sprinkle in a few keywords, you have to engage the internet community if you have hopes of climbing up the page ranks (PR).
For small businesses, the goal of a website is to connect site-goers with a product. Before you can do that, though, you have to get them through the digital door. This article focuses on generating website traffic and turning that into sales.
Keeping it Fresh
You might be surprised to hear this, but the internet is a research tool. (Shocking, I know.) People log on to the internet because it is a convenient source of information, so a good way to draw traffic to your website is to provide users with information pertinent to your products or services. This can be accomplished by incorporating articles or blogs into your site.
Articles on a website serve the same function as they do in a newspaper. How many people would read the paper if it was a bunch of ads? Not many. If you can give users more than just a sales pitch, then they have more of an incentive to be there. Sales is about proximity (as much so in the digital world as the physical). By getting people to your site, you give them access to your products and services. And on top of that, you can use articles and blogs to incorporate more keywords into your website and improve your SEO.
The downside to articles and blogs is you have to be constantly adding new material. A couple of articles can bring in new traffic, but new information is essential to generating repeat visitors.
Link building
Link building, a.k.a. backlinking, involves posting the link to your site on related sites to increase traffic. The more links you have to your site, the higher likelihood that a user will click on it and be brought to your site. Backlinking is not simply a matter of quantity; it is also about quality.
When link building, you want the link to appear on sites that are both related and reputable. By choosing related sites, you can direct the target market to your site. Spamming your link on as many websites as possible is not only pointless, it may actually hurt you. Web crawlers are programmed to recognize spamming, and they may decrease your page rank accordingly. Backlinking from reputable sites, on the other hand, improves your page rank. If your site is linked to sites with good web reputations, then it’s almost like they’re vouching for the quality of your site.
It helps to start by linking your site to other companies with whom you do business with. Web directories are also a great source of linking. Never place your backlinks on link farms. Link farms are sites that simply list the links to hundreds of unrelated sites, and they are flagged by crawlers as shady. Another good way to get your link out there is to become involved in forums on topics related to your products or services. Don’t just toss in the link, though, establish yourself as an active participator in the forum and then include your link in a valid post.
Networking
Social networks, like Facebook and LinkedIn, present an unprecedented opportunity for backlinking. They’re comprised of large groups of individuals who often group themselves according interests and hobbies. If you can place your link in the right circle, there is the good chance that members of the community will freely share it with others.
Video marketing is becoming an increasingly popular way to get traffic into your sites. By creating videos and posting them on sharing sites, like YouTube, business owners can stir up interest in their site and company.
