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Fundamental Questions Webmasters Need To Answer

Traffic, traffic, traffic, Anthony Kirlew says that before you even address the "how do I get more traffic to a Web site" question, you need to answer some fundamental questions about the site itself, starting with "Why would someone want to visit it?"

Whether it's a blog, an e-commerce site, or just a company boilerplate and some management profiles, every site needs a purpose. So if you don't have products to advertise, and can't or don't see a need to develop articles, then create a customer review section or throw up funny pictures of the COO--in other words, create a reason to draw users in.

Next, you need to figure out "why would someone stay on our site and do business"-- and Kirlew says that simple navigation, great usability and a clear offer or marketing message are all reasons why visitors would stay. "Why would they come back?" is the next question, and fresh content (be it blog posts, new deals or how-to videos) is the answer.

Once you've answered all of those questions, Kirlew says you can address the "how will they find us" issue, and lists the myriad tools available, from SEO and PPC, to social media and affiliate marketing, as well as less-obvious options like offline contests and joint ventures.

Read the whole story at Old School SEO »

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