Web Design Discussion

Getting links from high traffic web sites is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your web site. Some of the most trafficked sites on the Net include .edu and .gov sites because they contain lots of content focused on a particular subject or issue and they often rank at the top of the search engine results.

The problem is that it’s not easy to get links from these sites.

How to get links from .edu web sites?

1. Fill a void

Read the content contained within the .edu site and see if you can add to it or offer something new..perhaps from another viewpoint.

For example I once wrote an article on web design that was picked up by several educational sites looking for a concise tutorial.

2. Create quality content

Create a series of articles that have been carefully written and researched and offer them to the owner of the .edu web site. If the content is good they might link to the articles on your web site or have them added to their own site with your link at the end of the article.

3. Analyze competing web sites

Analyze the .edu links of competing web sites to see what they are linking to. This may be an indication that you could contact these particular .edu sites and offer them good content they can link to. This will save you a lot of time looking through 100s of other .edu sites.

4. Contact student web sites or blogs linked to an .edu web site

There may be students that have active blogs which link to the main .edu site. If you are an authority in your field they may be interested in having you write a post or article for their blog.

Conclusion

By getting incoming links from .edu sites you can boost your search engine rankings because they often have 1000s of incoming links from numerous resources.

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Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Development, SEO, Hosting

Receive fresh, in-depth articles articles on how to design, optimize and promote your web site by subscribing to his “Marketing Tips” newsletter at: http://www.isitebuild.com/

You write articles to get traffic to your web site..correct?

One of the most difficult problems in the whole article marketing process is getting enough visitors to read your article. Another problem is getting the them to follow the call to action in your resource box.

If you get lots of people to read your articles, the chances are they will read it, click the link in your resource box and buy your product. It’s a numbers game…the more traffic you acquire the higher your chances of people reading your article.

Let’s first discuss how to drive traffic to your articles

How to find a high traffic web site

A high traffic web site is one that gets 1000 visitors a day. If your main site fits this description, place your article there. It will probably get indexed and show up in the search engines within a day or two.

Alternatively find a high traffic web site that fits your article content.

How can you find a high traffic web site?

* Visit Alexa dot com and enter your keyword in the search box. The sites that get over 30,000 visitors a month are authority sites. These are ones that have been around a while and receive lots of traffic.

*Backlink count. Select any of the sites you have chosen in Alexa and do a backlink check. Backlinks are the web sites that link to your web site. If you have a large number of incoming links, you will receive good rankings and get lots of traffic.

Find the backlink count of a web site by entering link:www.domain.com in the Yahoo search box. From the drop-down box, select “except from this domain”. This will eliminate the links within your own domain and just deliver the incoming links from other sites.

*Contact the owners of these sites and ask them if they would like to publish your article on their web site. Make sure your article relates to their content. Tell them they will have exclusive rights to publish the article for 2 weeks. This means you will not publish it anywhere else. Only after the article had been on their web site for 2 weeks will you be able to publish it elsewhere.

*If the publisher wants exclusive rights forever, you can always rewrite the article then distribute it to other publishers.

Tips

Once you’ve had success with one web site, find others that will accept your content. Create a list of article publishers that you can contact for future articles.

High traffic web sites provide one of the fastest and most powerful ways to drive a ton of visitors to your articles.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic to your web site.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Design, Web Hosting, SEO

The key to article marketing success is to get lots of eyeballs reading your content. The other point of success is that your article needs to be so compelling that it draws the reader naturally through the content then responds to your call to action in the resource box.

Let’s say you get 100 people reading your article and only 1 buys your product. That means your conversion rate is 1%. If you get 300 people to read your article and 3 people respond to your CTA, your conversion rate is still 1%. If you continue building more traffic it may slightly increase your visitor numbers but your conversion rates will still remain the same.

How to increase conversion rates

1. Quality content

Place yourself in your visitors shoes and try to read your content from their viewpoint. Ask yourself “what’s in it for them?”

Did you clearly point out the problem the reader is having?
Did you offer multiple solutions to the problem?
Did you explain each solution clearly?
Does your content have a natural flow that pulls the reader through it?
Did you create a clear summary of the article in the concluding paragraph?

By addressing these questions your content will have more impact.

2. Call to action (CTA)

This is the only place you get one shot for your visitor to take action…buy your product or service or subscribe to your ezine. if you’ve done a good job pre-selling your product in the article your visitor will respond positively to your CTA.

