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Key Tips that Boost Website Traffic

Getting more people to your site is essential for business success. In this article, we will explore several free methods that will help increase the number of website visitors.

Let's begin by stating the obvious: automated traffic generation tools don't work. In fact, some of them may work for a little while, but I guarantee that they won't be able to generate relevant visitors, and I can also guarantee that they'll get your site banned sooner or later. So, avoid them at all costs, and use one of the ethical traffic generation methods listed below.

1. Optimize your site for search engines.

Yes, one of the biggest problems, which prevents your site from getting more visitors, may be the site itself! So, learn on-page search engine optimization, and then apply what you've learned. You will need to change some of the HTML elements on your site, so ask a web designer for help. To optimize a website page for a specific search phrase, make sure to include it in the page URL, page title, page description and H1 tag.

2. Write a new article each week.

Each article adds a new page to your website, creating another opportunity for people to find it through a simple Google search. Use a tool such as buzzsumo.com to discover the most popular content on the web, learn from it, and then try to replicate it - without copying it!

3. Create and use social media accounts.

Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. are visited by billions of people each day, and you may be able to send some of these people to your site. Create great-looking social media profiles for each platform, and then start posting informative content.

4. Get your site listed in relevant business directories.

I'm not talking about general Internet directories, which accept submissions from anyone, but about highly targeted, paid-for, industry-specific directories. If you run a restaurant, for example, search Google for "restaurant directory". Keep the quotes, they're here to help you get relevant results. Examine the first few search results pages, and then submit your website to the sites that are popular. Use alexa.com to determine if a directory is popular or not; any site that has an Alexa rank of over 10 million should be ignored.

5. Use guest blogging.

With guest blogging, you have to write high-quality articles, and then ask other webmasters to post them on their sites. If they agree to do that, they will also include a link that leads back to your site. This helps increase your search engine optimization efforts and has the potential to send targeted visitors to your site.

6. Comment on other people's blogs.

Those blogs need to be relevant and popular, and your comments must be insightful. Almost each blog platform allows you to add the website URL in one of the comment fields, and that's another channel through which people who liked your comments can visit your site. It is important to be among the first persons who respond, though, because people are much less likely to read your comment if it is really close to the top.

7. Use Q&A sites.

Websites such as Quora and Yahoo! Answers can be powerful traffic generation sources as well. Create accounts at these sites, make sure that your profile includes a link to your website, and then start answering questions, demonstrating your expertise. If your answers are helpful, I guarantee that at least some of the people who have read them will want to visit your site.

These are some of the most effective traffic generation methods that won't cost you a dime. Apply them today, and you will be able to attract more visitors to your site.