Optimizing Your Web Site to Get Traffic

Getting top ranking in search engine results is always on top of webmasters mind. This craving is definitely justified and we all need it. However, this desire has given to many shady business firms, offering to put you on top of Google or Yahoo ranking for few dollars. Personally, I find it funny. Imagine, when Google has its ranking algorithm totally confidential, some body for few dollars a month claims to ensure that he would make your site appear in top 10 results, or may I say, can take Google for a ride by forcing to change their results.
It is not that there is nothing called site optimization. But definitely, most of the so called professionals offering to ensure rankings do not know their job. I am a definite non-believer in “Get Free Traffic in Hours” offers. If you want to hire somebody, ask him first how he plans to improve your site taking into account the search engines ranking aspect. Getting on top could be easier but staying on top is definitely a full time job. It is definitely not a job that can be done so easily as spending few dollars. Insist on organic traffic only and the one generated by robots or scripts, as is largely done by many such firms.
What exactly is Search Engine Optimization? To my mind, it is a prudent mix of good content, nice layout, well nurtured links, and much more.

Here are few of the suggestions that would definitely help the site get better rankings and traffic:
1. Start a Blog: You can start a blog and keep submitting to few directories. Initial start up days would not be easy and relaxed. This initial start up time would be shorter in case you concentrate on nice and relevant content. Of course good layout and good webmaster would definitely supplement it.
2. Join Pay Per Click Program: For the initial and medium run, you may have to resort to PPC model. Google and Yahoo(overture) are two good options. To make it more relevant and effective, make sure you choose right keywords to make it effective. You can run multiple campaigns on different key words and reach the result of effectiveness of each ad and their response.
3. Issue Press Releases. Press release makes news of your ad. If distributed well, with appropriate back link to you and distributed to various media, they would be picked up and thus would make a valid back link to your site. A Press release should not be more than 400 -450 words and should have right blend of keywords describing your site.
4. Create Content and Distribute: his is another very effective method. You may be brilliant in writing abut don’t get traffic. You may consider writing and distributing the same for publishing at other established sites for a back link to you as a resource. Such articles can be given in Directories, blogs etc.
5. Setting up a Blog with RSS Syndication: Create a blog helpful to others. Where a user can log in for his updates, news and other resources. Consider doing this only if you are sure to commit a steady time for it. A blog would work wonders, if it is Interesting, Useful, Relevant to current issues, Concise. If it comes will RSS feed, then nothing to beat it.
6. Get More and More Incoming Links. : Once you do well, you would start developing links. Good publication, good data would give you incoming links. You can also buy more and more incoming links. This can be done from other link brokers. But do not do this in rush. Avoid reciprocal linking. Links from a site with high PR would help. Links from a PR 0 site in fact may damage.
7. Leave Signatures on Guest Book of other sites: You can think of leaving a testimonial on the guest book of other sites with link to your site as signatures. This does work, but ensure that the site with are leaving testimonial for is relevant, high ranking and useful.
8. Promotional mailers: For doing this, create some good content first. Then you can advertise in ezines, place ads in periodical newsletters of some relevant sites that address to your niche audience. You can also contribute some article in such letter with a link to you. Obviously, if your work is appreciated, it would translate into more visitors and gradually captive audience.
9. Join as network: You can also work on joining some established network. Use their information data base or data base of customers to sell your product or services on some revenue sharing basis. Before partnering in this way, do your own research that the site partnered with has effective and real reach.
10. Get Affiliates - If selling a product, offer a commission to affiliates to sell for you. Each affiliate's link to your sales letter conversion page will bring you traffic and a better search engine rank too. The key to making this work is to make it financially attractive to your affiliates and give them everything they need to promote your product or service. Make it brain dead easy for them to do.
11. Explore buying expiring domain with good PR, Alexa rank, back links. Some sites as deleteddomains .com offer you to register domains for a few dollars that their owners have let expire.
Instead of working on a new domain to reach at No 1 slot, it may be easier and cost effective too to buy a domain that already ranks higher.
The Article is written by Mr. Terry S, who is an IT grad from SAIT, Alberta. He is a banker by profession but has helped many companies to optimize their site and improve layouts. He can be reached at terryexports@gmail.com