by Joe Hunley

Created on: April 30, 2008

What determines a successfull Blog or website? It does not matter whether the Site is devoted to Sales or Self-help, every Blog or Website needs Traffic. There are a couple types of traffic to be considered, Traffic and Targeted Traffic. If you are looking to increase the number of visits to your Site, solely on numbers-Then you want Traffic. If you are more interested in drawing a specific, or consumer defined traffic-Then you are looking for Targeted Traffic.

The number of visitors to your Site means nothing, if your Site is devoted to sales. What good is 500 visitors a day, if you make no sales? How is it possible to have a great number of visitors to your Site and make no sales? The Visitors were not interested in your product before they even arrived! Several of the "Increase Your Traffic" programs offered today, offer little more than an increase in the numbers you will see in your web stats-nothing more.

Let's use a Garage Sale as an example. If you put a sign in front of your house that says "Garage Sale", you will get visitors. Some of these will purchase your items, some will not. Now-If that sign reads "Garage Sale-Fishing Items only", the number of visitors will drop. However, The visitors that do stop will be people interested in fishing-a possible sale. That's a very crude example, but you get the point. So the question is-How do I get this targeted traffic? There are several methods used to achieve this, let's talk about two of these that I find effective.

Forums have been found to be very effective in drawing traffic to Websites and Blogs. There are numerous Forums dedicated to every subject you can imagine. By joining these forums, you have the ability to voice your opinion, enter into debates about products or services, and show other members that you are somewhat of an authority on the subject. As most forums allow you to have a Signature at the bottom of your post (One that directs people to your Site), It is easy to see how this can benefit you. The viewer is already interested in the topic, and by gaining the viewers trust that you know what your talking about, may send him to your Site for more Info.

The most effective method I have found to draw a targeted customer, is publishing of articles. A well written article can direct a large amount of traffic to your Site. Once again-The individual reading your article is already interested in the subject, or they would not be reading it! Writing articles is a great way to advertise your knowledge. Once again-The trust factor, gain the trust of the reader, and if He or She is seeking more information, you can direct them to your Site, Via your author Bio. With the numerous Article Directories avaliable for you to publish to, you can increase your viewers dramaticly. Not to mention the Websites and Blogs that may publish your article. therefore allowing you to reap the benefits of their traffic.

The benefits of submitting articles and joining forums have proven to be an effective way of directing traffic to your Blog or Website. It takes a little time, however the benefit's are worth it.

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