SiteProNews

A lot of web pages will find an SEO sitemap useful in improving their performance. SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”, the process that aims to create or revise Internet sites so that it can be better found by search engines. The objective of SEO campaigns is to have websites appear in the top listing or first results page of search engines.

Internet search engines, such as Google and A9, maintain a very large database of Web pages and available files. To do this, they devise a program called a web crawler, or spider. This software automatically and continuously surfs and hunts content in the Web. Pages that the spider finds are retrieved and indexed according to text content, giving more weight to titles and paragraph headers. Spiders never stop navigating the web from page to page, to index the relevant content of the Internet. Besides looking at the text of titles and headers, some programs are able to identify default tags and keep a library of these page keywords or key phrases in the index.

When a user connects to the Internet types a query, which is automatically interpreted as keywords, the search engine scans the saved index and creates a list of web pages that is most appropriate to what the user is searching for.

SEO will use all the combined techniques of keyword analysis, smart code, good content literature, link popularity study and website organization to place the subject web page as high as possible in the list of search results in search engines. Web pages displayed on the top of results pages are assumed to get the most attention, and therefore, opportunity for earnings for web businesses and pages with sponsor links.

Search engines usually return a list of results ranking pages according to the number of Internet sites linked to them. Results can be classified as organic, or sponsored links. Sponsored links are shown prominently because their creators or agents paid the search engine. Sponsored links are the main source of income of search engines. “Organic” search results are the lists of actual results from the engines index and are directly related to the keyword typed in the request.

One of the more effective techniques of SEO is the creation of a main page and other content are directly linked to a site map, spiders can more easily move through the website, identify the key words of the content, and index these for a search engine. This is where the SEO sitemap helps the website creator or administrator.

Site maps are usually pages filled with links. These are shown as tables or lists, although lists are generally more effective. Writing code for SEO sitemaps is very easy and simple to format and maintain. These are ideally basic HTML pages with default tags, logical titles and keywords scattered in the Meta description. Introduction areas can contain more of the keywords. The site should have a main heading for every directory.

A simple list layout helps reduce unnecessary tags that might “hide” your keywords. Some spiders give more weight to the following, than text in the normal body of the webpage: heading text, content within link elements, text nearer the top of the page and the text written for a link. Therefore, writing the keywords and links in these areas could somehow move up the web page’s ranking. This goes for SEO sitemaps as well.

Web sites should be designed consistently, so navigation models should follow the flow of the site map. Therefore, the first section in the site map should be the first link in the navigation bar.

In an SEO Sitemap, and most pages, the headings contain title attributes where more key phrases in the site map can be added. Keywords are generally well chosen and written in the body of a webpage. However, in an SEO site map with little text, key words should be added as much as possible. As much as possible, web links should follow web page titles, and must undergo SEO during coding. Care must be exercised not to cram the page with keywords and links, or the page will be interpreted as blatant spamming and not receive any traffic at all.

There is no way to guarantee that a website will be shown in the topmost ranking of “organic” search results for an extended period of time. However, smart and responsible SEO sitemap techniques can be used to place the website high up in the search position. Regular monitoring and adjustment of the SEO Sitemap and search results would ensure that a website is kept near the top ranking and receiving lots of web user traffic.

Author:  Jo Han Mok is the author of the #1 international business bestseller, The E-Code. He shares his amazing blueprint for creating million dollar internet businesses at: http://www.InternetMillionaireBlueprints.com

You have just put up your new website and it looks great! It has good optimized content, projects your business image and above all has a killer sales page. Now comes the dilemma, you are just like an oasis in a huge desert (the Internet). How do you let people know you are here and ready to serve them? In short how do you drive traffic to your new website? Here are a few ways:

1. Article distribution
2. Search engines
3. Google Adwords
4. Blogging

Article distribution: Is the easiest and one of the most cost effective ways to drive good targeted traffic to your website. You can manually submit to the article directories, by looking them up on Google and then submitting individually, this is free, but takes time. The next way is to make a one-time purchase of an article submitter; this will save time but is limited. The next way is to use a service. This will cost a little more but will give you a wide range if distribution. Do your research and find one that does lists and article directories. This will give you traffic and valuable back links. It will take a little time but this method of promoting will snowball as more and more of your articles are distributed.

