How to bring visitors to your Web site

How to bring visitors to your Web siteBy Bob Palmer

Everyone with a Web site wants more visitors. In the last few months, I've spoken several times to different groups about this topic. It seems to be a popular topic, since many people aren't happy with the number of visitors their sites log. I'll try to explain how to get visitors to a Website and will be a tutorial as much as anything else.

Promote Your Web Site In Your Current Advertising
One of the first things you should do is put your Web site address on everything. Put it on business cards, stationery, print advertisements, brochures, product literature, mailing labels, envelopes, hats and jackets. Put it in your TV ads and radio spots. If you can get your salespeople to agree, tattoo it on their foreheads. Don't forget things like billboards, signs, tradeshow booth materials, vehicles, and banners. In short, put the Web address everywhere.
Frankly, this alone won't generate much traffic to your Web site, but it will reinforce the other things that you're doing. If you really want major increases in Web site visitors, you'll have to do something else.

Design Special Advertising To Promote Your Web Site
You should begin to think about your Web site as another business destination-like a storefront in a strip mall. You will get a few visitors wandering by and stopping in, but the traffic will increase greatly if you give the visitors a reason to visit you. Remember that inertia is a great motivator. Just because you announce that your site is open for business doesn't mean that you'll have lots of visitors-you'll have to overcome their tendency to sit still.

Here's a suggestion: think direct response advertising in everything that you do to generate Web traffic. Develop an offer (something that the consumer can have if they respond), and be sure to ask for action. Let's start with the concept of an offer. A jewelry store might offer a "free ring" to the first 50 who register on the site after seeing the ad (and keying in a special code to identify the ad they saw). A law firm might offer the brochure, "How To Keep Your Inheritance Away From The IRS." A realtor might offer the brochure, "How To Sell Your House Fast For Top Dollar." A distributor might offer free shipping.
The idea is not to spend a bunch of money on giveaways. The idea is to overcome inertia and get the customer to the Web site.

Once you have the offer, asking for action is easy: "Come to our Web site at www.great-deals-for-u.com (not a real Web site) and get our special deal."