Driving Traffic to Your Web Site Building a successful Web presence requires not only a solid Web site but also a well-planned marketing strategy.
By Michael Astrachan
As the Internet has matured, so have the methods for driving qualified traffic to your Web site. When planning your e-marketing campaign, remember that it’s okay to test various marketing methods until you find the combination that’s right for you. Don’t overlook the strategic advantage of integrating both offline and online media in building a well balanced e-marketing strategy.
Following are some popular techniques to consider as you develop your e-marketing strategy.
Search Engines Since the early days of the Web, search engines have been the primary method online marketers have used to drive site traffic. Crawler-based search engines such as Google, FAST, Inktomi and AltaVista offer both free and paid options for listing your site. By optimizing your Web site, you can increase your chances of achieving high rankings on crawler-based engines.
Directory Assistance Online directories are search engines that are maintained by humans. In short, each submission to these directories is reviewed by an editorial staff and either accepts or denies based on a Web site’s relevance to its business category and quality of content.
As you are planning your Web marketing strategy, keep in mind that it is important to be listed with the Internet’s key directories due to the large volume of people who use them.Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com), LookSmart (www.looksmart.com) and Open Directory (www.dmoz.com) are classified as directories. Yahoo! and LookSmart offer free listings for non-commercial Web sites and paid listings for their commercial categories. Open Directory does not charge for its listings.
Paid Placement: “The Bidding Starts at 5 Cents” Online services such as Overture (www.overture.com) allow Web marketers to quickly establish visibility on the top search engines. But it comes with a price—you must purchase keywords.
This technique, referred to as a “paid placement” or “pay-per-click,” allows Web site owners to bid on specific keywords related to their business or industry. For example, if you want to appear at the top of a search engine list within “computer equipment” you can agree to pay the top price as reported by Overture. Marketers may also opt to bid on lower positions as well. Search engines such as Google, LookSmart and FindWhat also provide “pay-per-click” services.
Extra, Extra! E-mail promotions and newsletters are effective ways to extend a companies’ Web presence and drive site traffic. Like a postcard, e-mail promotions are typically short, high-impact messages that can be delivered using graphics or plain text. The promotion can drive Web traffic by directing the recipient to a specific page of the senders’ Web site for additional information about a product or service. The promotion might also drive a recipient to purchase a product through the senders’ Web site.
E-mail newsletters are also a popular way to provide timely company information to your target audience. Like promotions, e-mail newsletters can be developed using graphics or plain text.
When sending either e-mail promotions or newsletters, it is important to ensure that recipients of your message have given you permission to mail to them. Companies such as YesMail (www.yesmail.com) and PostMaster Direct (www.postmasterdirect.com) offer opt-in e-mail lists that are compiled according to industry. By mailing to opt-in lists, you are mailing to individuals who have given marketers permission to do so. In addition to providing lists, these companies can implement the mailing for you and provide result measurements. It is also good to remember that the best e-mail results often come from your own customer list or “house list.”
Offline to Online While the Internet is a powerful way to market your Web site, using traditional print media is also an effective means of attracting visitors to your Web presence. Through print advertising or direct mail, you can deliver a high-impact message and drive the recipients to visit your Web site for additional information or a fulfillment opportunity.
Be sure to promote your URL through all of your company’s correspondence. Your letterhead, business cards, fax cover sheets, t-shirts, hats and other similar items are all effective ways to advertise your Web site.
Measuring Success One of the advantages of e-marketing is that it is measurable. Once you have implemented your e-marketing program, there are a variety of tools available for measuring your results.
One such tool is WebTrends by Net IQ (www.webtrends.com), which can provide a wide range of valuable site traffic and visitor statistics. Traffic statistic packages like WebTrends are usually part of a Web hosting plan. Make sure to ask your Internet Service Provider which package they offer.
Another useful program is WebPosition Gold. This application, developed by FirstPlace Software, will generate reports that show you where your Web site ranks on top search engines based on the specific key words submitted for your Web site.
Michael Astrachan is President of Astrachan Communications, Inc., a full-service e-business and traditional marketing agency. He can be reached at or at (816)363-0799. You can also learn more about Astrachan Communications, Inc. by visiting www.astrachan.com.