Search engines: These are mostly free to submit to, and will take about 4-12 weeks to get your site indexed, or listed in the search engines. This will eventually bring warm ready to buy visitors that will come automatically as they search your keywords. This promotion must be carefully thought out, as the right keywords and optimization of your website is critical to your success. You will need to monitor this carefully, and add new optimized content to your site every week or so. This can be in the form of informative articles about your products, services, or your industry.

Google Adwords: This is the quickest way to bring traffic to your website. You can have highly targeted visitors coming to your website within hours. However this will take a little work and research. Google has good tutorials and it is wise to read them carefully. Do your keyword research and choose those that are well searched by your particular market. You can check the overture search tool for this, http://goodkeywords .com will help you, as will Google itself. Remember to bid as low as you can and monitor this well. Decide if your cost per click is worth the amount of sales you are making and bid accordingly. It is very important to keep a close watch on this so that it does not spin out of control and cost you money.

Blogging: This is one of the simplest forms of promotion but needs to be done right. Keep your blog focused on your market, your products, and services. Do not stray away onto personal topics. The purpose of your blog is to intrigue your reader, give them a little teaser, and compel them go to your website. Blogging at word press will give you good tools for promotion and allow you to do some fancy stuff. However do place a blog at http://blogger. com first. This is Google’s blog page and will be crawled regularly by their little search engine bots. This means that your blog will be picked up quickly, and when the Google bots come by, they will follow your links and find the content you are pointing to. This in turn will get that content indexed within 48 hours in the Google search engine. Try to blog every 1-3 days. It does not take long just a short interesting paragraph will do.

Try to do all these things on a regular basis and you will see your website grow in popularity and you will also make sales from the good quality traffic you will drive to your website.

Author:  Cheryl Miller is an entrepreneur specializing in niche markets. For more information about magnetic badges and how they can help you promote your business, please visit http://www.badgemags.com Cheryl is also the publisher of the Magnetic Marketer Newsletter http://www.badgemags.com/magnetic_marketer_subscribe.htm

There are three major goals to achieve when you write content. Of course you need to incorporate those magic keywords that brings the almighty Google to its knees, but you cannot forget that someone will ‘actually’ read the content once you have it posted. This is necessary, of course, to start drawing in regular readers.

Traffic is not difficult to obtain if you strive consistently along on the following three main objectives in order to squeeze the most out of content or article. Getting these traffic results for free may sound difficult especially for people who are uncertain where to start.

There are always alternatives such as Google Adwords. The obvious problem here is that this kind of SEO strategy is not free. Additionally, since the introduction of Google Slap, a page needs to be created around the keyword to get good placement. Google Slap refers to the penalty that Google charges Adwords users whose pages have little content and it can add up quickly.

Now since this is some what necessary anyway, won’t it be more practical to write relevant content and have it ranked high with Google? Isn’t it better to achieve these results without have to pay through the nose for it?

Why not create a quality content page instead of using Adwords? If done right, your content can help you gain ranking with Google which in turn will increase your websites traffic. Free traffic is the goal, and we are going to show you how to do it.

The 3 Content Objectives…

Boost Your Ranking With Keywords

The best article in the world will not get read if no one can find it. In order to increase your website traffic, you need a solid SEO strategy that you can follow step by step. Some people like to start with keywords with little or no competition to more easily achieve a top ranking. Then they use the ‘halo effect’ to go for top rankings with similar keywords. Whatever your strategy is, you must always be sure to keep it in mind when you outline your articles.

Many people like to use the main keyword once in the first paragraph and once in the last paragraph, with four or five similar keywords throughout the article. You have to be careful with this, because if the keywords are too similar you will sound redundant to the reader. Besides, keyword stuffing can be a detriment to your ranking with Google.

Once you decide on your keywords, you need to infuse your article with them without making it stand out awkwardly. This may be difficult to do so you might want to consider hiring a content writer. You need to make sure that you do not get so caught up in the keywords that the writing ceases to flow smoothly. Awkward placement of keywords can be a big turn off to people who spend a lot of time reading blogs or content.

One of the best ways to keep things on track is by using keyword variations. For example…

Keyword - porsche boxster
Variations - porsche 911, porsche car, used porsche boxster, porsche boxster for sale, porsche

As you can see there are 5 variation keywords and the main keyword, giving you a total of 6 options.

In the main body of the text you can use the main keyword one to three times, and then use the variables about another 1 or 2 times.

The primary aim is to optimize the page for a top ranking using the keyword ‘porsche boxster’. Now since your main aim is to optimize this keyword, the variations are considered secondary priorities. You really do not have to make much effort to optimize them because your keyword is already set. The benefit is that you do not have to focus a lot on the variations, but they may help you with your ranking..

