by Dale King » Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:26 am
Momentum is "the perceived strength behind a forward shift or positive action or movement." The problem with momentum is that it can be both elusive and fleeting. So what does any of this have to do with traffic? Everything. Let me explain. If you know what you're doing, you can not only create traffic momentum for your website, you can maintain it as well.
However, he key is knowing what you're doing. That's why constantly analyzing your raw data logs is so important. They will tell you exactly what your prospects are most interested in. For example, my log files indicate that copywriting, internet marketing and article marketing are the three most popular destinations on my website. It's uncanny how that hasn't varied in nearly two years. So everyday, before I do anything else, I add fresh, relevant content to those three areas of my website.
So how can you gain traffic momentum by analyzing your logs? By doing the same thing I do. If you continually refresh your website with the kind of relevant information that your visitors are searching for, they will return to your website again and again. More importantly, they will bring their friends with them, which is an added bonus.
It's sort of like positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement means rewarding your visitors for doing something you want them to do. In this case, visiting your website. You reward their actions by giving them more relevant content, because that reward makes your visitors more likely to repeat that same behavior in the future. Animals have long been trained in this manner. But instead of information, animals are rewarded with edible treats. Positive reinforcement is a powerful method for influencing your visitors behavior and building and maintaining traffic momentum.
In order to build and maintain traffic momentum for your website, it's important to think long-term as opposed to short-term. For example, running a classified ad that expires after a few days is a short-term solution that will not create any permanent links back to your site. Pay-per-click advertising is another short-term method that will not provide you with any long-term benefits.
Now I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't use pay-per-click advertising or classified ads to promote your website. That's not what I'm saying at all. What I'm saying is, the best way to build and maintain traffic momentum is to do things that will create long-lasting and permanent links back to you site. For example, I write articles and publish them on my website. I also distribute my articles and allow them to be published on other websites as well. Why? Because writing articles is a dependable method of generating traffic to your website and creating those all important inbound links. I know that for a fact, because I do it every single day.
In addition, I post on various internet marketing forums, and I've attracted tens of thousands of visitors to my website as a direct result of my forum postings. Posting on forums also creates inbound links to your website.
Building traffic momentum essentially means hard work and patience. It means taking the time, and making a consistent effort to build and maintain your traffic. You must take consistent action every single day by writing articles, adding fresh, relevant content to your website or blog, post in forums and get as many quality, relevant links pointing back to your website as possible.
In closing, use the long-term traffic-building techniques I suggest in this article, and you will eventually reap the rewards of more traffic.