getting website traffic free

Why Getting Website Traffic Free Is Actually Not That Difficult!

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People often think that getting website traffic free is something that only happens to gurus and established internet marketers who know some amazing secrets about driving traffic. The truth is that we can all get free traffic for our websites if we just take the time to implement some simple strategies.

These strategies all require a bit of work to set them up and implement but many of them can actually drive traffic to your website for weeks or even months after the initial work is done.

We have talked about some other free traffic methods in earlier articles so if you haven’t seen them yet then you might like to check out “How To Get Free Website Traffic” where we talked about social media sharing, using groups and forums, and content sharing sites. In our post “How I Get Free Traffic For My Website” we talked about leveraging other peoples sites and creating a free kindle book to give away. In our post “How I Get Free Traffic To My Website” we talked about methods for utilising your own website to attract traffic.

In this post I want to move on to some more strategies for getting website traffic free that you might not think of as being traffic methods, but when applied sensibly can be amazingly good sources of traffic.

Let’s dive in!

Message Boards And Groups

There are lots of places online where you can leave a message which lead directly or indirectly to traffic coming to your website.

There are message boards in many different places around the internet but that doesn’t mean you can go around carpet bombing them with links. That’s a great way to destroy any reputation or credibility. People want to see sensible comments and helpful answers being posted on these boards. If you can make valuable contribution to discussions then people will start clicking on your profile to find out more and then follow you back to your site.

Groups are another great place to start adding valuable contributions to online discussions. Yahoo groups and Google groups can be good places to find niche interests although they aren’t as popular as Facebook groups.

When you are on Facebook you can search for groups within your niche market and look to join some of the bigger ones. Be sure to check out the rules for each particular group as some of them will allow you to post links but some have very strict policies against link posting and if you are caught breaking the rules you are likely to be thrown out of the group permanently.

If you can’t find enough groups in your niche then you can actually create your own Facebook group. Some people worry about the group being linked to their personal account but a group is actually completely separate from your personal account. It gives you opportunities to brand yourself and publicise your business. Any blog posts you write should be shared to your Facebook group. Having your own Facebook group means you make the rules and don’t have to worry about other peoples rules. Just be careful about other group members abusing it!

Press Releases

You’ve probably heard of the term press releases and perhaps thought that they were just something that journalists used. In actual fact anyone can create a press release and send it to various publications – although there is obviously no guarantee that it will ever be used. However, journalists are always on the lookout for new sources of material so if you can provide interesting, unusual or controversial stories then you might get some very good exposure from a press release!

So how do you get involved in the world of press releases? One of the best places to start is with a site called Help a reporter out – HARO for short. https://www.helpareporter.com/

HARO was created by freelance reporters to help them find experts to interview and get content from. You can sign up to the site and offer to do interviews within certain niches. When giving answers it is perfectly acceptable to reference your own blog posts to reinforce a point you are making. One quick tip I discovered was to always do a check on what publication you might be writing for. For example if you are building your business in the weight loss niche you might not want to be published in a gourmet dining magazine.

Some journalists also look for quality articles online that they can quote within stories. It can be quite a good idea to drop them a message if they are regular writers in your niche to let them know that you are happy for them to quote your content in their reporting.

Google news is another great place to get articles published but you need to be very sure that your article is 100% original content and fits all their other rules and guidelines. They generally don’t publish “how to” articles so be sure to write any article for submission in the form of a news story or review.

One last place to use press releases with is radio stations. Try starting off by approaching local radio stations and offer to be interviewed about news stories within your niche. If it goes down well then you might get picked up by bigger national stations as a go-to expert in your niche!

Creating Website Traffic In Person

Creating free traffic in person is by its nature, very localised since you have to be the one actually doing it. To begin with you should get some business cards created that you can hand out whenever the opportunity arises. Make sure your name and contact details are on one side and on the reverse add a link to your website, video channel or squeeze page. This gives the person who receives the card several ways to contact you and if you have made a good impression on them in person then you are more likely to get a follow up contact.