What you will also need to understand is that these strategies will not work for every keyword you use. The effect varies, so you will need to be able to adjust your game plan.

Provide ‘Quality’ Content That Sticks

Remember the main reason why you want a good ranking with the search engines. You want to attract visitors and you’ll want them to stay for a while. One thing you should consider is that Google takes into account the amount of time people spend on your site.

Whether you want to believe it or not, most people doing a search on the web are more sophisticated than you might think. When they visit your site, they are looking for relevant and intelligent content, so you can be sure that if you are lacking in this area, they will quickly leave.

Audience awareness is crucial to retain the interest level of your visitors. You will need to immediately grab their attention and then keep it. You can use humor, empathy, or just solid information to keep the reader on your site. You will need to take great care that your writing is interesting and well written because a visitor who is bored will not stay long.

They can be driven away by a lack of relevant content, poor grammar, or by an article that is sluggish and boring. Always walk away from your article before proof reading. Come back and re-read it with fresh eyes to spare your readers or any poor writing.

Build Up A Call To Action For Instant Results

There are many catch phrases and writing structures that are supposed to bring a reader to take action and many web users have caught on to these. They glean what they want from the site, ignore the sales pitch, and move on. You need to capture them early in the article and slowly build up to the call to action. A sales blip at the end of the article is very easy to avoid, but an article supporting legitimate reasons for taking action will naturally direct the reader to follow your lead.

Take care when you decide how to write an article so that you do more than provide a backdrop for your keywords. An SEO article is your platform to generate free traffic and on many occasions, an absurd amount if done correctly. Bring the visitor to your site, draw them in, make them read, and prompt them to take action with a well written article.

There are practically thousands of people doing this and making a good living. Don’t focus all your attention to the keyword. Instead, try concentrating on what the reader will find useful and write content with keywords at the back on your mind. As at the end of the day, a reader will take action and pay for what you have on the page, not Google!

Author:  Mohammad Latif: In order to generate free traffic, writing an effective content page requires you to pay attention to the rules, but also to keep it attractive for the readers. It’s not difficult as it may seem. Learn more at Google Snatch http://www.GoogleSnatch.com

There is one hard and fast rule in generating income for your website: A steady flow of website traffic. If no one goes to your site, it hardly bares a chance of generating an income. Many sites have tried and failed in doing so, and these results to the sites demise. It takes money to maintain an income generating site; it also takes money to make money.

BUT, it doesn’t take a whole caboodle of cash to generate website traffic for your site.

Ever wonder how big hit sites drive traffic? Most of them are spending tons of money to drive the traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing schemes and gimmickries. This is all worthwhile because, well, they are what they are now, high earning, big hitting websites.

You don’t have to do this if you don’t really have their resources. There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high cost methods and have ended up losing their shirt over it.

Here I present to you the Top five ways to generate low cost website traffic that could help your site a whole lot. Even if you only get a small percentage of successful visitors in to client ratio it still works especially if you get a high number of website traffic.

Exchange Links

This is a sure and proven method. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site. Many webmasters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming in to your site from other sites.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having the same niche or content as the other site. They should share a common subject so that there is continuity in the providing of service and information to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic in your website without the high costs.

Traffic Exchange

This is like exchanging links but on a different higher level. This may cost a bit more than exchanging or trading links but could be made cheaper because you get to earn credits. You can use those credits when viewing others traffic, while you earn credits when someone views yours.

Traffic exchange services are the viewing of another’s site or page. This is done vice versa where a site can use your sites contents and so can you to his or her site. You both benefit from each others efforts to generate traffic. The other sites visitors can go to your pages and know more about your site as well as theirs. Once again the public awareness of your sites existence is boosted.

Write and Submit Articles

There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias in the internet which provides free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can do the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee, but to save money, it is wise to do those articles yourself.

Write articles that are themed along with the niche of your site. Write something that you have expertise on so that when they read it, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site. Write articles that produce tips and guidelines to the subject or niche your site has.

Include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Write a little about yourself and your site. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more.

Make a Newsletter

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter but on the contrary, this is not so. There are many writers and sites that are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in on your newsletter. This will also provide free advertising for them as well.

As your newsletter gets pass around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list that can regularly visit your site.

Join Online Communities and Forums

This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site.

Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

Author:  Jo Han Mok is the author of the #1 international business bestseller, The E-Code. He shares his amazing blueprint for creating million dollar internet businesses at: http://www.InternetMillionaireBlueprints.com

It’s the biggest mystery on the internet. Everyone wants to open an online business. Everyone has a great idea. Everyone has a sure-fire strategy for success. And in many cases, they go out and build impressive websites around their idea. They include features that make the site sticky, drawing visitors in and inviting them to browse around. The graphics are slick and the layout beautiful. Java and Ajax make the browsing experience smooth and seamless. But in the end, no one shows up.

The vast majority of websites never get much of any traffic. Of course, this should come as no surprise. There are millions of different websites, even within a single topic, and there’s no way for the average internet browser to find one specific website without some help. And that’s what this article is about. What can you do as an online entrepreneur to identify yourself to the masses and help them find their way to your website? More importantly, what can you do to achieve that objective with little or no money?

That last sentence is the most important one so far. We all know the pay-per-click options exist and our hard earned money can quickly and easily drive traffic to your website. We all know it can be done at the click of a mouse. But how much will it cost? For those of us who have tried this type of advertising, it’s truly amazing how quickly you can run a tab paying for one click here and one click there. Well, as it turns out, there are some other options available that can drive just as much traffic and won’t cost you a penny.

The first strategy is encompassed by this article you’re reading. I wrote this article and posted it to the internet for free. Nobody’s paying me a penny. I took the time to write is all down because I know how to post it to thousands of different article directories quickly. And at the bottom of this article is a short bio with some brief information about me along with my website address. That means everyone who reads this article has the option of clicking through to my website directly. It’s called article marketing and it’s one of the best strategies for driving website traffic.

The second strategy involves posting comments on popular industry forums. Once you register with a forum, you can post comments within any topic you can find a string for. Your profile usually allows you to create a signature and that signature can include your website address. Once again, you’ve leaving behind a direct link to your website every time you post a comment. And as such, I would post as many comments on industry forums as you possibly can – perhaps as many as 15 or 20 comments each day.

The third strategy is to post comments on popular blogs in your area of expertise of beginning a blog of your own. If you post comments on a blog for 10 consecutive days, I can almost guarantee you that someone is reading your posts. It just happens. People find stuff and you can quickly gain an audience by creating a blog. And of course, you can revert to posting comments on someone else’s blog. You can always leave behind a direct link to your site when you do so.

The forth strategy is to make your website easy to bookmark with any one of the many social bookmarking sites that have emerged during the past year or so. It’s the new craze and sites like StumbleUpon or Boing Boing or Digg can quickly drive traffic to your site if the content you’re providing is appreciated by others. Adding the appropriate buttons and links only encourages that process.

Driving internet traffic doesn’t have to be a mystery. It doesn’t need to be a secret. And there are lots of things you can do to get plenty of organic traffic landing on your website. In most cases, it doesn’t cost any money. It just takes time. And if you can allocate the time, you’ll be amazed at how quickly it will also start happening. Good luck!

Author:  Tactical Execution with Patrick Schwerdtfeger (http://www.tacticalexecution.com) is a strategic company focused on growth marketing and program implementation across business markets.

There is one hard and fast rule in generating income for your website: A steady flow of website traffic. If no one goes to your site, it hardly bares a chance of generating an income. Many sites have tried and failed in doing so, and these results to the sites demise. It takes money to maintain an income generating site; it also takes money to make money.

BUT, it doesn’t take a whole caboodle of cash to generate website traffic for your site.

Ever wonder how some drive a large amount of web traffic to their sites? Most of them are spending tons of money to drive the traffic to their sites, investing in many advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing schemes and gimmicks. This is all worthwhile because, well, they are what they are now, high earning and high hitting websites.

You don’t have to do this if you don’t really have their resources. There are many ways to generate low cost website traffic without having to spend what you don’t have or can’t afford. Many people have banked on high cost methods and have ended up losing their shirt over it.

Here I present to you the Top five ways to generate low cost website traffic that could help your site a whole lot. Even if you only get a small percentage of successful visitors in to client ratio it still works especially if you get a high number of website traffic.

Exchange Links

This is a sure and proven method. Rarely would you see a site where there is no link to another site. Many webmasters are willing to exchange links with one another so that they could produce more public awareness about their sites. You’ll soon see and feel the sudden upsurge of the traffic coming in to your site from other sites.

