7 Free Traffic Methods That Rock

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You've probably heard the proverb, "If you want to catch fish, fish where the fish are." Well, that exact same principle applies to Internet Marketing as well - especially when it comes to generating free traffic to your website.

So where should you fish for free traffic? And how do you know what works and what doesn't? Believe it or not, I once had the exact same questions. To discover the answers, I read articles like this one and started experimenting with a variety of free traffic methods.

This article is the result of those experiments. Following are seven free traffic methods that I've used successfully over the past year, and continue to use today. What you are about to read is not speculation, it's fact.

1. Search Engine Optimization

I don't consider myself an SEO expert by any means. But I've taught myself enough basic SEO, so that I can at least optimize my own website well enough to generate a decent amount of free traffic. Optimizing your website should be one of the first things you do. Focus your attention on basic SEO techniques. For example, make sure your title tags contain your primary keywords.

Also, make sure your description and keyword tags are all properly optimized. And don't repeat your keywords more than twice. Any more than that could be interpreted as spamming by the search engines, and your website could be penalized as a result. Using different variations of your keywords is the best approach.

Believe it or not, these simple but basic steps really do make a difference. One of my favorite resources for learning basic search engine optimization techniques is Jill Whalen's, HighRankings.com.

2. Press Releases

If you've never used a press release to promote your business, you're missing out on a proven and powerful free traffic method. A properly constructed press release brings a news slant to your promotion, as opposed to a hyped-up, blatantly obvious advertisement. The purpose of a press release is not to make the sale, but rather to inform the reader. The whole idea is to get prospects to visit your website, and attempt to convert them into customers there.

After writing your press release, if it reads like an advertisement, my advice to you is rewrite it. If you want to see samples of properly constructed press releases, visit press release distribution services like PRWeb.com and PR.com. One last thing, in addition to syndicating your press releases online, you should also circulate your releases offline. Send your press releases to local newspapers, and radio and tv stations.

3. Article Marketing

I have to admit, out of all the free traffic methods that I use, article marketing is my absolute favorite. Why? Well, there are a variety of reasons. But the main reason is because article marketing allows you to laser target your traffic to the nth degree. Here's how: When you write an article and submit it to authority sites like Promotion World, people go searching for those articles based on the subject matter they're interested in.

For example, photographers seek out and read articles about photography. Techies read articles about technology, and people interested in search engine optimization read articles about SEO, and so on and so forth. The point is, people read about things that interest them. That means if you write articles about specific topics, the people reading your articles are already targeted.

4. Forums

If you aren't familiar with online forums, I highly recommend that you get familiar with them. Because topical forums are an excellent way for you to promote your business, and generate free traffic to your website. And the possibilities are endless. Name the topic, and there's probably a forum for it.

For example, if you were a virtual assistant targeting small business owners, you could join small business forums like StartupNation or Small Business Ideas forum.

The key to having success with forums is participation. You have to participate in the various discussions to get free exposure for your business.

So how does participating in forum discussions benefit your business? On most forums you are allowed to promote your business with something called a "signature file." What's a signature file? A signature or "sig" file is basically a little advertisement (similar to a classified ad) about your business that is automatically attached to every forum post you make.

In fact, on many forums your sig file is the only place that you're allowed to promote your business for free.

Anyway, the more you participate in forum discussions, the more members get to know and trust you - especially if you provide solid, useful advice. As a consequence, forum members as well as lurkers (people who visit forums but aren't members) will read your sig file and click on it. I should mention that in order to receive a significant number of click-throughs, your sig file needs to be interesting and well-written. You need to give people a compelling reason to click-through to your site.

For example, "Free interesting, illustrated SEO report!" Or "Free podcasting teleseminar!"

By the way, you can find forums that you're interested in by going to your favorite search engine and typing in a topic of your choosing followed by the word "forums." For example, "pet forums." Continue reading 7 Free Traffic Methods That Rock.

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