In this post you will find different methods that you can use to generate traffic to your site. All of these methods of traffic generation mentioned in this guide have one thing in common. They all involve the production of high quality content in order to attract visitors to our site.
Content can come in many different forms and typically it is best to use a number of different channels so as to reach the widest possible audience. Some people prefer to consume content in written form where as others would rather watch a video and another might like an MP3 file that they can download and listen to when they are at the gym.
The main types of content that we will be producing for eMarketing efforts include:
<> Blog Posts / Articles
<> Video
<> Infographics
<> Audio Files
<> Slideshows
<> Reports
We will then employ a variety of different traffic channels to distribute and attract attention to this content.
One of the most important principles with content marketing is the idea of content repurposing. In order to maximize the effect of our content marketing efforts we want to convert the same piece of content into as many different media formats as possible.
For example blog posts that feature on your website maybe confined into a PDF report. Those same blog posts could also be used to create a slideshow with the main points in each paragraph becoming bullet points. In addition you could take the free content on each of those posts and turn them into an audio file by recording it using free software such as Audacity.
Document Sharing Sites
Document sharing sites are a powerful way to get targeted traffic to your website. There are many different document sharing sites and so it is easy to upload your content to multiple locations generating a large number of visitors. Documents uploaded to document sharing sites also tend to rank easily in the search engines multiplying your efforts.
When you upload content to document sharing sites it will need to be in PDF format or slideshow (such as PowerPoint). A great idea if you have existing content in the form of articles, emails or blog posts is to compile these into a single document and then convert it into a PDF.
Another way to produce content quickly is to use an audio to speech program like Dragon Naturally Speaking and record yourself talking about your topic. Quickly run over the document to clear up any “umhs” and “ahs” and then convert it to a PDF.
If you have a blog or website then you should be consistently producing new content. This content can all be converted into PDFs or Slideshows and uploaded to these sites.
Some of the best document sharing sites include:
<> Scribd.com
<> slideshare.net
<> Box.net
<> Calameo.com
<> 4shared.com
<> Issuu.com
<> divshare.com
Other Ways To Share Your Content
Reddit is social sharing site that allows you to share content with other users. The key to success is producing great content. If the content that you are posting is low quality then other users will not share it and it will not spread very far.
Sub Reddits
The categories on Reddit are known as sub reddits. Each of these sub reddits is like its own little community with its own regulars and nuances. There are sub reddits on almost any subject or niche that you can imagine so no matter what product or service you are trying to market you should be able to find prospective customers on this site.
When you post content in your sub reddit people can choose to vote it either up or vote it down. The more times it is voted up the higher it will rank on the homepage for that sub reddit. In turn this will attract more eyeballs and visitors to your website.
Finding Categories
Finding sub reddits is very straightforward. Simply enter the topic that you are interested in promoting to in the search engine box. If for example you were a fitness trainer you could search for sub reddits on fitness.
Posting Pictures
Pictures posted on Reddit are more likely to be voted up than written content. This can be translated into traffic to your website by water marking the content with your website URL. People who view your picture will often type in your website address from the watermark if they enjoy your picture.
Unlike almost any other social networking site, LinkedIn is focused on fostering business relationships. If your product or service is targeted towards other businesses or professionals then LinkedIn is an excellent place to start producing content.
We will be looking at “Groups Method” that you can use in order to attract traffic from LinkedIn back to your own website.
The Group Method
If you have used LinkedIn before you might be familiar with LinkedIn groups. These are groups which are focused around certain interests or professions. There are accounting groups, life coaching groups, architect groups, marketing groups and pretty much every other type of group that you could imagine.
To find groups simply click on the groups tab at the top of the screen. This will then open the groups search bar where you can enter the type of group you are interested in.
Some of these groups have huge memberships with tens of thousands of members. What’s more those members are updated daily by email with new posts and content that has appeared in the group. These groups also constantly need new content and this is where we come in.
One way we can find these topics is by using Google Insights. To use Google insights simply type in your seed word which is usually the same as the topic of your group. So for example if you were marketing to an architecture group then your seed word would be architecture.
From the list of topics that Google Insight produces you should be able to find a subject that you could create a video, a report or blog post on. You can then post this content in the group with a link back to your own site.
Press Releases
Press releases are a fantastic way to generate traffic for your website. Press releases are syndicated content meaning that they will be used on many different websites.
A well written press release on a popular subject can even be picked up by major media outlets or used as the basis for a new story.
The most important thing to understand about a press release is that they must be newsworthy. Press releases are issued when something new has happened in a business, this might include:
<> The opening of a new store
<> A new ebook being released
<> A new website being established
<> A new service being offered
Even if you do not have anything that seems immediately news worthy of your business you should be able to find something that you can “manufacture” into a press release material.
Some Free & Paid Press Release Sites:
www.primenewswire.com
www.businesswire.com
www.PRWeb.com
www.PRBuzz.com
www.PR.com
Video Marketing
Video is increasingly becoming the preferred way for people to consume content on the internet. That said most of the web is still text based. This means that there is a lot of opportunity in video marketing.
When we think of video marketing we think of YouTube. With over 2 billion monthly active users and the 2nd largest most popular search engine on the internet, YouTube alone is sufficient for producing plenty of high quality traffic.
However YouTube is not the only video sharing site on the internet and it is well worth distributing your video on these other video sharing platforms so as to maximize your leverage from the videos that you create.
All video marketing works on basically the same principle. When you upload a video to a video sharing site you are typically able to include a link to your website in the description below it. When people watch your video and want to learn more information they will often click on this link.
One of the things that put people off creating videos is because they are shy about the idea of appearing in front of a camera. In fact there are many different methods of creating a video which do not necessitate that you actually appear on film. So, go ahead!