We put a lot of time and effort into building traffic to our websites.  Why?  Because without traffic no one will see your website.  It will be just a "billboard in cyberspace on an untraveled highway."  Building traffic is a very scientific and systematic process.  It's a step-by-step process? You can re-order some of the steps but certain steps must come before others.  Today we will look at the first step you should be taking.  This is the step you should take before you even begin to develop a campaign plan.

What is step 1 in building traffic to your website?

*** Ask WHY Anyone Would Want To Visit YOUR Site. ***

What problem does it solve or prevent? What need does your site fill? What do surfers gain from visiting your site? Why would they want to spend one of their most precious and limited assets (their time) visiting YOUR website.  You need to answer these questions because you need to convey the answers to these questions in your promotions.  You answer these questions:

- in your advertising

- in your search engine listings

- in your press releases

- in your signature files

- etc.

This FOCUS will make sure your cyber billboard is on the right cyber highway.  You can focus your efforts where your real potential visitors are! This will help you determine where the people are whose problems you have the solutions to.

People visit a website because it solves a problem or fills a need.  This need could be for more information on a topic.  It could be a need to gather with like-minded individuals.  It could be to discuss a given topic of interest (family, politics, religion, travel, money, the environment, etc).  Making money online for example is a very common topic that websites are built around.  These sites teach you how it's done.  They show what products or services sell and how to sell them.  The catch-all phrase "internet marketing" is often used to describe these sites.  That is a good theme to build a site around.  However, in order to attract traffic to such a site, the site must still convey to potential visitors how it is the solution to their problems.  It must also be conveyed how this site offers a better solution or a different solution from all of the tons of nearly identical sites out there.  You still have to answer the same questions for potential visitors.

There are millions of people all over the world dreaming of starting their own business.  They want to escape the ratrace.  Many see the internet as a low cost way to begin building their dream.  Help them to build that dream and you will do well.  However... you still need to differientiate your site.  You need to look long and hard for the answers to the following questions:

What UNIQUE products, services, lessons do you offer?

Why would a prospect visit your site instead of your competitor's?

Is your competitor missing some need that is fairly obvious?  -- Can you fill that gap?

Why would a visitor, once attracted to your site, return?

Why would a visitor tell others about your site?  (By recommending it he is putting his reputation, his credibility, on the line)!

Why would a visitor want to be kept updated on changes to your site?

Without deeply examining these questions, you're destined to wander aimlessly.  You're destined to waste a lot of time and other resources.  Invest some time up front clearly defining your niche and what you can provide the customer that would make him want to visit your site.

Answer WHY Anyone Would Want To Visit YOUR Site as the first step in attracting traffic.  This will help you to properly focus all of your traffic building efforts.

"The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably thought and act."
*-- Orison Swett Marden {1850-1924 Founder of Success Magazine}