With just the clothes on his back, 50 pounds of camera equipment, a harmonica and a trusty Leatherman multi-tool, one man is set out for seven days to survive on his own without food or water.  This man’s name is Les Stroud.  In each episode of “Survivorman,”  Les places himself in a unique survival situation and demonstrates how to survive in a remote location with minimal supplies until being rescued.

Surviving in a wilderness is slightly the same as a website’s survival online.  It is important to understand the essentials to a web site’s success in order for you to benefit the most from website ownership. So here are a few survival tips to prepare you for the pitfalls you may face online.

Living off of the Land

In the woods:
Being able to eat off of the land is priceless in a survival situation.  It is important that you locate a decent food supply from your surroundings and be able to build a shelter to protect you from the elements.  Dining on wild animals and plants can be your only chances of getting out alive.  But be aware that not everything edible is safe to eat.

On the web:
Traffic is the food for your web site.  Although there are many forms of traffic online, it is important to know that not all of it will help you.  Make sure that your site is setup for your targeted audience.  If you are offering vacation rentals in Florida, you would most likely want to get traffic from vacationers and not someone planning their camping trip in South Dakota.

Rabbit Starvation

In the woods:
Feasting on rabbits and rabbits alone can lead to death.  An exclusive diet of lean meat, of which a rabbit is a practical example, will make you sick due to the lack of fat.  It is important to have a variety of edibles in a survival situation.  This is a great example of how overeating can kill you when you are starving.

On the web:
Relying primarily on off-line advertising and word of mouth to promote your website will eventually lead to a decline in your site’s visitors.  By investing in a search engine marketing firm to provide you with pay per click advertising and search engine optimization, you will increase your overall website traffic, since it will be coming from different sources.  It is better to have a variety of traffic sources as opposed to just one, because if one stops working, the other sources will still pull in site visitors.

Shelter

In the woods:
Having a sturdy shelter is imperative to protect you from the elements.  Whether in rain or snow, your shelter should be able to hold up and keep you safe.  A good shelter should have a thick roof and at least three protected sides.  It should be able to be used as a wind break and also provide a sense of comfort that you most likely wouldn’t get anywhere else.

On the web:
By having a good hosting provider that can protect your site from viruses, hackers and server crashes is a valuable asset.  Make sure that your host provides 24/7 network monitoring and response and a 99% uptime guarantee.  You should have a peace of mind knowing that your web hosting is being taken care of by a decent provider, because if your site goes down, no one can buy from you.

Staying Found

In the woods:
Knowing where you are at all times is critical to getting out alive.  If this becomes difficult, you can draw a map of where you have been to avoid further confusion.  It is important that you have your head straight in this crisis so that others can find you.  You can signal for others to find you by shouting, shining a piece of mirror or reflective metal or by using smoke signals from your fire. 

On the web:
Know where you stand with your current customers.  Returning customers are the key to your success online.  Let them know you are still there by sending out email newsletters, blogging, offering new special offers or even hosting a contest.  The more informed they are, the more likely you will get the sale.

So there you have it, four survival tips for the website owner.  Being able to be prepared for whatever is thrown at you is priceless.  Be sure to remember that traffic is great, but targeted traffic is even better.  Utilizing only one traffic source can be deadly and you should have a variety of sources of traffic.  Picking a sold web hosting provider can mean life or death of a successful website and that returning customers are essential to your success.  You can never be over prepared when it comes to the success of your website.

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