Promoting Your Site with Web Traffic Plans

By Bob Elston, author of

Teach Yourself How to Successfully Promote a Web Site

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The thought of promoting one's own Web site can be more than a little intimidating especially if you are just getting into the game.   Even veterans are sometimes taken aback by of the scope of the task before them.  The resources available for promoting a Web site far exceed time available for doing so.

Where do you start?  The Net looms before you like a huge beast.  The numbers are daunting:  30-40 million Net users, over a million Web sites, 40,000 discussion groups, and tens of thousands of promotion services and tools seeking to lend a helping hand.  Net promotions is definitely not for the faint-hearted but then nobody ever said that the meek shall inherit the Net. 

It doesn't have to be so intimidating though.  Not if you approach Web site promotions with enthusiasm and a plan.  What kind of a plan? A plan that incorporates all the major methods available on the Net and, above all,  easy to develop and execute.

At Web Traffic Specialists (http://www.trafficplan.com), we've devised a plan concept meets these requirements.  We call it a "Web Traffic Plan".  We even developed an online course and how-to guide based on the concept.

How Easy Is It to Grasp?
Incredibly so.  In fact, it's so simple we briefly considered naming our products "Web Promotions for Dummies" but we figured that might infringe on another publisher's trademark.  Also, frankly, we're tired of the whole "for Dummies" naming convention anyway. 

Conceptually, a Web Traffic Plan is built around three components:

• A single Web event
• A target audience
• An interesting "hook" to interest the audience in your event.  

Let's examine each component: 

Web Event
A Web event is an activity at your Web site that is "promotion-worthy".  Not all events you could implement at your site will be greeted as relevant by other Net users.  Common types of promotable events that lend themselves to effective Web Traffic Plans are: 

• A new product or service offered
• A new product release or upgrade
• A new or expanded directory of valuable resources
• A contest
• An FAQ
• A report or white paper
• A published interview
• Local announcements.

Actually, the kinds of events you could promote at your site are limitless.  These are just to give you an idea of what constitutes "promotion-worthy."

Target Audiences
Of the tens of thousands of individual Internet communities or groups bound together by a common interest, target audiences are ones you most want to attract to your Web site.  Who are your target audiences?  Chances are you know who they are already.  They are the ones you probably had in mind when you first created your Web site.  They are ones that would be most interested in new events at your site.  They are also the ones your competitors are trying to attract to their site instead of yours.

In addition to the general promotion resources shared by many audiences, each target audience has its own set of interest-specific resources.  These include:  topical search engines, announcement locations, directories, discussion groups, Web sites, advertising outlets, special-interest media, etc.  It's important to the success of your promotion efforts that you find and organize these resources into a database that will be used over and over for future Web Traffic Plans.

"Hook"
The third component in a Web Traffic Plan is the hook or method used to describe an event in such a way that target audiences and the media will be motivated want to check out your site for more information.  A hook is similar to the function of an effective advertisement -- "sell the "sizzle not the steak."

These types of hooks improve the chances that your event will noticed. They may not get your event covered in Time magazine but they are likely to make your event "sizzle" for target audiences:

• Describe an event in terms of unique and meaningful
• Relate the event to something in the news.
• Describe an event as something exciting
• Describe the event in "best" or "first" terms
• Describe the event's primary benefits to audiences
• Describe the event as a solution to a problem the audience faces
• Describe the event as an impressive success story
• Get an expert or celebrity involved.

Interchangeable and Reusable
Once you developed a Web Traffic Plan for a target audience, future plans are implemented in a fraction of the time.  The most time-consuming aspect of a Web Traffic Plan -- assembling a database of resources -- is already in place.  Future plans merely recycle the same resources used in previous plans.

Each time you change one of the three components develop a new Web Traffic Plan.   Here’s why:

• A new event is obviously something that starts the promotion cycle all over again:  registration, announcements, more links, more participation in discussion groups, a new media campaign, advertising, etc.

• Generally each target audience has its own set of resources: places to register and announce, discussion groups, super directories, media, email lists, etc. that should be contacted. So selecting a new audience opens up new set of resources to use.

• Each new hook for an event justifies a new promotion effort even if it's for the same event and audience.  A new hook might be necessary because you weren’t satisfied with the results of the previous one or feel it is time to try another tact.