A major prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having the same niche or content as the other site. They should share a common subject so that there is continuity in the providing of service and information to what interests your target traffic.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a high ranking in search engine results. It is common knowledge that search engines ranks high sites that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. With a good ranking position in the search engines, you will generate more traffic in your website without the high costs.

Traffic Exchange

This is like exchanging links but on a different higher level. This may cost a bit more than exchanging or trading links but could be made cheaper because you get to earn credits. You can use those credits when viewing others traffic, while you earn credits when someone views yours.

Traffic exchange services are the viewing of another’s site or page. This is done vice versa where a site can use your sites contents and so can you to his or her site. You both benefit from each others efforts to generate traffic. The other sites visitors can go to your pages and know more about your site as well as theirs. Once again the public awareness of your sites existence is boosted.

Write and Submit Articles

There are many e-zines and online encyclopedias in the internet which provides free space for articles to be submitted. If you want to save costs, you can do the articles yourself. There are many freelance writers who are willing to write for you for a small fee, but to save money, it is wise to do those articles yourself.

Write articles that are themed along with the niche of your site. Write something that you have expertise on so that when they read it, they can feel your knowledge about the subject and will be eager to go to your site. Write articles that produce tips and guidelines to the subject or niche your site has.

Include a resource box at the end of your article that can link them to your site. Write a little about yourself and your site. If you provide a light, information-laden and interesting article, they will go to your site for more.

Make a Newsletter.

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles you may need to use to build a newsletter but on the contrary, this is not so. There are many writers and sites that are willing to provide free articles as long as they can get their name in on your newsletter. This will also provide free advertising for them as well.

As your newsletter gets pass around, you can widen your public awareness and build an opt-in list that can regularly visit your site.

Join Online Communities and Forums

This only requires your time and nothing else. You can share your knowledge and expertise with many online communities as well as your website. You can get free advertising when you go to forums that have the same subject or niche with your site.

Share your two cents and let them see how knowledgeable you are with the subject. As you build your reputation, you also build the reputation of your site, making it a reputable and honest business that could be frequented and trusted by many people.

Author:  Steve Ashton http://www.webdevshed.com/signup.php Learn how to make money online and find work at home opportunities at http://www.moneymakingshed.com

Thousands Of Visitors And Other Fibs About Website Traffic - The 10 Worst Everyone talks about the BEST ways to create traffic but here are what have to be 10 of the absolute WORST ways to get real productive, targeted traffic to your website.

How do we know this?  We test website traffic programs and publish the facts in an online monthly report - so you don’t have to waste your time, or your money, on these losers.

First, put yourself in the shoes of someone looking for information about the products or services that you sell on your website.

Now be honest and ask yourself when was the last time you did any of the following to search for information on the Internet?

1. Sat down at your computer and really read all of that good old fashioned unsolicited spam email?
2. Joined a site that promised to send your email message for free … and you diligently read the hundreds of emails you received everyday from this same site?
3. Used a program like 101-website-traffic, 10 million hits, global blaster, your ad blaster, blaster this or blaster than, and you really made money from this traffic?
4. Joined a program where you have to click on ads for hours at a time … and you really clicked on all of those ads?  Really?  How many of those sites did you actually visit?
5. Signed up for a freebie that didn’t have anything to do with Internet marketing … and now your inbox is jammed with wonderful email offers that you always read for hours and hours?
6. You paid someone to submit your site to “5,000″ search engines … but now you realize that there aren’t even 500 good search engines on the Internet?
7. Used a free hosting company and loved all of the banner ads, at the top of your site, that you web host requires when your hosting is free.
8. Tried some keyword trickery like keyword “stacking”, “stuffing” or “hiding” and your site didn’t get banned by the search engines.
9. Joined a link or banner exchange and became fabulously wealthy … just like the fancy ad copy for the exchange program, said you would.
10. Used a program that promised tons of traffic and guarantee you will make $100,000 in 4 months … and you really made a hundred grand?

I’m sure you get the point.  If you are not doing the above then why on earth would you expect your prospective customers to be any different?

Why would you expect your prospects to visit your site by using any of the above methods when these are not the methods you use to visit other sites?

Now turn the tables and think of the things you really “do”
use to get information on the Internet.

