Bill McRea

The reason so many people fail online so quickly is because they don’t get traffic, at least not enough of it.

The problem is, people end up spending money on advertising without making much (if any) profit back, or they simply spend too much time trying to get free traffic and burn themselves out.

Of course, once you’re successful you can pay someone to get you the traffic, but how do we get out of the never ending cycle of trying to get traffic without wasting time and money?

Well, I am going to start with the fundamental tasks that you should focus on first, then we’ll take it from there…

1. Directory submissions.

This can be achieved using automated submission software or can be done by hand. It’s a little dull but will result in lots of back links to your website for better visibility in the search engines. This is pay off as you add more content and back links to your site.

2. Social bookmarking.

This is about submitting links to the major Web 2.0 social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Propeller and Reddit (to name just a few). The great thing is you can use software such as socialmarker.com to make the process far easier. You can also buy inexpensive software to automate the whole process.

The benefit of social bookmarking your content is so that you gain back links from these authority sites (which is essential for being found in the search engines) but also, if you content is worthwhile and interesting, you increase the chances of your submission being passed around other readers really quickly, which can of course result in a lot of traffic to your website.

3. Back links.

Back links are the backbone of getting your pages listed high in the search engines. The more people link to your site naturally (i.e. without being paid or listing your site in some sort of link farm where the site linking to you is junk), then the better your rankings will be in the search engines. Not to mention the direct traffic that will come from the actual links from other sites too.

4. Collaboration.

Most people want to be the “one person wonder” or the sole entrepreneur in their business, which is fine. However, don’t underestimate the sheer power of teaming up with other well established websites directly and offering your content, help or other services in exchange for some exposure to your own website.

The classic “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” effect comes into play here and trust me, it works like a charm providing you genuinely approach people to help them first.

There are of course, many other ways to start getting traffic to your site such as writing articles like this one, or getting involved with many of the Web 2.0 properties out there online today. The more social you become with your website at other people’s parties, the more people will come to your party when you come to tell them about it…just like real life isn’t it?

I’ve only scratched the surface of getting heavy volumes of traffic to your website. If you’d like to know more about using the new wave of traffic inducing methods to really get your business off the ground, then check this out :http://mcreasite.com/blog/sac2/

But the is an easier way to generate traffic

The notion of quantifying the costs for customers in order to illustrate how much money they are currently wasting or will be wasting if they do not do business with you is a key element in the process of getting a customer to buy from you. This sounds obvious but can be overlooked by many people attempting to trade with a customer.

This process allows someone not only to demonstrate how much money can be saved but also alleviates their concerns about spending money on one’s particular product or service.

Various areas may be addressed during this part of the process however it is not always easy to uncover where a customer’s money is being spent.

Getting customers to realize the value of one’s solution has to begin with asking the right questions; in order to do this one needs to identify the customer’s typical costs and then decide whether or not they could be reduced or eliminated through the use of one’s product or service.

A good example of this would be health care where outsourcing has become a hot topic, as well as with businesspeople and politicians.

There is a natural compulsion to use lower-wage workers abroad who have the same skills as those at home, although this brings with it the unexpected.

The pros of this are that savings will be made in direct costs and staff may be able to be eliminated from the payroll.

The cons are, depending on the industry, that the internet may go down, there will be a lack of rapport between the patient and doctor, there is a lack of accountability, and there would be no confidentiality.

Another good example of this is the construction industry.

Selling bricks is not all that exciting, but it is possible to quantify costs. For example, take someone who sells bricks to homeowners building new houses and construction companies creating new neighbourhoods.

It is very difficult to convince either of these parties to use bricks because they are more expensive than other building materials. However, presenting the argument in a different way changes the picture: Bricks hold heat better than other materials so in the long run costs will be saved on heating bills.  As opposed to rendering, which needs to be replaced after years of wear and tear, bricks last a lifetime Studies have shown that, everything being equal, a brick house will sell for fifteen per cent more than a house with rendering. For construction companies, bricks are easier to work with and easier to store than other materials.

In summary using this cost justification system, it is possible to translate the features of a product into considerable benefits and thus largely override the raw, up-front cost of the product; value can be imparted to a customer other than front line savings. However, it must be remembered that coming from the outside it is always easier to see and understand the concept and after all, it is their money that is being spent