Implementing a Web Traffic Plan In Stages
The major methods used to increase traffic conveniently break down into two stages -- passive and proactive:

Passive Stage
The first stage is "passive" because, although you actively seek out locations around the Web to place links to your site or to make sure a link to your site turns up in Net users' searches, the links are inherently passive.  They sit there waiting for Net users to see and click on them. 

Implementing a Web Traffic Plan in the passive stage entails:

• Registering your site or page at numerous search engines and directories

• Posting announcements in discussion groups and announcement sites

• Placing classified ads (if applicable)

• Requesting other sites to add your link, such as at directories and complementary sites.

Of the two stages, this is the easiest to implement.   This is also where many site promoters slip up. They think that this is all they have to do – register, announce, put out a few links, and, kazaam! visitors will flock to the site in droves.  The Net doesn’t work that way.  A full-blown Web Traffic Plan has a second, more involved implementation stage that can put your traffic stats "over the top."

Proactive Stage
This stage we'll called "proactive" because you aggressively seek out target audiences.  You don't sit back and hope they see your link.  This stage is the equivalent of jumping up and down, and waving your arms to attract their attention.  In the proactive stage you generate traffic by:

• Participating in discussion groups where target audiences hang out

• Targeting promotional emails to your audience

• Approaching the media for publicity

• Targeting advertising where it can be seen by audiences.

The two stages overlap.  The first stage doesn't stop and the second one starts on a cutoff date.  The transition from the first stage to the second is actually a shift in emphasis.  Continue to register, announce, and look for more link opportunities even while focusing on more active measures to get noticed.

How Long Does It Take to Implement a Web Traffic Plan?
How much time can you spare for Web promotions?  Full implementation may involve a week or two of intense activity. After that you may feel that you’ve jumped on the best resources available and can start tapering off, at least until the next Web event. After this initial push, "mopping up" is still necessary; monitoring, following-up, and analyzing results, adjusting emphasis, etc.

If you have to juggle promoting a site with other responsibilities, you may not be able to spend full time to spend implementing a Web Traffic Plan.  Implementation will obviously take much longer. You have to find the balance between time available to spend and getting desired results from your traffic plan.

The "Chain of Events" Approach to Web Promotions
Implementing a succession of Web events makes your life as a Web promoter considerably easier.  You get more bang for your promotion efforts.  Target audiences are more apt to visit your site when you are touting a steady parade of new events because your site has a much higher profile in the Net community.  Each event also encourages repeat visits.  Most events add value to a site -- new content, new services, etc. -- which in turn generates even more traffic. 

Don't forget to factor in how much more stimulating it is to promote a dynamic site.  Creativity and motivation are enhanced when you have new events cropping up with regularity.  Conversely, promoting a site with little development activity gives you, as the promoter, less to crow about over time.  Promoting such a site becomes increasingly tedious.  

Where Can You Learn About Web Traffic Plans?
Web Traffic Specialists (http://www.trafficplan.com) offers two ways to learn how to develop and implement a Web Traffic Plan.  We offer an online course entitled Teach Yourself How to Successfully Promote a Web Site.  We also offer a how-to guide, Mastering Web Traffic Techniques which is available in several formats:  a hardcopy training manual, Microsoft Word files, and a Web-based HTML version. 

Both the online course and the how-to guide lead you step by step through the process of developing a Web Traffic Plan.   Each consists of exercises and worksheets that offers you an indepth understanding of what's involved in promoting a Web site and help on developing your own Web Traffic Plan. 

Final Thoughts:   You Are the Best One to Develop Your Web Traffic Plan
A host of Web marketing services and consultants are eager to increase Web traffic for you. However, before you make a decision that will make the success of your site dependent on others, consider:  anybody can develop and execute an effective traffic plan if they have the time and persistence, and follow our instructions and guidelines.

Besides, taking a long-range view, you are the best one to do the job.  You want to control your site's destiny.   Promoting a Web site is an on-going project and if you rely on others you will always be dependent on them for success.

Another consideration is that, as a Web Traffic Specialist, you possess a valuable skill that will greatly your Internet future.  The Internet is becoming an ever-increasing source of wealth and jobs. The Web traffic skills are in short supply.  

Finally, even if you decide that you don't have the time and/or desire to promote your Web site, the Web traffic skills you acquire will give you an excellent overview of what's involved and how to deal with those whom you do choose to promote your site for you. 

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