Everyone who has a website knows that to have sales you must have traffic, but not just any traffic - it has to be targeted traffic.
What do I mean by targeted traffic? It simply means visitors to your website who are interested in what your website is about. For example, people wanting to buy jewellery will find jewellery websites interesting.
How do I get targeted traffic? Here are some effective techniques:
Forums: Whatever your topic, there’s sure to be at least one forum about it. Subscribe to a couple of forums. Answer questions and join in the debates there. Become known as an expert in the field. Place a discreet link to your site in your signature file, which will appear in every reply you make. What can be placed in your signature is often determined by the forum moderators. Do not spam the forum or you will be stopped from posting. You should be able to get a fair amount of traffic from a popular forum, and the people who click your link will already be familiar with your writing style.
Linking from/to other websites: Look for websites which are similar to yours (but which do not compete directly). Ask the website owner for a reciprocal link. Be sure to pick link partners who match your customer profile. Try using a software program like Arelis to help you find link partners.
E-Zines: Buy adverts in ezines that target your market. Be sure to have a test run to ensure that the return on investment is enough to cover the expense involved. You may save a considerable amount.
Newsletters: When people visit your website offer them something of value for free if they sign up to your newsletter (like an e-Book). Your newsletter should be written tightly geared towards your topic. You should publish your newsletter regularly, preferably once a week.
E-Books: Write (or have written) a free informational eBook which you can give away to your clients and others. Place links back to your website in the eBook.
Joint Ventures: Contact online marketers looking for new products to sell. They may have large mailing lists with ready to buy customers. Normally they will be willing to send an email to their list for a percentage of the sale price. This works especially well with informational products. It produces a number of benefits. It can give a large boost to both your sales and mailing list in a short time.
Buy Expired Domain Traffic: This may be the most expensive in terms of money, but also the cheapest in terms of time. It gives a traffic boost normally within 30 days. What is it that you’re buying? You are buying traffic from a company which has invested in expired domain names. They are domain names which are still registered on the search engines which get a considerable amount of traffic. The previous domain name owners have either lost interest in the name or simply forgot to renew the registration. This means that the traffic from the expired domain name is redirected to your website. Generally this is high quality traffic as only expired domains with relevant traffic is redirected to you. As usual, you should undertake a test run to see if this traffic is suitable.
When you combine these techniques and apply them consistently over time you will find a rich source of targeted traffic coming to your website. This, combined with quality products will ensure the success of your online business.
Mike Devoran is the publisher of DJTraffic.com, a website devoted to improving your website traffic.
- Mike Devoran
Highlights 
March 6th, 2008 