Check to see if there are local community business gatherings or chamber of commerce meetings that you can attend or even speak at. These are great opportunities to make people aware of your business and expertise.

If you have a physical business then be sure to always include details of your website on things like receipts, invoices or any other documents. Having flyers made with your website details might seem old-fashioned but it still works.

Other ways you can get traffic in person would be to sponsor a local event. The list of sponsors is usually published at such events and it can be a good way to get some grateful local exposure to your brand. You can also participate in local workshops – or better still host one yourself. Invite other important people locally to join you and you can quickly build a reputation as an authority figure who hosts workshops.

Meetup events used to be a very good way to build a brand locally with other people in your niche. While they are certainly not as popular as they used to be, it is still worth checking to see if there are any good Meetups in your area that you can attend. They are a great opportunity for networking and sharing business cards or flyers. If you can’t find an existing meetup group then you might consider starting one yourself.

If you enjoy speaking in public and build up a bit of experience by speaking at some small local events then you might eventually get invited to speak at conferences in your niche. This will really start to give your credibility and traffic a boost!

Getting Website Traffic Free

So as you can see it’s really not that difficult. Getting website traffic free is perfectly doable for anyone who wants to build their online business without needing to put a big budget in for advertising or driving traffic with pay-per-click or digital ads. You don’t even need a marketing department because most of these things can be done by just putting in a few hours of work yourself on a regular basis.

We have also seen many examples of where someone has written a helpful comment on a message board or group and still receives traffic from that comment more than a year later. It’s nice to know that some of the work you do today can still be giving you benefits, well into the future!

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section below and let us know which of these free traffic methods you plan to use for your own business!

Best wishes

David and Heidi

6 thoughts on “Why Getting Website Traffic Free Is Actually Not That Difficult!

  1. Traffic generation has been made a myth for several reasons: It’s the blood of any online business model (Nothing important is abundant – Human Conception); Calling “Secrets” what in reality are just good practices is just another way to hang a price tag to it. Out of your list of options, the HARO and the “Message Boards” ones are my favorites.  

    I never fully understood that holding group local events related to the topics of our niche would be a good idea? (Using tools like meetup).

    Thanks a lot for delivering these great ideas; I’ll definitely be following them!

    1. Hi Juan

      Yes many people try to make the idea of getting traffic sound more difficult than it has to be which is why we are trying to reveal some of the simple but effective methods of driving traffic here at our site.

      The message boards are one of our favourites too as we can help other people too while also benefiting from the increase in traffic.

      Thanks

      Dave

  2. David and Heidi,
    Groups are an awesome way to get your message out.  Many times the people that like what you share will share it with their friends.  I had never thought about HARO After reading your post my brain was fluttering with ideas related to my niche. 

    When I had a brick and mortar business I ALWAYS carried business cards.  I never thought about it for my website.  To the drawing board to design on for my site.

    These are all great ideas, some will take little time and others will take lots more time.  In the end, when the traffic jams start they will have been worth the time.

    I will be checking your other post.  You have been bookmarked.

    Blessings,
    Leo

    1. Hi Leo

      Thanks for your feedback. Yes groups are definitely a great source of traffic as long as you respect the rules and post interesting and helpful replies and answers. I’m glad to hear that you found some other helpful ideas too.

      Please come back and let us know how you get on!

      Thanks

      Dave

  3. Great advice and ideas on getting traffic. I totally forgot about getting business cards made up. Such a simple thing to do and it totally slipped my mind. I was also just at my local laundry mat, and need to waste time, I looked at their community board…another very simple way to get traffic to your site (I’m sure others need to waste time there too!). Thanks for getting the wheels spinning!

    1. Hi
      Yes there’s all sorts of places where a business card or a flyer could bring some local traffic to your site – especially if you offer services which are relevant locally. Good luck with building your traffic!
      Thanks
      Dave

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