1. You really do read email when it is from someone you know and trust … but spam goes directly to the trash.
2. You join programs and buy products you need that are recommended by people you trust.
3. You read articles about the subjects that interest you.
4. You have joined affiliate programs and purchased affiliate products.
5. You have signed up for “free” information that interests you. Hint, targeted information.
6. You use the search engines to look for the information you want - Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Ask Jeeves and maybe a couple of others.
7. You pay for your web hosting and setup your site the way you want it to look.
8. You have clicked on the ads you see running down the right side of many websites, i.e. like Googles AdWord ads you see when doing a search on Google.
9. You have placed links on your site for affiliate programs that you sell or other sites have links back to your website from their site.
10. You know that a program that guarantees you unlimited traffic and that will make you $100,000 in 4 months … is a scam.

These are just a few of the many ways to ensure you get “productive” traffic not empty clicks. Empty clicks are just that - empty - and your wallet will stay that way, too!

Author:  John Shields - If you do not know about the many types of keyword trickery that will get you in real trouble with the search engines, or who the website is that is promising free unlimited traffic … along with a hundred grand … then read the details before you get caught by scams like this. For your FREE copy of our online report the “Real Truth About Traffic” Go to:  http://www.realtruthabouttraffic.com/20/

Obtaining high quality targeted traffic to your website has never been as challenging as it is today. There are several different ways to advertise your website all with varying results. This article will discuss a brief history of advertising online, current advertising techniques and why website content is so important.

To understand the best way to advertise online and increase your website’s traffic today first you should learn about the history of advertising on the internet. In the 1990’s when the internet was still young the most effective way to advertise online was through banner ads. By 1996 companies were advertising through Juno’s new ad supported e mail service and Webconnect started to offer accurate measurement tools to advertisers such as URL tracking. (http://www.worldata.com/wdnet7/articles/
the_history_of_Internet_Advertising.htm)

It has been said that in 1998 Amazon was the first to launch a successful affiliate program. They invited webmasters and retailers to link to their website in exchange for a commission. This was the beginning of the still popular advertising method of link exchanging. That same year Larry Page and Sergy Brin introduced Google to the World Wide Web. This new search engine technology was designed to analyze these back links which were considered votes for a website. The “votes” determined how the page was ranked in the Google index. (http://www.searchenginehistory.com/#google)

Today there are over 66 million websites on the World Wide Web and a lot more ways to advertise your site than there was just a decade ago. Companies use everything from pop up ads, banner advertising and even ads that interrupt online games and other interactions.

Advertisers are always looking for easier, faster and less expensive ways to promote their products and services. The cost of regular postal mail has increased over the years making electronic mail the better choice. Email advertising can result in a better targeted audience. Customers who receive the email message are interested in what the advertiser has to say; therefore they click on the link. There are also several downsides to this form of advertising. In order for email advertising to be effective you have to have a well designed lead capture page. Along with this you must use a reputable auto responder service that obeys all the spam laws. This can get complicated because you also have to advertise your lead capture page. Banner advertising is very simple and can be effective if your banners are placed on relevant websites. But this method is also very expensive. Banner advertising can cost you as much as $20-$50 per thousand impressions which could run you anywhere from $2,000-$5,000 per month.

A lot of companies today use pop up ads as a way to get traffic. But with the increasing popularity of pop up blockers pop up ads do not attract as much traffic as they used to.

The most effective way to get highly targeted traffic to your website is by getting indexed by the search engines. Relevant back links will help you with your search engine rankings but if you do not have good content the links will not matter. For example, when someone types something in the search engine such as “Dodge Trucks” that searcher will more likely click on a website with information on that particular brand, not just “Trucks.” If you are selling Dodge trucks it would benefit you to have an article about that particular brand of trucks. This will help the search engines to index your website and you will get more return visitors.

There are two different ways you can get good website content. The first way is by writing your own articles pertaining to your online niche. You can then add them to your website or blog to increase your traffic. Or you can submit them to free article sites like this one with a link to your website. Either method will give you more targeted traffic.

Advertising online has come a long way since simple banner ads in the 1990’s. Webmasters, companies and affiliate marketers have a wide variety of different ways to get their message across online from email marketing to pop up ads. But they can get complicated and expensive. To avoid these issues the best way to get traffic to your website is by having accurate content. Relevant website content will help the search engines index your site and visitors will like what they see and return for more information. Writing your own articles and subscribing to articles previously written are two great ways to get content for your website.

Author:  Ms. Talbert has been an online marketer since 2003. She has sold on eBay, has been involved with SFI and numerous other Affiliate programs. Currently she writes reviews of marketing and advertising products to aid affiliate marketers and webmasters. To subscribe to her free newsletter visit: http://www.freeinformation.12w.net. Or visit her blog at: http://cltsmarketingresources.blogsavy.com

Increasing targeted traffic to your website is one of the easiest ways to boost your online productivity. Here are the top 10 effective strategies that will help you accomplish that.

