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Where is all that
traffic coming from?
Thus far, June 1998 has been one of my most productive
months ever. (Who says summer is swoon time for small businesses?) Although my final
server stats are not in yet, based on sales increases and new gazette subscribers,
bizweb2000.com visitor numbers will approach 100,000 for the first time this month.
Time to take a hard look at why...
As promised, I will do this from time to time and reveal exactly where my web site traffic
is coming from.
My faithful readers will then be able to learn what works for me and what doesn't. In
turn, you'll be able to copy my most effective methods and spend less time on the stuff
that's marginal.
I won't go into deep detail on all the statistics, just the bottom line stuff. I don't
want to bore you, I want to get to the "how I'm doing it" as quickly as
possible.
As I mentioned, this month has been busy at bizweb2000.com. In the last three weeks over
800 new subscribers have joined the gazette.
(Welcome newcomers!) This is nearly double the usual signup rate. These new signups are
the best way I get a grip on where the traffic is coming from. Nearly all who subscribe,
fill in the form revealing exactly where they learned of us. No server log can do that!
So, here are the results. What's hot and what's not...
Direct email: A few weeks ago we mentioned that we'd had great results
with the www.jokeaday.com email list. So, this month we tried a few more. Here are the
ezines that yielded the best results:
An oracle humor ezine ad http://www.oraclehumor.com/
brought in about 60 new subscribers and a healthy surge in sales.
Kevin Needham's A.I.M. Ezine produced a landslide of subscribers (over 100!) with their
new press release feature. http://www.inetexchange.com/inet-mailer.htm
Oh yeah, while we're on the subject of direct email, I must mention my own zine, the
BizWeb Gazette. It's my best direct email tool - I use it every week! Anyone who is
serious about doing business online should start their OWN house list and contact it
regularly. Need help getting started? Visit: http://www.bizweb2000.com/contact.htm
Article submissions: This month many ezine editors published recent
articles I wrote about my cybermarketing experiences. (Thanks Y'all!)
Just last week, an article I submitted to InternetDay was used the very next day and
resulted in 80+ new subscribers and a rush of site traffic. http://www.internetday.com
If you are not already writing and submitting articles on your area of expertise, I
suggest you start! There are literally 1000's of zines on any topic imaginable. To find
ezines related to what you are writing about, visit: http://www.meer.net/~johnl/e-zine-list/keywords/
Consider arranging your articles at your site for ezine editors and webmasters. See my
"free content" page at http://bizweb2000.com/articles.htm
for an idea of what works. Ezine publishers always need good copy!
Strategic Links: A steady 25% of my visitors come from strategic links
we've gained over the last year. Every webmaster needs a strategy to get links on related
sites! Although there are lots of ways to get links, three specific strategies work best
for me. You can read about them at: http://bizweb2000.com/linking.htm
.
Word of mouth: A steady 15% of all new gazette subscribers and customers
I receive tell me that a friend or associate informed them of my site. Even on the
internet, word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. You get these referrals by doing
things right. Help as many people as possible and offer lots of free information at your
site. Word of mouth referrals will then begin to steadily flow your way.
Heating Up... - Link-O-matic:
Based on a recommendation from fellow internet marketer Jim Wilson, who's VirtualPromote Gazette has been a favorite of
mine for over a year, I joined Link-O-Matic. This is an innovative way to get links at
400+ sites (NOT search engines). I've only used it once so far and it has already paid for
itself. Now I have 15,600 more links to activate whenever I want. I plan to use this every
week until I run out of credits.
They also offer an innovative way to earn money. A real professional resource AND
opportunity.
For a short time, Link-O-Matic is running a special offer. When you sign up to use the Link-O-Matic service,
instead of the usual 10,000 link submissions, you will get 16,000.
*Not Hot* -
Newsgroups: I spend less and less time in newsgroups these days. When I do visit
them, I see lots of posts recommending my site and my book. What I don't see are
subscribers and customers telling me they found me through a newsgroup. Only a handful
each month come through this door. I have a strong suspicion that newsgroups are a fading
internet marketing resource. Think otherwise?... If newsgroups are working for you, come
put in your $.02 at the Cyber Marketing InfoBoard: http://bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/
*Not Hot* - Search
Engines: "What's that Jim? Search engines in the "Not Hot"
section?" That's right! Although I still receive many subscribers and customers
telling me they found me though a search engine, the percentages are down. Is it because
I've lost a bit of interest in the search engine ranking battles?... Perhaps. Or perhaps
there are more effective cybermarketing methods.
Now don't get me wrong here. I still recommend building web pages with proper meta tags
and keyword rich content to give yourself an advantage in the engines. What I do NOT
recommend is letting search engine ranking consume you. The fact is, the *hot* items above
work FAR better than relying on search engines for all your traffic.
Well, there it is, straight from the horse's mouth. Now that you know where all my traffic
is coming from, go get YOUR share!
* Article by Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing. Jim's site has helped
1000's of regular folks profit online. Check out their FREE "how-to"
cybermarketing assistance, free software, business opportunities, manuals, web services
and more! Real money is being made on the net -- visit http://bizweb2000.com
and get in on it... Can't get to the web? Subscribe to their FREE, weekly BizWeb
E-Gazette: mailto:subscribe4free@JDD-Publishing.com
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