The internet is packed full of stories and advice coming from people who claim to be able to get thousands of people visiting their website. That doesn’t sound so odd – but some of them aren’t paying anything to do it.
The secret is Web 2.0. Some people are still a little mystified by this term, and it’s true that it does involve a number of different things. But it also points to a more advanced idea of the internet, compared to how it first began.
If you take a look at the wealth of websites available online today, you will see that many of them are interactive in some way. Back in the ‘old days’, websites were very much static entities. You could look at them and read the information they contained, but that was about it. Now you can take an active part in them in a number of different ways. Think about forums, social networking sites and the like, and you’ll get the picture.
So how do people turn all these sites into sources for traffic? The basic premise is simple, although there can be many ways of actually putting it into practice. But the key is to connect with the people you need to have as customers. If you are selling golf clubs then you need to connect with people who love golf and want to buy the right equipment. If you are selling eBooks about making money, you need to connect with people who want to make money.
It sounds simple, but it can take time and perseverance to get real results from tapping into the power of Web 2.0. It is one part of online marketing that can bring great results for little or no budget at all. But you need to be patient to build up an audience worth having.
Take Twitter for example. If you start following a thousand people, the odds are that a lot of those will start following you back. But if those thousand people don’t form a key part of your potential audience, you won’t refer many of them back to your website. It’s about finding and attracting the right people, not just anyone.
The people who make a success of getting traffic in this way have spent the time and the effort to get things right. They don’t just assume they can post one message on Twitter, or set up a MySpace page and that’s it. Just as some methods of advertising require money, this one requires time and effort if your internet marketing is going to get a healthy boost.
So yes, it is possible to get a huge influx of visitors from these sites. But those who get the best results don’t focus all their energies on one site. They go to a number of different ones in order to get the best return.
It’s not for everyone, but it is there for everyone to try. And those who don’t are leaving a lot of potential customers behind.
Web Profits specializes in search engine optimization, online marketing & web design, helping businesses generate profits from the Internet. For a free report on 'The Secrets of Online Marketing for Offline Businesses' visit
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