Increase Web Site Traffic and Link Popularity Simultaneously

Mary C. | 13 December 2004 |

Increasing Web Site Traffic and Link Popularity Simultaneously
Brian Ramsey, Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc

As most of you are aware, there is no magic formula for increasing search engine ranking. There are, however, a couple of steps that will help to improve rankings and traffic. Over the last several months, we’ve discussed the importance of link popularity and its positive correlation to your web site’s performance in search engines. In addition to incorporating link building strategies, another effective yet somewhat overlooked approach is to increase the size of your web site in the form of new pages with relevant content.

If you do a search for any topic in Google, you will find the web sites that come up in the Top 10 all have a lot of content on their web site. For your web site to increase in popularity, you have to constantly add more (and “fresh”) content. Increasing evidence suggests that search engines favor “fresh” web sites with relevant content. By relevant content, I mean information that promotes your business and area, rather than content that is obscure. This will increase your ranking for the keywords on your site and ultimately increase new and repeat site traffic. Creating the pages and adding them to the site, however, is just the first step.

To see an increase in traffic, the pages will need to be optimized for the page content. Please keep in mind that it may take about four months or longer for the new, optimized pages to appear relatively high in the search engines, so in order to receive traffic immediately, it is essential to add targeted keywords with links to these pages to your pay-per-click campaigns. How much traffic can you expect to receive once the pages are added? There are several factors that determine the amount of traffic that will be generated, such as the number of relevant pages added, your monthly pay-per-click budget, and proximity to popular attractions and activities, but you can expect an increase of between 50-400+ visitors each month. Not bad when you consider the revenue potential that can be generated from these new visitors for a relatively low cost.

Increasing site traffic and link popularity are reasons enough to increase the size of your web site, but another important reason is to make your web site more of an information site. That is, Internet users are much more educated than they used to be, and are very likely to shop your site and your competitors’ site(s) before making a reservation. Just providing information about your accommodations and property isn’t enough; visitors want to learn more about what there is to do once they get to the area. Provide detailed information (with photos) about attractions and activities that may be of interest. Providing information to area and property events is also extremely important. A Calendar of Events is valuable to display events and help increase the size of your web site.

One of the most important pages to add is a Site Map. It’s interesting to note that despite its importance, less than half of all sites have one (Nielsen 2002). By definition, a Site Map is primarily used as a tool to help search engine spiders find interior pages (particularly true for database web sites) and to give site visitors a visual model (similar to a Table of Contents) of what content the site has to offer. The value of a Site Map for improving the performance of your web site lies in the fact that each page that appears in search engines will count toward your link popularity. A Site Map ensures that all interior pages will be found.

What are some other good pages to add? It obviously depends on your location and what services you offer your guests. A good rule of thumb is to provide information that potential guests are searching for. The two most common pages are those that list area activities and attractions/niches.

We also strongly recommend promoting a segment that is virtually overlooked - the sports market. The number of fans who travel to sporting events throughout the country is staggering. Why not promote your property to this popular travel demographic? In our view, it’s a "no-brainer". Adding pages about your local professional and college sports teams, and local sporting events (bowl games, basketball tournaments, horse and auto racing, etc…) is a fantastic way to get your property noticed by potential guests who travel to your area’s sporting events.

How does one determine which pages and events to add? A great tool that we’ve mentioned in the past is the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool, found at http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion. It allows you to see how many searches occurred for a particular keyword phrase for the previous month in the Overture system. This system consists of five search engines – Overture, Yahoo, MSN, Alta Vista, and All The Web. Just type the name of an area attraction, activity, or niche and see how many searches the keyword phrase received the previous month.

For a customized analysis, we can assist with determining the best (and most effective) pages to add to your web site. For additional information about how to increase your link popularity and web site traffic in the form of adding new content and a Site Map, contact Brian Ramsey in our Sales Department at brian@blizzardinternet.com or 888-840-5893 x118.