The first sentence or paragraph of your resource box is where you make your offer. The next few sentences explain who you are and includes your web site address.

3. Sales page content

Your visitor gets taken to your sales page from the CTA in your resource box. If the sales page is not compelling it will not convert the readers into buyers.

Here are 7 ways to increase your sales page conversion rate

4. Download page

The download page is what visitors receive after purchasing your product. It should thank them for their purchase and clearly restate the name of the product to reassure the visitor the information is correct.

Provide clear instructions how to download your ebook…not all users are computer savvy. You might also offer another product here that will further help the reader.

If you attract lots of traffic to your articles and convert readers into buyers you’ll have created a successful marketing funnel or system that you can use repeatedly.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic to your web site.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Ken Envoy has been (and still is) one of biggest fans for teaching me how to build profitable web sites and how to write high quality content. His formula of pre-selling your visitor before selling to them has stayed with me throughout the years because it works very well.

Recently he wrote an article saying that blogging is the wrong choice for building a business.

http://blogorbuild.sitesell.com/

Instead he advocates using SiteBuiltIt to build your business.

Why?

Because 35% of Site Build It! sites are in the Top 1% of all Web sites.

That’s pretty good proof.

As a web designer I don’t use SBI but have a main site and a blog. The purpose of my main site (static) is to offer my web design services and write long term content…articles. The blog takes more work however I enjoy writing so it’s actually a joy to do it.

Whatever you use depends on your purpose…it’s not really the tools you use but how you use them. The purpose of my blog is to freely and easily write quick posts, even articles that provide traffic to my main site and provide fresh content for visitors. The beauty of the blog is that I can spend only 15 min updating it with good content without knowing or using FTP.

I highly recommend his action guide for anyone thinking about starting a business online even if you don’t intend to use SBI.

His mantra is “don’t build a web site build a business”

SBI gives you all the tools you need to research your niche, build a web site and market it to get lots of traffic. The forum is very active and helpful. The people there genuinely wish to help you build your online business.

If you’re reading this post and wish decide to go with SBI you’re lucky because he’s currently running a Mother’s Day Special where you can purchase SBI then get the second one for $100. You could give the second one to a friend or use it to build a second web site.

Check out the powerful SBI video to decide for yourself.

http://www.sitesell.com/webselling83.html

Why do you blog?

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Part 2

6. Be a guest writer

Offer to be a guest writer for a large publication or high traffic web site or blog. You will need to show you are an authority in your niche first before they will accept you. Instead of using the same article, modify it enough so it is unique. Your guest article or post will drive lots of traffic to your own web site.

7. Submit unique content to social media sites

Social media sites are currently one of the best ways to attract traffic with good content and backlinks. For example you could create a squidoo lens for your main keyword and write some content around it. Make sure you include links back to your main web site by weaving them into the copy..

To get a list of social media marketing sites and how to market to them visit:
http://www.socialmediadaily.com

8. Create a PDF

Search engines also spider PDF files. Convert your MS word article to a PDF file and place a link to it on your web site.

9. Create an audio file

Some folks prefer to listen rather than read content. Place an audio file or podcast of your content on your web site or blog then submit your podcast to podcast directories.

10. Create a video

Most people grew up watching television, movies and videos so they are accustomed to visual learning. Create a video of your article and submit your video to YouTube and other video sharing sites. Google indexes video content and includes it in their search engine results.

If you implement these top 10 article marketing methods, you will see a massive increase in traffic, get visitors to your web site and make many sales.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Article marketing is only effective if you are able to do it on consistent basis. You can’t expect to get much traffic if you write and submit one article a month. Well….you would if it was miraculously published by an ezine owner with 10,000 subscribers but there are better methods for achieving success with articles.

Top 10 places to submit your article

1. Submit to the top article directory

Ezine articles dot com is currently the directory that gets the most traffic so submit your article to them first. It may be published by ezine owners looking for new content. It may be read by visitors to the ezinearticles web site (because your article is rotated on the front page with others). It may be viewed by folks that subscribe to their RSS feeds.

2. Submit to other top article directories

If you don’t have time to modify your article submit it anyway to the other top article directories. You won’t get as much traffic if using the same content but you can capitalize on the link juice you receive by including your keywords in the anchor text of the resource box at the end of the article. Modify your anchor text when submitting to many article directories.

