5 Easy Ways To Generate No-to-Low Cost Website Traffic

by CashCat

There is one hard and fast rule for generating income from
your website: a steady flow of website traffic. If no one
goes to your site, no one can buy from your site.

It may take money to make money - but, it doesn’t take a
whole caboodle of cash to generate website traffic for your
site.

Ever wonder how big hit sites drive traffic to their sites?
Most of them are spending tons of money, investing in many
advertising campaigns and different forms of marketing
schemes and gimmicks. This is all very well for them,
because, well, they are what they are now - high earning,
big hitting websites.

But, you don’t have to do this if you don’t have their
resources. There are many ways to generate no-to-low cost
website traffic without spending what you don’t have or
can’t afford, and here are five of the best.

Exchange Links

This is a sure and proven method. Rarely will you see a
site where there are no links to other sites. One
prerequisite in exchanging links with other sites is having
the same general niche or content as the other site. While
you don't want to link to sites that directly compete with
yours, there should be enough similarity that the flow
between the sites is smooth.

Exchanging links also boosts your chances of getting a
higher ranking in search engine results. It is common
knowledge that search engines give higher ranking to sites
that have inbound and outbound theme-related links. Now
you'll not only get more traffic because of incoming links,
but you'll also generate more from the search engines!

Traffic/Banner Exchange

Traffic and banner exchanges are a good, free and/or
low-cost means of generating traffic to your site. Most
come with a number of credits to get you started, and allow
multiple URLs so that you can promote different pages.
Many traffic exchanges also allow banner ads and text ads
that appear in the surf bars.

You will need to spend some time surfing your TEs, since
the more sites you view, the more views your sites will get
- depending on the exchange, you'll usually spend from
10-30 seconds on each site. Your viewing ratios will
usually run from 1:1 (you view one, you get one view) to
5:1 (you view 5, you get one view). Upgrading your account
will give you faster viewing times, a better ratio, and
extra bonus credits, and can be done for a minimal price.

Banner exchanges require that you insert a piece of code
onto your page/s to rotate the member banners. As banners
are shown on your site, your banner is being shown on the
sites of other members. This is a good, no-fuss way to
generate traffic - once you have specified your own banners
and placed the code, you don't have to think about it
again!

Write and Submit Articles

There are many e-zines and content "collections" on the
internet that allow free submission of articles.

Write articles that are themed to the niche of your site.
Tips and How-to articles will make readers eager to go to
your site to learn more. There are many guidelines
(articles!) available that will help you write your own
articles.

Be sure to include a resource box at the end of your
article that links to your site, with a little information
about yourself and your site. When people add your article
as content to their own sites and newsletters, you'll gain
exposure, and another link!

Make a Newsletter/Ezine

This may sound like hard work because of all the articles
you'll need, but you don't have to write them all yourself.
There are many writers and sites that offer free articles
as long as the resource box is included, as this provides
free advertising for them.

If you don't have an opt-in list to send your newsletter
to, publish it on your website and offer subscriptions to
those who would prefer to receive it in email form.
Encourage people to share it with others, or link to it -
not only will you get more exposure, it will eventually
build your mailing list. Alternatively, you can publish it
as a blog, and ping it to numerous blog lists. You can
also promote it on your traffic exchanges, and in your
email signature.


Join Online Communities and Forums

This only requires your time and nothing else. You can
share your knowledge and expertise (as well as your
website), and get free advertising when you go to forums
that have the same subject or niche as your site.

As you build your reputation as a helpful and knowledgeable
person, you also build the reputation of your site, proving
it to be a reputable and honest business that will be trusted -
and frequented - by others.

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CashCat, aka Michele Wolfe, is a work-at-home online
marketing mom. Visit her site at http://www.cashcatmarketing.com
for internet marketing information, resources, and products.