AdSense revenue was controllably dependent on traffic

We saw that AdSense revenue was controllably dependent on

* Click thru rate
  - You need to encourage those clicks- but watch out you don't break Google's rules.

* Click thru price
  - Have content relating to high value keywords

* Page traffic
  - More visits equals more clicks

This Article focus on Page traffic.

I don't know how much traffic your site currently gets but you probably want more.  However, there are two
different sorts of traffic: the casual visitor who is not going to do much, is click/trigger happy and won't hang
around and doesn't come back.

Then there's the keen, genuinely interested, active site participant. This is the sort of traffic you want to get and keep because your job is to develop a relationship with this type of visitor - not a one-night stand.

Why?

Because people who visit your site frequently are going to be interested in what is on it and this interest will
extend to your AdSense ads - that's what Google does for you automatically.

Interest = clicks.  Clicks = money.

They'll also come back of their own accord and each time they do, they might see another interesting ad too.

That thinking has helped us define who we want but we now have two tasks ahead:

1.  Getting these people to visit your site the first time.

2.  Getting these people engaged in the site so that they remember it, like it and come back frequently

Let's look at the first of these.

Getting the first time visitor

You are going to have to promote your website to people who you know are likely to be interested in the contents
of your site.

There are 8 standard strategies:

1. Advertise your site offline using postcards, printed ads, signs on your car etc. BUT GIVE PEOPLE A GOOD REASON to visit in your ad.

2. Advertise your site online with AdWords and other pay per click systems such as Overture - but watch you don't spend more than you earn.

3. Get your site high on search engines (by building excellent content - that's what they look for). This is FREE and is the best method although it takes time for a new site to get noticed.  People searching on a search engine are ACTIVELY looking for stuff which means they are more likely to become active visitors, visitors who return and click - if they like what they find.

4. Promote your site in an ezine about your subject matter (but make your writing interesting) and send it  to your regular customers or visitors.

5. Enter comments into discussion forums and include a short link to your site.  We did this for FactsAboutAdSense.com
   in a brand-marketing forum and started getting visits almost immediately - for ZERO cost.

6. Use PR techniques to get your site mentioned in the Press.

7. Include your web address in your email signature ALWAYS. Again, this won't cost you anything but will increase the visit rate - and it can work very well if you do more than just put your web address on it - give them a reason to  visit.  ("You could get paid by Google. Visit FactsAboutAdSense.com to learn how" is what I use. It works.)

8. Publish an ebook about your subject and give it away but include links to your website in it.

Keeping the relationship going

How does your site keep people engaged?

You need to give people

a  * REASON, and

a  * REMINDER,

to * RETURN

How do you do this?

The REASON

Make your site genuinely useful and informative about your theme, product or service.

The REMINDER

You can't remind people to visit unless you know who they are. So you need to get their contact details in return for
permission to keep in touch and an effective way to do this is to give something away like a tip sheet, a guide, insider
knowledge and so on.

But, again, make sure it is useful and has value.

Now use this contact information to remind people about your site.

The easiest way to do this is by email, but it is good to vary the media sometimes and use snail mail too (so make
sure you get address details too.)

If you use email, you are probably going to need to automate the process, otherwise you'll spend all day at your PC, and
the best way to do this is to use an autoresponder.

Your autoresponder should be easy to use, and provide you with detailed testing and reporting capabilities as well as,
crucially, a facility that makes it easy for people to opt-out from your mailing list. You must do this to avoid
being accused of spamming.

This is yet another reason why content is king. Keep providing information, information, information otherwise
they'll sign off - for good.

Your visitors' behaviour

How do people behave when they visit your site?

First time visitors make an extremely quick judgement about your site, in fact you typically have just 10 seconds or
so to make a positive impression.

So you have to explain immediately why people should stay.

Don't worry about not catching everyone because you only want targeted visitors anyway.  The low interest types are
not going to help drive up your AdSense revenues.

A great way to do this is to put your number one benefit statement into the headline on your home page.