1. Optimize Your Website

While SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a full-time career option, you can either hire an expert to do this or follow the suggestions below and get the ball rolling yourself -

a) Select Your Keywords Wisely - Keywords are the phrases people use to search and come to your website, thereafter, hire your services or buy your products. The trick is to find keywords that are highly relevant to what you offer and popular enough that your target audience will use in search engines, but not so competitive that you can’t rank well using them. (Tip: GoodKeywords.com provides a free keyword tool to help you get started. Find your ‘magic’ keywords and use them to build your website content!)

b) Create Your Meta Tags - One of the methods search engines use to evaluate and read your website is known as ‘Meta tags.’ Make sure you include your keywords, website title and description in meta tags in the source code of each of your web pages.

c) Create an SEO Friendly Website - Avoid bandwidth-hogging flash animations, fancy graphics or “alt” tags in HTML for pictures. Not only will this slow down your website’s loading speed, search engines bots will also find it difficult to read, index, and rank your web pages.

d) Get Links to Your Sites - Create a ‘Links’ or ‘Resources’ page and add links to good, relevant websites. This makes search engines think that your site provides valuable information and it should, therefore, appear high in search engine results.

2. Submit Your Website to Search Engines

Don’t wait for search engine robots or spiders to find you. Instead, go ahead and submit your website to major search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN, Dmoz etc. and remember to do this regularly!

3. Use PPC Advertising

The best PPC (Pay-Per-Click) programs are offered by Google and Yahoo respectively, called Adwords and Overture. It’s usually pretty tough getting top rankings in the search engines in a short period of time, but it can be very easy to get on the first page of results quickly enough, with a PPC campaign. A PPC campaign can be started with a very small investment and you retain full control over your budget. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad that takes them to your website.

4. Swap Ads with other Ezines

It’s a good idea to swap ads or links with other ezine publishers in your niche. These can be real ads, testimonials about your niche, or recommendations within the content of an ezine itself. Also, consider buying some ad space in ezine publications in your niche that have a large circulation. Always run an ad for at least 3 consecutive issues in order to get the best results.

5. Give Away Freebies

Everyone loves freebies and people will even come to your site just to check what you are giving away. So keep in mind to include a free eBook, a time bound discount coupon, a prize for every X-th visitor, etc. on your website. You can also partner with other JV (Joint Venture) sites where you can offer free products and get people to your own website. Make sure you capture your visitor’s name and email address using opt-in form so that you could easily follow up with them later. Remember, ‘the money is in the size of your list.’

6. Become a Guru

Other than freebies, people love free advice! So find sites where you’re allowed to answer questions, and then take some time off to provide detailed answers to each one of them. Become an expert in your niche, and with every answer you give or every solution you provide, don’t forget to add your website URL at the end.

7. Participate in Discussion Forums

Participating in forums, blogs, and discussion groups is yet another fantastic idea to drive targeted traffic to your site. Check to see if you can offer any advice or make valuable suggestions in forum threads. Always remember to provide your website URL at the bottom of each post you make. Each forum may have its own set of rules about promoting your website, so make sure you carefully read and follow their terms and conditions to avoid being accused of spamming.

8. Submit Articles

This is actually the most genuine and effective technique to getting targeted traffic to your website. Write articles that come under your niche, embed your website link within, and submit the articles to online article directories. Articles with quality content and information tempt readers to click-thru to your site, in the hope of getting more advice or tips. Once prospects reach your website, they’re also exposed to the products and services you offer - which can sometimes result in many sales for you!

9. Write A Press Release

Write a press release about your business and circulate it in the local media, online news sites and RSS. Be careful not to make it sound like an advertisement, though. For more information about press releases promotion, check out http://www.prweb.com/pressreleasetips.php

10. Online Networks

There are many sites today where you can network online. These networks usually have groups which you can belong to and post articles and comments. Some good examples would be adlandpro.com, ryze.com, ecademy.com, directmatches.com and linkedin.com to name a few. They work pretty much the same as discussion forums where you can post your articles, and comments, or discuss general issues with others. Many online networking sites offer you an individual page on the network where you can advertise what you have to offer and include a link to your website.

To conclude, these 10 tips of driving targeted traffic are tried-and-tested, meaning they do work. So put in some hard work and give it time… then watch your traffic grow by leaps and bounds!