3. Include it on your web site

You need to add content to your web site or blog continuously so search engines will visit it and readers receive fresh content. Even if you have a static site, create a section for articles or attach a blog to it.

If your web site gets spidered quickly by the search engines you might place your article here first then submit to the article directories after a few days. This will allow the search engines to spider your site first and rank first for that article.

Alternatively write 2 different articles, one for your web site and another for the directories so you will benefit from both methods and receive more traffic with the extra work.

4. Submit to individual ezine publishers

Create a list of ezine publishers related to your niche by entering ezines+keyword in the Google search box. Every time you write a new article send it to this list. If it’s high quality content that subscribers will find useful you will get lots of new traffic.

5. Article swap

Ask article writers within your niche if they wish to swap articles with you. This means you will publish their article in your ezine if they publish your article in theirs. It creates a win-win situation for both of you.

Points 6-10 will be included in my next post

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

To create a successful ebook marketing campaign, you need to be consistent. You can’t write one article or submit to one ebook directory and expect to make lots of sales. Marketing is a daily commitment.

If one ebook marketing strategy doesn’t work for you, move on to another until you begin seeing results. You may have to combine several marketing methods to be successful.

*Joint Ventures: Team up with other ebook authors or ezine publishers or webmasters to cross promote each other’s products or services. Agree to send referrals to each other and recommend each other’s products.

*Use an excerpt from your ebook as an article and submit it to as many directories as possible. Be sure to mention your ebook in your resource box.

*Search out quality targeted ezines and purchase solo or top sponsor ad spots.

*Submit your ebook to as many ebook directories as you can. The more links to your ebook, the better.

*Write a keyword rich sales page and optimize it for the search engines with meta tags and page title.

*Offer two or three free bonuses with your ebook. make and offer that is very hard or impossible to refuse.

*Ask a few people to write reviews for your ebook in exchange for a free copy. Post the reviews on your site.

*Offer a free report as a lead-in to your ebook. People love free information and if you offer a quality report that gets them interested they very well may want to buy your ebook.

*If you publish an ezine, ask other ezine publishers to swap solo or top sponsor ads. I prefer top sponsor ads but many marketers have said that solo ads get the most results.

*Start an affiliate program and offer people a percentage to sell your ebook. One of the best places to do this is Clickbank. For a small fee you can set up your affiliate program and increase your sales many times over.

*Offer the first chapter or two as a freebie. Be sure and leave them wanting more.

*Visit message boards or join discussion groups to learn marketing strategies that have worked for other publishers and authors. If it works for them, it can work for you as well.

Let me know which strategy works best for you

One of the best ways to generate immediate traffic to your ebook web site is to send press releases. Writing a press release is different to writing an article or web copy content. It should include content that is newsworthy such as a story about your product and what it will do for the customer.

Benefits of Press Releases

1. Attract lots of visitors

Online press release sites get sent to thousands of outlets. This may include Google and Yahoo news sites which receive thousands of visitors a day.

2. Boost search engine traffic

If you optimize your release for the search engines by including your main keywords it will get indexed by them. This generates lots of incoming links to your web site that will boost your rankings.

3. New contacts

Sending your press release to many news media outlets could result in huge promotional opportunities.

4. Saves time

The time invested in creating and sending a press release will result in attracting lots more traffic than writing an ad or an article.

5. Tracking

Most online press release sites allow you to track the number of people that have read it. This allows you to monitor its effectiveness.

How to Write a Press Release

It’s very important to write your press release correctly so it won’t get rejected. Here are several articles how to write one:

http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release
http://www.ehow.com/how_8793_write-proper-press-release.html

Press Release Websites

www.PRWeb.com
www.prnewswire.com
http://www.prleap.com
http://www.i-newswire.com

Press Release Software

http://www.pressequalizer.com
www.prwizard.com

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

One of the largest obstacles to writing an article is the time it takes to write one. If you are not an avid writer it’s hard to sit down and write freely. ..you stare at a blank screen and nothing pops into your mind. You may end up wasting an hour in front of your computer before you start typing anything.

My 15 minute secret for writing an article

1. Give yourself only 15 minutes to start writing the article. This forces you to just start writing instead of procrastinating. It also sets your mind at ease because you are only committing 15 minutes of your day to writing the article.

2. Choose a topic - only spend a few minutes selecting a topic to write about then write a few headlines that include your main keywords. You’ll want to weave these keywords into your article to make it search engine friendly.

