Unveiling the Three Key Strategies of High Traffic Websites

The Importance of Website Traffic

In the current digital marketing landscape, it's become somewhat fashionable to downplay the significance of website traffic. Many argue that traffic is meaningless unless it's converted into revenue. While this is a valid point, it presupposes that there's already a steady stream of traffic to the site. Each step of the internet marketing process is not just crucial, but a prerequisite for success.

Website traffic is akin to fuel for a car. You could have the most powerful engine, but without fuel, it's not going anywhere. Similarly, a well-crafted sales pitch is useless without traffic to view it.

High traffic websites don't just receive slightly more visitors than their competitors; they receive exponentially more. For instance, according to Media Metrix, in April 2001, AOL's network was the most visited site globally, while Amazon ranked tenth. AOL had 89 million visitors that month, while Amazon had 19 million, a staggering difference of 70 million visitors.

The gap between each site widens as you move up the ranks. So, what sets these high traffic sites apart? Here are their secrets:

1. Establishing Multiple Traffic Streams

In 1995, it became apparent that the likelihood of a website visitor responding positively was heavily influenced by how they arrived at the site. This led to the realization that not all clicks are created equal. For instance, traffic from a site endorsing your product is more likely to result in a sale than traffic from a site criticizing your product.

This understanding often leads to a selective approach to traffic sources, especially when paying for advertising. However, high traffic sites never discard traffic and are always seeking to establish new traffic streams.

Even the worst possible traffic source, such as FFA (Free For All) pages, can be beneficial if it's automated and requires no maintenance. High traffic sites are always exploring new ways to attract traffic, even if the methods are not particularly sophisticated. For example, Yahoo uses a simple "tell a friend" script to encourage users to share articles.

2. Leveraging Viral Marketing

Viral marketing, a buzzword in 1999, is a marketing strategy that encourages people to spread a marketing message. It's a powerful tool, as it's essentially free advertising.

A prime example of viral marketing is the e-book marketing trend initiated in 1995 with the release of "Search Engine Tactics". The book included a note granting everyone permission to give away or sell the book on their sites. This simple viral marketing tactic resulted in the e-book being downloaded over a million times by 1998 and being recognized by ZDNet as one of the top downloads of 1999.

High traffic sites are always exploring new ways to spread their message virally.

3. Converting Existing Traffic into More Traffic

Most people fail to capitalize on their existing traffic. The "Internet Marketing Battle Plan" concept emphasizes the importance of getting people to revisit your site.

If you're selling a product, remember that most sales don't occur the first time someone hears about a product. Therefore, encouraging return visits significantly increases the chances of making a sale.

High traffic websites always provide an incentive for visitors to return and a method of informing them about the incentive. For example, killertacticsjournal.com offers free weekly marketing advice from world-leading experts and informs subscribers about new content through a newsletter.

By consistently applying these three strategies, you can significantly increase your website traffic.