Traffic is the most important thing for an online business to do well. Even the most expensive website is useless if no one goes to it. Having a website is like having a store in the basement of a small town building on a dark alley. So how do you get people to come?
There are four main ways to bring in traffic that is useful.
This kind of advertising works, but it costs a lot of money. You bid on keywords and buy sponsored links to your site. When it comes to bidding for keywords, the two main search engines work a little bit differently. One takes into account how many people click on the ad, while the other only looks at the bid price.
Write articles Writing good articles about your business's market will definitely help. You have to write a lot of articles for this to work. The traffic you get from one or two articles will only last for a few days, at most. There are hundreds of sites where you can post your articles. It takes a lot of work, but it's worth it.
News stories Write a press release that tells a story about a real person. Don't just talk about your business. Instead, talk about how it changed the life of someone who worked with you. Have you made something new? You just got a big client, right? Write a news story!
Keep the news release brief and to the point. Before you post it, make sure you've checked the spelling and grammar. Make it interesting! Press releases that are dull never get read.
You can post your press release for free in a lot of places online. If you use more than one online service, don't send it to them all at the same time. Give each online service at least a few days between them. For the best results, pay a professional to send out your press release, especially to local news outlets.
Search engine optimization (SEO) I can't believe how little people who call themselves "SEO experts" know. You should find a good person to help you out here. Don't just take their word for it; call some of their clients and ask them.
Talk to people whose websites already get a lot of traffic and ask them who they use and how they get traffic. You will be surprised by how helpful other people are, especially if they don't work in the same field as you do.
Alexa can tell you how many people visit any website. It's not 100% accurate, but it's the best tool you have.
There are other ways to get people to visit your site, like posting blogs on online forums and sending emails to people in your target market.
Once you have figured out how to get people to your website, the costs of running an online business aren't too high. Almost everything can be done without paper. Your bills can be sent to you by mail, and any questions can be answered by email.
Make sure you pay a little more each month to get the fastest internet connection. Buy a fast computer, the biggest flat-screen monitor you can afford, and a three-in-one printer that can print, copy, and scan. If you add a wireless keyboard and mouse, you can expect to get a lot of orders.
