attn: WEBMASTERS

[pkbui]

Webmasters,

Is there any secrets of how to improve traffic for a new site effectively and economically?

Thanks,
1800Local.com

[johnwa]

I'm not sure if this question is in the correct forum.

Nevertheless, it's a GREAT question!

Gone are the days when you can just walk up to a search engine or directory, click on the famous "Add URL" link, and away you go!
Oh sure, there are still some out there...but you have to admit that it's getting more and more difficult. And some of them want big $$$ to list you. And in case you have not noticed, some of them are now asking for recurring fees to list you.

In addition to getting listed on search engines and directories, if I had to give you three more suggestions, I would say reciprocal links, reciprocal links, and reciprocal links!
But seriously...I can't tell you enough just how important this has become. Add your site to all "relevant" directories and toplists that will have you for free. Think about where a link for your site might fit in on other sites. Send them a short and polite, but well thought-out invitation to swap links. Don't be discouraged if you get a very small response or no response. Remember: if you are planning on being around the internet for a long time, you must build some solid relationships!

Also, check out this directory of directories. I think you will find it interesting.
http://www.searchenginecolossus.com/

There are other things that you can do, but I will leave room for others to reply.

Good Luck!

[andersonwd]

One suggestion that I would like to add about the reciprocal links. It is very, very effective and the majority of traffic for all of my sites come from other site through a link exchange. I have a particular site that gets a lot of link exchange requests. If you include a feature where someone can add their own link, don't request the other webmaster to use that feature to list their site on yours. YES! I have had MANY webmasters request a link exchange and then email me back with instructions about how to add the link myself! Those people don't get a link on my site. That is rude and lazy. I put a lot of work into my sites and I'm not going to do all the work for someone who came to me asking to exchange links. Also, if you request a link exchange, please follow through and add the other link. This happens a lot, too.

Sorry to be so negative, but these are things that really set me off. Now, let me add another suggestion to keep this from being a totally negative post. ;)

This would depend on what type of site you have, but I feel that johnwa is correct. The most effective way to get traffic is to draw from other parallell, established sites. I'm not a fan of banner exchange programs because they clutter up my page with unattractive banners. To get the most benefits from them, you have to display them at the top of your pages and then your visitor isn't even getting the full effect of your website upon entry. They're seeing someone else's name before they even see yours.

My suggestion is only going to work depending on the type of site you have. I have a music genre-specific site called www.countrypolitan.com. We feature profile articles and biographies on various artists from the genre. Whenever we feature a specific artist, we send an email invitation to the webmasters of all websites dedicated to that artist. For example, we had a profile on Mandy Barnett. At one point in her career she portrayed Patsy Cline in a stage production at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. So, she has a LOT of fans who are also huge Patsy Cline fans. So, we emailed her site's webmaster, the Mandy fan sites and all Patsy-related websites. That really generated a LOT of traffic. Most of these webmasters will not only link to your site, but will also post a message to their mailing lists and message boards. That works great because then you're not spamming them. The hit counter goes wild for about a week afterward. And, OUR mailing list grows from the traffic, which tells me that we get repeat traffic.

Also, after I send out a newsletter to the mailing list, then it generates quite a bit of traffic, too. It serves as a reminder to people that you're out there and they'll come back to see what you've added.

This is time consuming, but well worth it. It produces a lot of traffic to the site. Since we feature different artists every month, we get a wide range of fans everytime and it just steadily keeps growing.

Hope that helps. I'm curious to see what other people have to say because I'm always looking for new tricks. :)

Sherry

[SimCoWeb]

Good question, only wrong forum :D

I'm moving this to the general discussion and site promotion arena.

[alphadesk]

Is there any secrets of how to improve traffic for a new site effectively and economically?

Sure there are lots of secrets and most of them have been said in the above post.