Is Your Website Content Worth Reading or Obvious Search Engine Bait?

Webmasters are always looking for ways to increase their traffic and exposure. This is natural and will never change. No one is ever content with their traffic levels.

But problems arise with this reality as well. While it is good to be motivated to get as much traffic as possible, it is tempting to try and cut corners and use tactics that are temporary rather than permanent solutions.

And there are myriad tactics that can take your entire business down the tubes as well. The trick is not to be tempted with short-term gain over long-term income from your web business.

Many webmasters are aware that "content is king" and that you have to brand your site to make sales and build credibility. But most people only take these facts at face value and only as they pertain to the search engines. Big mistake.

Your content is your lifeblood for more reasons than search engine placement. This is your "face" on the net.

So if you're using new strategies to bring in more targeted traffic, make sure you don't use something that could kill your business just to get some short term traffic.

Many people are putting article directories on their sites these days. Having a set of articles on your site is great for building credibility and making more sales, if you do it right.

But as is always the case, I see people taking that to the extreme and missing the point entirely. Now I see some webmasters completely emptying out the big article directories like GoArticles.com to put hundreds or even thousands of articles on their sites.

With no editorial review they just take the whole category their site fits in best and grab up any and all articles in it. Remember, anyone can get into an article directory whether they can write or not. Whether they are an expert or not. Want those guys on your site representing you?

I have a smaller article directory than most people at http://webmastertraffictools.com/articledirectory/

Why so small? Because I review each and every article that is submitted there. There is a very good reason for this.

To get someone to first visit your site takes money and time. Once you have them there it is easier to get them back if you impress them.

Whatever methods of temporary website promotion you use, you have to keep in mind that you want something that will work for you for years, not months. Therefore, if all you ever do is troll for temporary traffic you will ALWAYS be promoting as hard as you are today. Wasn't part of the reason you started working online to work less and make more?

Me, I want to have a network of sites that eventually promote themselves so I can spend the rest of my life on vacation. If you don't start laying down the foundation of that kind of system, you are never going to be able to retire with your site(s) supporting you.

Putting up content for content's sake is redundant. Other people's content is already on hundreds of other pages.

You don't stand out in the crowd that way alone. It is temporary at best if it works at all for you, and once people get to your site and realize you have harvested all your content from a directory they have already read through, you've made an enemy, not a customer out of them.

AND if you were unscrupulous enough to even reprint articles from people who spammed that directory with ads, poor english, poor advice, and everything else, I guarantee your visitors are leaving your site with no respect for you, whatever you sell, and with a deep hatred of "sites like yours" on the net.

That is not a long-term plan for a web business. See what I mean by temporary? No repeat traffic is no business at all.

So while my article directories are smaller, they have timely, relevant content from expert authors who can spell and who really spent time on their pieces.

Therefore I get repeat traffic, more clicks on ads, more sales of products, and a real income from that directory that will last as long as I own the site.

Points to Ponder:

1. Content is not king. GOOD content is king.

2. Repeat business is cheaper than new business.

3. Your name and brand are the only thing of singular value and importance to you on the web.

4. And short-term solutions to getting in the engines are always just that: short-term

Someday, if you are one of the webmasters I talked about above who only see the short-term picture, you are going to get tired of all the work you have to constantly do to keep traffic coming in.

And the worst part is, since you will have no foundation to rely on when you need a break, you won't be able to take one. If your focus on website promotion is always on short campaigns and tricking search engines temporarily into thinking your site is of actual value, once you stop what you're doing (probably from sheer burnout) your income also stops.

But if you have the foresight to build a base for your internet business, and you pay attention to and have standards for the kind of content you put up, you will be able to walk away from your business from time to time and the traffic and interest will still be there.

For me it is unthinkable to base my entire business on temporary solutions for getting traffic and sales when, if you have seen what you can make in the short term,why not get set up to reap those rewards for life?

But that's just me. I profit greatly from people doing it the other way. Simply because when someone comes to my site and sees content of value, they feel as though they have found an oasis in a desert of trash. A place they will visit more than twice and gladly bookmark.

