How can I get more website traffic for free?

Website Traffic is the greatest challenge for most people who are working online to build a full or part-time income. So today, we’ll look at a the most basic and important way in which to increase traffic to your site... for free. When you join my team at Global NPN, you will want traffic to the affiliate links that you place on your website and/or blog.

But just know that it takes time to build up a consistent flow of targeted traffic to your website. One of the truths that every newcomer to this industry must accept is that nothing happens quickly. Remember, I said “build” traffic - not create tons of it overnight out of thin air. It’s a process, just like every other aspect of starting and managing an online business. That said, it really isn’t all that hard. And it doesn’t take nearly as much time as you might imagine. By the way, the competition is rarely as fierce as it seems at first either. That's because most people just don't try very hard and they aren't persistent and consistent… as you must be.

So let's talk specifics.

Before you try any other methods of getting traffic, it’s important to make sure your website is properly optimized. This is called SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you don't intentionally optimize your content (blog posts, articles, forum threads, etc) for a specific keyword phrase, and intentionally get backlinks to that content, you won't get anywhere near as much traffic (and readers) as you otherwise would. It only makes sense to optimize with a purpose, and with a plan. Otherwise you’re cheating yourself out of more traffic, and most importantly – better traffic. You want to target what’s called long-tail keyword phrases. These are longer, more specific (and less competitive) keyword phrases. You don’t just want to choose any phrase though – you want to use keyword targeting to attract a very specific type of visitor. Take the title to this post, for example: 'How can I get more website traffic for free?' That's a long-tail phrase that somebody, somewhere, is typing into a search engine every day.

Don't give up before you get started.

Don’t let the idea of competition scare you off. The truth is, most competitors are rarely as skilled or dominating as they appear to be. The fact that they achieved their rankings (and their business success), should prove to you that it can be done for an affiliate business like Global NPN. There's your proof right there. Just keep in mind that it didn’t happen overnight for them either.

Start with long tail keyword phrases that are easier to rank for, as I mentioned above. Make sure every page of your site or blog is properly optimized for a well-chosen keyword phrase, and that each page has a very specific call-to-action or links to Global NPN. Make sure these two things are done before you start testing other marketing strategies. That will allow your site to get established in the major search engines and begin rising in the results. Without those links (or a specific call-to-action), your web traffic is useless. So make sure it’s in place!

Once you have your site or blog ready for rankings & traffic, the next step is to look at ways you can leverage your competitors. Analyze the search results for the more competitive keyword phrases as they relate to joining Global NPN. Look over the top 10-20 pages and consider ways you can leverage those. Remember, you want to attract people who are considering NPN (or online MLM in general), and not those who are already members!  Are they Internet Marketing blogs? Then leave a comment that links back to your site. That’s just one simple (and free!) way to take advantage of their high rankings, and funnel that search engine traffic straight into your own site!

There are endless ways to get website traffic, but ignoring SEO is like shooting your blog in the foot from the very beginning.  Article Marketing (for example) will bring in traffic because it works in a way that is similar to your blog. But if you optimize the title of your article, it will get far more views from specific keyword searches. And if you optimize the anchor text in the link within your article, the page on your site/blog you link to will rank higher for that term.  So, as you can see, most online marketing strategies lead back to SEO and keyword targeting. They’re all connected. That’s why keyword research and optimization is where you should start.  It’s the foundation to almost every other way you’ll use to increase traffic to your site. I encourage you to go back to your blog or website and analyze it closely. Is every single page optimized for a specific keyword phrase?  Does every single page or post have a strong call-to-action regarding Global NPN?  If not, start there before you worry about other traffic-generation methods.

There’s no point do any other marketing work until you’re set up to rank & convert…