The Online Media Challenges of Traffic Acquisition

It used to be easy to get traffic. Well, easy-ish, anyway. Back when all we had were static web pages and a generic email address (webmaster@somewhere, usually) traffic acquisition was just a case of making sure that the page was indexed by the search engines, was relatively unique in terms of keywords, and was useful to the visitor.


This was back when we all edited our sites in a text editor, mobile (cell) phones were still almost a novelty, and certainly very, very few people had heard of social media.


These days, anyone can have a web site, and throw up any old traffic-catcher garbage, and it tends to clutter the search engine indexes. Of course, the boffins over at Google are making incredible headway in weeding out the rubbish, but it has still forced the rest of us to spend slightly more time (and hence money) making certain that we get seen.


Were it not for social media, it'd still be a case of throwing money at the issue.


Solving Online Media Challenges


See, these days, the challenge is not getting indexed. It's getting people to be aware of the site/brand at a number of different levels. Sure, people still use Google as a search engine, and they still type in words that they hope will return information, but they're a lot more savvy about choosing the results.


For all those people who continue to say "you gotta be on the first page of Google SERPs, otherwise it's a waste of time", I say : you're at least half wrong. I say this because people are using Google search engine results in a more canny way. They can spot if the top 5 places are going to be selling them things while offering them nothing.


On top of which, Google is going to be using (and has started using) social media techiques such as +1, and G+ Circles, to inform search users as to the perceived value of the page behind the result. 

 I have no proof of this, beyond what you can see on every search page, if you're logged in to Google, but it's a logical extension.


It also means that we have to be similarly more canny about the way we approach traffic acquisition. We need to leverage social media and rise to the online media challenges in making sure that if we are the best, then the online world knows we are the best, and, more importantly, Google recognises that we are the best.


How do we do that? Twitter. Blogs. Forums. In a buzzphrase, Social Media. We've come full circle, and we're back to word of mouth advertising, the best kind. Only, these days, they're digital mouths and ears.

Using PLR to Generate Traffic

PLR - Private Label Rights - is a term used to describe material that has been created for the express use of being re-used to create web site content. The seller hands over a number of rights to the buyer, amongst them, the right to use the text in any way that they wish, and assume the ownership (or at least the right to be recognized as the author).

So, in theory at least, you could take the content, stick it in a blog, and then drop the URL on Google, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever, and watch the traffic come rolling in. Right?

Well... if everyone does that, then everyone's pages end up looking the same and you'll irritate the PLR owner into the bargain. On top of which, they'll be optimized to rank well in search engines for a variety of keywords, but there are a limited number of spots - 10, if we're trying to hit the first page of results.

Those top ten spots will quickly go, if all you do is copy and paste the PLR content in it's entirety. Using PLR is clearly as much about re-branding it, as it is about re-using it. Unless it's an eBook, or something to be used for newsletter content, which keeps it relatively private, it is vital to re-work the PLR content to make it your own.

In the final analysis, PLR is about research, getting snippets for insertion in your own products, and pulling out likely keyword phrases.

JustOutsourcing.com have a list of 101 things to do with PLR, and it's well worth a look, as there are some great ideas for turning PLR content into traffic acquisition content. Be warned, however, what might seem like a quick short cut to traffic actually does require some work to make it worthwhile.

A great place to get PLR content is from ghostwriter extraordinaire, Tiffany Dow, from her PLR Mini-Mart. They're bang up to date, seasonal where appropriate, and her blog is full of useful tips and tricks. Learning from the trenches of PLR and ghostwriting is a great way to get ahead in the internet marketing game, so I heartily recommend Tiffany's blog.

That's PLR, in a nutshell. It's a great investment when used correctly, and should be at the top of your traffic acquisition checklist.

Traffic + List = Profit?

Recently I stumbled across a blog post by Nicole S. Cooper, titled 'A Valuable Lesson Learned About List Building Popups on your Lead Capture Page'. It was interesting to me because it highlights a few salient points about traffic acquisition and the process of leveraging that traffic.

The conventional wisdom is that you need to get the visitors onto a list in order to market to them. This has been adjusted of late to promote content over and above sales, where the marketing becomes a touch more subtle, and the actual selling process is part of a confidence building exercise.

Now, many readers might assume that the quicker the visitor is presented with the option to sign-up, the better. Visitors are notorious for clicking away from sites after only a short stay, so getting them to sign-up as soon as possible is surely a good thing?

As Ms. Cooper found out, however, this isn't the case. The post itself is a great snapshot  of the marketing process, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. The long and the short of it is that she had a bounce rate (visitors dropping in and clicking out straight away) of upwards of 30% (3 in 10) when visitors were immediately presented with a sign-up box, but that this dropped by 10% the moment she adjusted the script so that the box appeared after a short delay.

Other variations might include changing the page that the sign-up pop-up appears on, and playing with the position, layout, and presentation - the end message is clear, and as Ms. Cooper herself says:

"metrics and tracking is pivotal in the world of Online Marketing"

So, if this wasn't enough to convince you to take another look at your sign-up box placement, timing, and statistics, head on over to The Mailbox Money Blog  and get the scoop from the lady herself!