You can figure out the value of that kind of response for yourself, as it pertains to your business in particular.

Between the two choices, I'll take repeat and recommended traffic over fly-by-night, angry, resentful traffic any day of the week!

Jack Humphrey is the author of Power Linking 2 Evolution at http://power-linking-profits.com and the CEO of Web Fox Media, LLC at http://webfoxmedia.com where he accepts a limited number of new clients for copywriting, marketing consulting, and professional web development.

---

3 Fast Ways To Get Free Content For Your Home Based Business Website

Is your website looking alittle bare? It's okay, you're about... Read More

Promotional Tools That Work For Online Businesses!

Promotion... also known as selling. Not an easy task in... Read More

How to Get Targeted Web Site Traffic from Other Peoples Sites

Getting targeted web site traffic from other people's websites is... Read More

Improve Your Website In 3 Simple Ways

You may already have thought about the following 3 ways... Read More

Whats The First Thing Your Prospects See When They Visit Your Website?

I just reviewed a new website and I'm in shock.... Read More

1 Seldom Discussed Method Of Web Promotion

So you've made the perfect web site (in your eyes... Read More

To Link or Not To Link - That Is The Question

You know the drill. Everybody claims that in order to... Read More

Promote Your Web Store

After spending substantial time and efforts the big day came... Read More

5 Successful Tips For Marketing Your Website

This could be the most amazing article to ever be... Read More

Freebie Promotions - How Giving Away Free Stuff Can Boost Your Business

Everybody Loves A Freebie!It's true! Who doesn't like to get... Read More

11 Ways to Promote Your Blog

1. Ping weblogs.com and other search engines. When you ping... Read More

Website Promotion: 10 Insiders? Secret For Writing Profitable Ads

Do what I did. Learn these 10 insiders' ad writing... Read More

Specialty or Niche Directory Submissions

You are an attorney or other service or product provider.... Read More

Internet Web Site Marketing: The Secrets Of Endorsement Marketing

What is endorsement marketing?Endorsement marketing is having famous or reputable... Read More

Do Not Build A Website Until You Have Researched Your Keywords

Imagine that you have a $25,000 marketing budget for your... Read More

Website Marketing Mistakes Smart People Make

You have invested your time and money into putting up... Read More

Effective Affordable Website Promotion Can Be Achieved

Seeking effective affordable website promotion should begin with listing your... Read More

Branding With Banners

You might have heard that banner advertising is dead. Nothing... Read More

How to Develop a Local Traffic Base

Getting a loyal traffic base for your website is an... Read More

Is Your Websites Link Directory Even Worth Having?

Let's face it, getting (and keeping) a good Google... Read More

How to Promote Websites Popularity?

Once your site is launched, half your battle is won.... Read More

FFA / Reversed Marketing

Have you ever submitted your ad to an FFA page?... Read More

4 Steps to a Robot?s Tea Party

Creating a new website is only the first stage in... Read More

Website Promotion: 10 Electrifying Tactics To Boost Your Profits

Is your business lagging behind?Are you frustrated?Cheer up.Here are 10... Read More

Writing Quality Articles to Promote Your Business

Writing and distributing articles is fast becoming a popular method... Read More

Online Website Promotion: How To Expand Your Business By Staying In Touch With Your Customers

If you want your customers to keep coming back To... Read More

Website Promotion: 10 Ingenious Ways To Defeat Your Competition

Business is war.To get to the top, you must fight... Read More

Test Your Website Marketing Knowledge

Here are 5 questions to flex your mental muscle to.... Read More

Web Site Marketing Techniques Rated

There are many ways to market your web site, both... Read More

How To Get Free Advertising By Giving Away Online Content

Giving away content is a powerful way to get free... Read More

Generating Inbound Links

Content One of the best ways to encourage website owners... Read More

Your Website on My Forehead

People are so focused on promoting their websites on the... Read More

How To Increase Your Page Rank And Web Traffic FREE

Google is the most popular and most used search engine... Read More