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Online Marketing Myths And Tips

Posted on 13. Feb, 2010 by admin in Training

You have probably seen all sorts of sites stating that they can get you loads of traffic. It is true that you need a reasonable amount of traffic if you expect to make any money.  But, instead of trying to get as much traffic as possible, focus on getting targeted traffic.

For example, there are plenty of sites that will “drive” traffic to your website by partnering you with other sites in their system.  This type of traffic is useless.  Most of these people are trying to earn enough “credits” to get their own website displayed, so you end up with visitors who have no interest in what you are selling.  They’re just ‘traffic’ for the sake of getting traffic!

Traffic, by itself means nothing.  SALES are what you are after!

Not So Effective Traffic Generating Methods:

There are many ways to get “traffic”.  Here are a few:

- Free For All (FFA) sites.  I have never had good experience with them.  In fact, the results were pathetic and I don’t know of anyone who has.  FFA sites allow you to post your link alongside thousands of others doing exactly the same thing.  What normally happens is you end up receiving a bunch of junk mail in you email inbox.

Some people believe that it helps with “link popularity” (used by many major search engines to help determine your ranking).  Not true.  These are  not targeted links, on an obvious “link farm” and often times your link drops off the bottom of the page very quickly in order to make room for new links being posted.

Another reason some people advocate FFA sites is to “get hits”.  Again, I disagree.  Along with being  not targeted, most people visit FFA sites to post a link, not to read them.

You can still find places that sell you your very own FFA site.  As the owner, you are supposed to have the right to email a confirmation message.  ( which typically contains your sales pitch) to everyone who posts a link on your site.  But you run a high risk of being reported as a “spammer’ and getting shut down, even if you explicitly state that posters agree to receive one email message from you.  Spam is in the eye of the beholder.

Free Classifieds:

It is tempting to post to free classifieds and ad sites because it is free. But, “free” isn’t a bargain if you don’t get results.  You still put in the time and effort, which is wasted.

Most people go to free classified ad sites to post their own ads, not to read them.

Start Page Program:

These program provide you with an opportunity to band together with a bunch of other sites to get traffic.  You get set you “start page” to a specific URL, and a script rotates through the participating sites and displays one every time you open your browser (there may be additional conditions attached).

Most people appear to be using the program to earn enough “credits” to get their own site displayed; they’re not actually interested in viewing any of the other sites.

If you do want to try a start page program, set you web page to a specific action-oriented page (such as, as direct sales letter or a newsletter subscription form) that’s as targeted to the people joining the network as you can manage.

Exit Page Programs:

These work in much the same way as a start page network. But this time, one of the sites in the network pops up as the visitor leaves the site.  I’ve had poor results…probably because most people are just interested in getting more ‘hits’ rather than displaying any real interest in the other sites in the network.

Safe Lists:

In short, don’t use them.  “Safe Lists” are nothing but harvested email addresses.  The recipients are not likely to be pleased to receive unsolicited email and your risk of being shut down due to “spam” is high.  Legitimate email lists exists, but they’ll cost you a pretty penny…don’t be fooled into believing you can email millions of people for a couple of hundred dollars.

Banner Ads:

Unless you are advertising in a high traffic and very targeted website, the cost of banner ad probably won’t give you a good rate on return.  Surfers are accustomed to seeing banners and for the most part, they’re easily ignored.

Link or Banner Exchanges:

You can join a network of webmasters who display one another’s banners or links on their websites (banners and links are rotated via a script).  I haven’t had much success with these.  Although you can usually specify which category you want to be placed in, you don’t have any control over the sites that join the network/category.  That means you could be displaying a link or banner you don’t approve of, one for direct competitor, etc.

Finally, a quick word on the “latest-and-greatest” traffic generating fads.  You will see them all over the place, being touted on websites and in eBooks, particularly when it comes to getting a good position on the search engines.  Learning new things is necessary, but exercise caution.  Cutting edge techniques that work today, may not work tomorrow.

Conquer the Internet With Online Marketing