Where does Website Traffic Come From?

When a human visits your website they are there from one of only a few traffic sources. If you have a method that doesn’t fit in this group, I’d love to know. Some of these ways are more effective for conversion, but all in all traffic is good, targeted traffic is even better. Take a look at the many different ways you can attract traffic to your website. Many of them are low cost or even FREE sources of traffic.

Human Referrals

Existing customers can tell others about your website, and they will, if you give them a reason to. If you do a fantastic job, they will want to tell their friends. But they will also tell them if you just ask them to. Restaurants have been doing this for years with phrases like: “If you like our restaurant please tell your friends, if not please tell us.”

Humans also will tell others when they see a “cool” story about you in the news or trusted source. They send emails, forward articles, and may even use Twitter to broadcast your site to their followers.

Paid Advertisements

There are a ton of paid opportunities to get traffic to your site – but you have to remember one simple thing– all your paid ads – print and electronic – need to include your web domain. (I cringe at the business cards I am handed each month that don’t include a website link). If you want to up your chances to get visitors, give them an incentive – coupon code, free quote, or even a premium gift.

What kind of paid ads are out there? You can advertise with Email Blast companies, use co-registration services, print advertising, billboards, magazines, news journals and more. Just remember when you are paying for traffic, the marketing needs to have ROI. Understand what your revenue and sales goals are, and measure, measure, measure the results.

News Sources

Getting press coverage is a great way to generate traffic to your site. Getting listed on sites like SlashDot, DailyCandy and Digg can drive a flood of traffic quickly, but it doesn’t mean it will drive lots of sales. Consistent news coverage is more likely to bring more buyers, than curiosity seekers popping around the web for trendy hot stories.

Don’t neglect offline news opportunities, too. Local news stations, business reporters, and beat journalists are always in search of a great story. Help them out.

Search Engine / Directories

Getting your website listed in the search engines is crucial, and will likely drive the highest traffic and sales. But getting listed doesn’t mean that you are ranked high for your keyword terms. Continue to refine your online marketing plan to take advantage of this free traffic source.

Website Links (non paid)

Getting listed on other “regular folks” websites, blogs, and bookmarks can drive traffic to your site, too. Responding to great blog posts by adding value to the conversation is just one way to get listed on someone else’s blog. Delicious, Technorati and similar sites are great ways to get your site picked up and posted on lots of other websites.

The great news is you don’t have to be stuck with just one way to get traffic, and in each category there are truly dozens if not hundreds of ways you can get your website out there and get clicks into your website. Put your thinking cap on, and I welcome your comments with other great ideas here.