Nowadays, it seems that everyone and his cousin have taken to blogging. This form of online self-expression has slowly but steadily taken over the World Wide Web to become somewhat of a phenomenon in recent years. Some people use blogs as their personal journals, some may see them as an outlet for their creative work, and others may just want their own personal place in cyberspace to share thoughts and ideas.
Now, a quick question for the Internet businessman. If you have a blog, can you use it to boost your site's exposure and drive more traffic to it? A blog is great for sharing ideas and posting about things you like or don't like, but can a blog help your online business succeed?
The answer is a definite YES. Your blog can do wonders for your website, but it all depends on the way you utilize its potential power. I'm going to teach you a tried and proven method that has been effective for other website owners, and this method is applicable for any type of blog. You will just need a lot of creativity and some time to make it work.
First thing you have to keep in mind is that most blogs on the Web have a community feel to them. You may think that your blog is your own, since you're the one who installed and developed it. And you may be right. But your blog is also connected to other blogs on the same site. You may also be connected to other blogs that are using the same blogging software as you. This situation guarantees that sooner or later, a person will land on your blog and be able to see all that you have to say. This can also mean that your blog is now getting free advertising within the blogging community. I don't think you need me to tell you how beneficial this can be for your site's traffic.
However, you do have to keep in mind what you're posting as your blog's content. If all you're doing is making posts that promote your products or your business, then you're dead. Believe me, that is not the recommended way to use your blog. Have you seen the Internet lately? It's already overflowing with loads of advertisements for products and services. Be different. Your visitors need a good reason to keep coming back to your blog. Use it to give expert and knowledgeable information about your line of work to your readers. If you're selling a product on your site, talk about it on your blog, and don't just post a measly advertising blurb.
Let's say you're selling power tools on your website. You can write reviews and other useful posts about the kinds of tools you have on your site. What you're doing is providing some insight for your potential customers about the tools you're selling. These blog posts will then be able to generate confidence in your readers and encourage them to actually buy the products.
Another advantage of having a blog is that it makes it easier for interested buyers to get access to the seller (that's you). Usually, readers of a particular blog post are allowed to leave comments on what they've just read. For example, you've just finished a review for the new Ajax power drill. Whenever a reader comes across it and has a question regarding that product, he or she can easily leave a comment. You can then see the questions and post your answers. See? You can now connect with your readers and potential customers personally. This make you much more approachable, as compared to the faceless entity behind the impersonal commercial website.
In addition, your readers will also have the option of subscribing to your blog feeds via RSS or to your newsletters, so they can be immediately notified about any new posts you make. If you have established a reputable standing in your niche, a long list of eager readers will soon be waiting for your next post, and lots more will be coming to your website.
Blogging For Website Traffic
Traffic Exchange Sites
by: Bryan Quinn
Traffic Exchange Sites are websites where you get page views of your own site in exchange for visiting others. Many such sites are available. However, choosing the right one or a combination of them can be a very time consuming process.
Basically there are two types. Manual surfing and Auto surfing. Some Traffic exchanges cater for Manual surfing only, some cater for Auto surfing only and some cater for both.
Manual surfing - This requires your input by clicking a button after a specified time period, generally 15, 20 or 30 seconds, although there are a few other variations. With manual surfing, the surfer is expected to view each site. However, with most exchange sites, it is possible to minimize or resize the windows. This defeats the purpose because it allows multiple sessions to be run simultaneously. On the better exchange sites, security measures are often used to deter this. These are normally random prompts that require user input. For example, after x number of page views, you may be required to enter a code, select a color or image or perform some other variation of this.
Auto surfing - This requires no input. However in reality, your input may be required because of popup or frame breakers. Some traffic exchange sites require that the pages run are maximized and although you can minimize the page yourself, it will automatically maximize at the next refresh. You will also find that with some exchange sites, pages will run on top whereas with others, pages will run quite happily underneath, allowing you to do what ever you like without ever viewing the page content.
Both manual and auto surfing will bring traffic to your website, but there is a much greater likelihood of your web pages being actually seen with manual surfing.
Credits - As well as surfing, credits are usually acquired for subscribing, for referrals and for any winnings associated with exchange site lotteries, games or competitions. These credits can then be used to increase the traffic to your site. Some exchange sites will also allow you to sell your credits to other members.
Free or Paid - The majority of Traffic Exchanges offer a paid option. This option may give you a better surf ratio, bonus credits, money for referrals or other benefits. Before paying however, it is important that you test how targeted the traffic is that you receive. There's no point in paying for extra traffic if it doesn't generate any more income for you. Web Site Traffic Monitoring
Click for Credits or Buy Credits - Is it worth buying credits?
This can depend on a number of reasons. The two main ones are time and money.
Let’s take an example
At the time of writing the cost of 2000 credits for free members of a well known Traffic Exchange Site was $40. This works out at $0.02 a click. For pro members the same $40 bought 2200 credits.
With the number of clicks limited to 250 per day and page views of 20 seconds this means that in theory it will take you 250 X 20 = 5000 sec or 83 minutes 20 seconds to view the 250 pages. However in practice you must allow extra time for clicking the next button, clicking the title of the page you will be viewing and any sites worth looking at.
Since I am a firm believer in practical results, I viewed the 250 pages. It took me 2 hours and 12 minutes to accomplish this. During that time, I accumulated 854 credits. To buy these credits would have cost $17.08 as a free member and approximately $15.53 as a pro member. Allowing for rounding up, this equates to almost 390 credits per hour or $7.80 per hour cash value.
Now ask yourself this. Would you work for $7.80 per hour?
I must emphasize that this is only one example and that other results will differ because of the random allocation of credits. It is shown here only as an example and to give you an idea of the cost implications for one particular traffic exchange site. The cost of credits may differ dramatically for different exchange sites. If you buy or intend to buy credits from a traffic exchange site, you can apply what is shown in the example. There's no need to click on a large number of websites to find out if your exchange site is giving you enough credits for your money. A sample of around 20 sites should give you enough information to produce a rough value-for-money guide.
If you enjoy this sort of thing or want a break from train spotting, you could expand on this. Increase your sample size, increase the number of samples, select a good representation of traffic exchanges and tabulate your results. Choose enough sites and you will be able to create your own league table. There’s a market for everything.
Whether you use traffic exchange sites or not in the quest for more visitors to your site, you should at the very least know what they are and what they do. But don't totally dismiss them. They are part of an expanding market. I recommend that you try at least one traffic exchange site. You could read every book on the subject, but without active participation, you will not be qualified to comment on their worth or suitability. The time taken for a few mouse clicks is a small price to pay. If it works for you, you have learned. If it doesn't work for you, you have learned. FinalSense