Author:  Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.onlinebizpromo.com

Every web site owner wants to íncrease search engine traffic. It’s free and the visitor is targeted to your subject matter, product or service. What more could you ask for in search engine traffic? The downside is that you need to understand search engine ranking methods and that is quite a challenge for many.

The number of opinions and “experts” on ways to increase search engine traffic is overwhelming. And regardless of what anyone might tell you, they’re all guessing. The search engines themselves don’t divulge how their methods work for one simple reason. As soon as anyone figures out the method, there’s a mad rush to implement changes based on the method.

In a perfect world, where there were no scoundrels, this might not be a factor. Everyone would organize their web site information so that a visitor could easily find what they are looking for, and life would be good. But we certainly don’t live in a perfect world and scoundrels are everywhere.

So we are at the mercy of the search engines to help us sort through the clutter to find what we want. And that’s the value that the search engines provide, accurate and meaningful search engine results that are related to the search terms or phrases. So it goes back to the quality of content, that’s the only common factor in all 3 major search engines’ ranking methods.

Each of the big 3 (Google, Yahoo, and MSN) search engines use a little different method and technology to arrive at any given web site’s ranking under specific search terms. As mentioned above, no one knows exactly how each method works. But you can test different strategies and methods to see how they impact your rank.

And therein lies the only true method of determining what the search engines might look for when ranking your web page on specific search terms. I’m sure most of us are aware that most processes can be expressed in mathematical equations. I’m not sure if that’s the best method for search engine ranking, but it is the most popular for the search engine ranking process.

And consider the fact that when someone has determined (or thinks they have determined) one of the factors used in search engine rankings they beat it to death. Every discovered aspect in the past few years has been exploited immediately to the point of the search engines abandoning the tactic. As soon as the search engines see that someone can beat the system, they change it.

That’s one of the big reasons you see constant change in ranking methods. Since there is a tremendous amount of revenue at stake for all concerned, i.e. sales of products and services for the web site owners, plus the advertising revenue for the search engines, any advantage is huge.

If you would have tested and tracked all the changes and methods in search engine rankings for the past few years, one constant factor would stand out. This is also one of the most misunderstood and often overlooked elements in search engine ranking for a specific term.

So what’s the one thing that the search engines can’t change about their mathematical algorithms? You got it, CONTENT! The search engines can play with the process, methods, or means to judge web site content. But, if web site owners stick to the basic philosophy of providing meaningful content, in relation to the search term, the impact of changes are far less, if even felt.

And that is where many web site owners run afoul of getting good search engine rankings. Many jump on the bandwagon with every new revelation in search engine strategies based on the latest changes. It’s the old forest and trees scenario, Internet style. Even if you get a slight advantage from all these “new” tactics, it will be short lived. As soon as the search engines catch on that you are working the system, they will change the system.

So the best way to increase your rankings for a particular search term is to provide meaningful information or content based on that search term. Here a few guidelines I’ve found that help:

• Make sure you focus on the subject matter (don’t try to satisfy too many terms with one web page).
• Get inside the searcher’s head – figure out what they want and give it to them.
• Be specific and provide details – don’t generalize and be descriptive.
• For a sales page use benefits and features to fully explain the problem and the solution.
• Update your information often – setup a schedule to update and add more content.

There are many sub factors that can have an impact on how well the search engine bots can determine the value of the content. The search engine bots are software programs that go out and “read” your web page and then provide the information to rank your web pages on what they discovered.

You’ll find many “experts” who will give you a hard list of items and how to present this information. And I don’t disagree with suggestions to include the search term in your web page in key areas like title, description, and font designations like H1. That helps the search engine software bots to determine the content.

But I’ve seen web pages with no meta-tags, title, or description but that had rock solid content and still had high search engine rankings on a particular search term. So make it easy for the search engines, but always remember that the content is the single consistent factor in search engine rankings.

There are a lot of different aspects to consider when trying to improve your search engine ranking, and increase search engine traffic. The keyword and phrase research, interpreting the search term or phrase to provide the best result, reviewing other popular web sites with the same intentions, linking to other like content web sites, and more. How you present the information and content is also an important issue.

But all those factors come after good content. So if you start with providing the best content, you can’t go wrong. After all, this is both an art and a science, not to mention a moving target.

Author:  Visit John at jd WebWorks, to see some recent case studies and get better results with SEO Web Site Design.