One of the biggest problems facing most Online marketers today is getting traffic to their website. This is mainly due to the fact that they just don’t have the budget to purchase paid traffic, which is usually a sure – fire way to reach the masses. So, it comes as no surprise to have marketers looking for free traffic generation resources or solutions to get visitors to their promotion.
It is important to note, using only free traffic methods can be time consuming, and will require patience on your part. Obviously, getting traffic to your website will not be immediate as it would be if you paid for it. Results with free traffic methods will be visable usually within a few weeks to a month from implementation. I have compiled a list of free traffic methods that I personally use to get people to my website or offer that I’m promoting.
Free Traffic Methods:
1) e-Book:
One of the most dynamic and free resources in generating massive web traffic is through e-books. A quality e-book can be created using a free program called OpenOffice. This software will not only allow you to edit and create a document, but it will also convert it into a PDF, or e-book.
A relevant, “how – to” report, such as, “How to make money online” or “How to install a WordPress theme” is highly desired by many marketers. These e-books, if correctly marketed, should bring a decent amount of traffic to your website or offer.
It is very important to remember that the e-book should contain high quality, value – packed content. The material needs to be attractive enough to capture the reader’s attention, so that they will feel compelled to take the next step, which is to capture their email address. Once they are on your email list, you can then continue to provide valuable content in the form of a PDF, occasionally sprinkling in your affiliate links to the offers that you are promoting.
Getting your e-book out in front of your niche market is fairly simple. There are many, free platforms that you can utilize to accomplish this. Here is a list of e-book submitter websites:
· en.calameo.com
· butterflyreports.com
· free-ebooks.net
· booktango.com
2) Video Tutorials:
Videos, if done correctly, can bring plenty of free traffic to an offer or website that you are promoting. They need to contain valuable information that is presented in a way that will hold the visitor’s attention. To keep the end –user engaged, it is recommended that your videos be no more than five minutes in length. If you are doing a “how to” video, or one that requires you to go more in depth on a topic, break the video up into smaller videos. So, if you have a video that is twenty minutes long, break it up into four videos, that are five minutes each in length.
Simple and free tools are available today to help you produce amazing videos. Here are some free options to choose from:
· Animoto.com
· Camstudio.org
· Screencast-o-matic.com
3) Forum Marketing:
Forum marketing, in my opinion, is one of the most underutilized traffic generating strategies on the Internet. There are a number of forums in just about any niche imaginable. To find a forum for your niche, simply go to Google.com and type in your niche keyword in quotes, followed by a “plus” sign, followed by the word “forum” in quotes. So, for example, if you were in the dog niche, specifically the Great Dane niche, you would type “Great Dane” + “forum” in the Google search bar.
Another effective search string that you can use to find plenty of forums in your niche, is to go to Google.com and type the keyword of your niche without quotes, followed by the “plus” sign, followed by “powered by vbulletin” in quotes. An example of this would look like: Great Danes + “powered by vbulletin”. Vbulletin is a forum software that many people use for creating and managing forums.
Another great search string that you can use to find even more forums in your niche, is to type your keyword, then the “plus” sign, then “hot thread with new posts” in quotes. Once again, you would got to Google.com and type: Great Danes + “hot thread with new posts”.
Your next step in forum marketing would be to go to these forums and search through the current posts that people have made. You want to look at the dates to make sure that they are recent posts. The last thing you want to do is to create a post in a forum that hasn’t had any recent activity.
Once you have determined that the forum is active, you’ll want to register your user name and password, along with a biography, if offered.
Next, you will want to create a forum signature. This is a very important step in forum marketing. A forum signature is important because this is how you will drive traffic to your website.
In your signature, you’ll want to have a call to action, with a link back to your website. An example of this might look something like this: “Discover the fastest way to get on the first page of Google. Click HERE now to find out how.” You would then take the word “HERE” and hyperlink it with the URL of your website. When the visitor clicks on the hyper linked word, they will be taken back to your website where they will be given the opportunity to get further information on “discovering the fastest way to get on the first page of Google”, or whatever the forum signature subject is about.
Your final step in forum marketing will be to actually participate in the forum. To do that, you’ll want to head over to the main discussion section of that forum, and find out where the majority of its’ members are gathering. This is where you’ll want to do most of your posting. You want to find a topic of discussion that you are familiar with so you can add value to that section and build trust with other members. When other members read your post and are interested in what you have to say, they will more than likely go to your signature and click the link for more information that is on your website.
So, there you have it. I hope you have enjoyed this article. These traffic generation techniques do not cost a dime; only time and effort with a little creativity to achieve your goal.