Ten Thousand Clicks Per Day

Steven Vicinanza

September 3, 2008

You've just spent thousands on a fantastic new Web site. Too bad "if you build it they will come" is more of a dream than a reality. With over 100 million domain names registered, getting prospective customers to find your site is no trivial task. But don't despair; it's not insurmountable because I'm about to reveal a few secrets that will get visitors clicking over to your site in droves. And here they are:

1)      Take your site name seriously and feature it prominently in everything you print;
2)      Promote your site using traditional marketing techniques;
3)      Get links on related sites that drive visitors back to your site;
4)      Maximize visibility in online search engines.

You are now thinking, "That's it? He's kidding. What is so secret about all that?" To which all I can say is: This is no joke. Time and time again we tend to overlook some of the completely obvious things around us. Let me give you an example.

Try this little experiment. Take some of the papers you have from other companies that are strewn about your desk. If, unlike mine, your desk is immaculate, grab a stack of mail from wherever it is you hide that stuff. Find ads, postcards, bills, bank statements, letters - whatever is handy. Now quickly scan each page for just three seconds and try to find a Web site address. Go ahead - try it now.

How successful were you? My hit rate is about 20 percent. The operative word here is prominent. Web addresses often appear in tiny print at the bottom of the page if at all. Not a very smart approach if you're trying to drive visitors to your Web site.

Now look at your own company's material the same way. How prominent is your Web address? Consider making it as visible as your company logo on every piece that goes out the door. Put it right up under the company name. You will guarantee more traffic just by making it effortless for people to find your site address on everything that you print. The real beauty of this approach is that it costs nothing more than what you currently pay to print your invoices, letters, and of course, marketing pieces. So this is free and it generates more Web traffic yet 80 percent of companies don't do it. See why I say this is secret stuff?

Now that you believe me, let's move on to secret number two. Using traditional marketing is a great way to promote your Web site and drive lots of qualified visitors. There are limitless opportunities to promote your site via direct mail, radio, car wraps, billboards, etc. For example, one low cost promotion we've done here at BlueWave Computing is to mail postcards directing prospects to our Web site where they can apply for a special offer. Every time we do this there is a surge in Web visits after the piece hits the street and we use the site to collect specific contact and interest information from new prospects. I'm sure you can brainstorm a dozen similar ideas that cost little but bring big results.

While the first two secrets are an extension of traditional approaches, the next two involve using the Internet itself to promote your Web site which in many ways is the most effective way to generate traffic. The web works because of a little trick of the trade called the hyperlink. We call it a link for short and the more links that point back to your site the more traffic you will get. There are some very specific techniques you can use to generate thousands of links pointing back to your site. What's that secret? Stay tuned for next month's column...

Steve is the CEO of BlueWave Computing, one of Atlanta’s fastest-growing IT services and consulting firm. He is a noted IT expert with over 30 years of IT experience and is frequently quoted by trade and business publications and is a published author of both academic articles as well as a book on computer programming. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgia Tech's School of Computer Science.

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Ten Thousand Clicks Per Day

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Steven Vicinanza

September 3, 2008