3. Build the structure - your introductory paragraph should point out a particular problem you are going to solve in the body of your article. Emphasis the pain and frustration the visitor will feel if they don’t solve this problem.

The next few paragraphs should outline several solutions to the problem. Each paragraph should expand on a different point. These paragraphs will form the bulk of your article body and easily enable you to fill the number of words required for submission to article directories. This can be anywhere from 250-800 words.

Combine serveral short articles together if you don’t meet the necessary word count.

4. Resource box - this is where you can promote your product or service. Create an attractive call to action, include your web site address, your name and who you are.

Tip

The most important point of this 15 minute secret is that it pushes you to begin writing. Often you’ll find you don’t stay within the 15 minutes because you have a lot more to say and that’s fine. It’s OK to write a longer article. If it gets too long divide it into two articles Part 1 an Part 2.

If you have to stay within 15 minutes, just stop within that time period. Continue writing the next day for another 15 minutes until you’ve finished writing the article.

Any activity you want to become good at takes practice. Keep doing this on a consistent basis and you will soon be punching out all your articles in 15 minutes.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

One of the best ways to generate immediate traffic to your ebook web site is to send press releases. Writing a press release is different to writing an article or web copy content. It should include content that is newsworthy such as a story about your product and what it will do for the customer.

Benefits of Press Releases

1. Attract lots of visitors

Online press release sites get sent to thousands of outlets. This may include Google and Yahoo news sites which receive thousands of visitors a day.

2. Boost search engine traffic

If you optimize your release for the search engines by including your main keywords it will get indexed by them. This generates lots of incoming links to your web site that will boost your rankings.

3. New contacts

Sending your press release to many news media outlets could result in huge promotional opportunities.

4. Saves time

The time invested in creating and sending a press release will result in attracting lots more traffic than writing an ad or an article.

5. Tracking

Most online press release sites allow you to track the number of people that have read it. This allows you to monitor its effectiveness.

How to Write a Press Release

It’s very important to write your press release correctly so it won’t get rejected. Here are several articles how to write one:

http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release
http://www.ehow.com/how_8793_write-proper-press-release.html

Press Release Websites

www.PRWeb.com
www.prnewswire.com
http://www.prleap.com
http://www.i-newswire.com

Press Release Software

http://www.pressequalizer.com
www.prwizard.com

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

Marketing your ebook is the most difficult and time consuming process. If you don’t get lots of traffic to your ebook sales page you won’t make much money. Even if you get lots of traffic but it fails to convert visitors into buyers you won’t sell many copies.

How to generate traffic to your ebook with articles

Select a section of your ebook and rewrite it into an a unique 500 word article. Submit the article to ezinearticles first since it is the most popular article directory because it gets the most traffic. Rewrite the article again and send it to the other main article directories.

Important points to include in your article

*create an attractive headline

*first paragraph should identify and describe a problem

*body of the article should offer several solutions to the problem

*closing paragraph should summarize the main points of your article

*resource box should provide a call to action (visit ebook sales page) link to your web site, and who you are.

*include 2 links in your resource box…one that includes the anchor text ie “article marketing strategies” and the other the full URL. The link containing your anchor text will give you a high quality back link to your web site and the full URL displays the full address should the visitor print out your article. It also gives you a second backlink.

Search for ezine publishers in your niche and offer them the article to send to their subscribers. If your article gets accepted by a large publication you will make many sales.

Article swaps

Offer to trade articles with another newsletter publisher. You run his article in your newsletter and your article in his.

Ezine directories

Create a list of ezine publishers in your niche and offer them your article.

Tip

If you want to create an article marketing campaign that generates a ton of visitors to your web site, write and submit 5 articles per week for several weeks. If you can write 20 articles per week this will generate even more visitors. The most important point is to do it consistently.

*****************************************
If you want to attract a continuous stream of NEW visitors to
your website without spending a dime on advertising pick up a copy of
my new ebook”Article Marketing Strategies“…
to receive immediate and long-term traffic.

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Web Site Design, Web Hosting, SEO

• May 9 : Getting Links From .Edu Web Sites
• May 7 : Article Marketing - Use High Traffic Web Sites to Drive Visitors to Your Articles
• May 5 : Article Marketing Success - Attract Traffic and Increase Conversion Rates
• May 3 : Blogging or SBI ..Which is right for your business?
• May 2 : Article Marketing - How to Get the Most Traffic From Your Articles