Getting Targeted Traffic to your Site – for Free

Every online entrepreneur knows that targeted traffic is a crucial part of his website’s success, but not everyone knows that they can get targeted traffic for free. And this knowledge is especially valuable if the website is not yet generating enough income to justify spending money on advertising.

So how do you get targeted traffic on your site for free? There are 6 effective techniques that you can use to do so, and these involve article directories, exchanging links, and participating in forums that specialize in topics related to your website’s niche. If you know how to use these methods effectively, you will be sure to generate lots of targeted traffic, all for free.

First, try working with article directories. Write articles that are relevant or related to your site, and then submit them to online article directories. Make sure that these articles contain useful information, not just a blatant advertising piece. Article directories always allow you to include information about yourself and your website, so people can see it and be encouraged to visit your website to see what you’re all about. While you’re at it, why not try offering a freebie, such as an e-book, to get visitors to your site? All of these can be placed in the resource boxes that are conveniently provided by the article directories.

The second technique involves writing articles or reports about certain topics that you’re particularly interested in. These articles should then be sent out to several websites that have content related to your articles’ topics. For example, if you’ve written articles about cooking, you should send them out to websites about cooking, recipes, or perhaps home-related topics. Of course, sending out articles about pets to websites that feature content about ballet equipment is out of the question! Offer links to your site with every report or article you send out. Giving free content to others using this method will help a lot in promoting your website, and you can also give out permission for anyone else to freely distribute the articles, in order to increase the chances of getting even more free targeted traffic.

Have you ever tried joining a link exchange program? This is the third technique I want to show you. Link exchange programs are great sources of free targeted traffic. Look for members that have websites with similar interests or topics like yours, since they will be the best link partners you can have on the program. This will make your site more relevant and attractive to search engines because you’re linked to other sites that share the same topics or interests as you do.

The fourth technique involves forums. There are hundreds of online communities or forums that are related to your website’s niche. Join them and participate actively in the discussions. If you’re going to start a thread, make sure that it’s interesting and relevant to the overall subject or topic of the forum. Post interesting comments in the online discussions and the other members of the forum will be more than happy to read what you have to say. You can use your signature to post a link to your site. All of these will benefit your website in the form of free exposure and free targeted traffic from forum members.

The fifth technique I’m going to show you is using social bookmarking sites. Some of the most popular ones include Squidoo, del-icio.us, Digg, and StumbleUpon, to name a few. Register with them and submit your website’s information. Your website will then be listed in their directories, which gives your site additional exposure and more free targeted traffic.

The last technique for getting free targeted traffic will be effective if you have a blog on your site. If you do have one, send your blog’s URL to several RSS (Really Simple Syndication) sites. Every time you post new content on your blog, your RSS data will also be updated, making your website more appealing to search engines that specialize in blogs. People like blogs with good content and are updated frequently, so keep that in mind as well. If you can establish your blog as a good source of quality, interesting, and up-to-date information, more and more people will visit you regularly, thereby providing yet another free source of targeted traffic.