Top 5 Tips to Growing Your Website Traffic

1. You can only grow what you can measure! Get a good web analytics package on your website. You need to be measuring traffic, conversions, where your visitors and sales are coming from and lots of other metrics. Google Analytics is free, and it does a good job. There are other packages that do a better job and they cost you more than free. Yahoo just bought a company called Index Tools and I use this package with one of my customers and it has some very nice functionality. Most web analytic tools have similar functionality, just be sure to get one and use it.

2. Start testing various traffic generating methods and see what works for your market. Test, Measure, Tweak and Test again. It’s really a no brainer, it you are generating sales and it’s a positive ROI, go for it. OK, so I guess you want to hear what to test ;-). The first thing everyone with a website should work on is SEO. Say no more!

3. If you are selling products to consumers you want to check out affiliates and shopping sites. Think of these sites as being your resellers and helping you to sell your products for a fee/commission.

4. Search Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, like Google AdWords or Yahoo Search, is something you want to test. Not only will you find out which words people are searching on to find products like yours, you will find out which words people are more likely to buy on. There is also a wealth of information on what your competitors do with search. As in most businesses, it’s important to know your competitors extremely well. I give all my clients detailed information on which words their competitors are buying, which works their competitors are optimizing organically and what are their most popular words.

5. Last but not least, email campaigns to your house list. Your house list consists of your customers and people who have signed up to get your newsletters, information on discounts, sales, etc. Constant Contact is a great service to manage your list and email campaigns. Continue to grow this list, keep it updated and use this list to stay in contact. If you want to do direct mail or need business cards printed, Vista Print is good a low price option.

Weight Loss Roller Coaster

I hate roller coasters. The big kind, the small kind, and everything in between. But most of all, I hate the weight loss roller coaster. This is probably because I can never seem to get off of it. Up and down, round and round I go… where I’ll stop nobody seems to know. That’s the biggest problem: while the man-made kind only lasts a few minutes, the weight loss kind seems to last forever.

So why can’t I to lose the weight permanently? Some would chalk it up to lack of self control. I’d go with that explanation except that I seem to have extreme self control in other parts of my life. I’m not an excessive shopper. I stick to my budget every month. My house is fairly clean. I rarely drink. So lack of self control doesn’t seem to jive with other areas of my life.

Irritated with myself, I decided to go to the doctor. When she told me I had a medical issue, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), that causes me to be more at risk to gaining weight I thought “Great! Now I can take a pill to get over it”. Wrong. There is no cure for PCOS. Rather the solution is to find a new way of living that allows my body to operate in the most efficient way it can. Lucky for me she had a ton of information for me to read on the subject. I also went home and did additional research. One of the best places I’ve found for information on PCOS is at insulitelabs.com. Here’s what I learned from them:

• People with PCOS suffer from a condition known as Insulin Resistance which causes the body to inadequately produce normal amounts of to effectively convert food to energy. As a result, the body demands more food than it actually needs which can lead to weight gain. Often, eating binges occur as a result of Insulin Resistance.
  

• A low-carb diet has proved to be effective in not only weight loss programs but also in helping to control the production of insulin in the pancreas. But keep in mind that females of normal weight and lean women can also have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.
  

• Exercise is a main component of dealing with the symptoms of PCOS. Exercise increases the sensitivity of your cell walls to insulin for the vital conversion of glucose to energy, boosts metabolism, burns calories and helps to level out the production of insulin the pancreas.
• Choose a balanced, healthy diet that doesn’t include foods with a high glycemic index, like bread, pasta, rice, refined sugars, potatoes and corn. Avoid artificial sweeteners which can raise insulin levels.
• Avoid stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and tobacco. Even over-the-counter cold medications can contain stimulants, causing spikes in insulin production and release.
• Your doctor may need to address collateral issues such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol issue with medication until they come under control naturally with your weight loss.
• Find a PCOS support group to chat with women who are going through the same experience as you are as it can be frustrating to find common ground with others around you who can loose weight and/or maintain it more easily.

So the bottom line is that I have to go farther than most people to keep the weight in check. I need to crave discipline in diet and exercise, not carbs. I need to seek balance in my life, not in a Snickers bar. And most of all, after all of the self reflection and research, I’ve learned that I actually am in control of this roller coaster ride. I just needed a little extra training in amusement park operations to find out how to get off of it with my confidence and self-esteem firmly in place.

“According to a recently released study by IDC, the U.S. Internet Advertising 2008-2012 Forecast and Analysis, overall Internet advertising revenue will double from $25.5 billion in 2007 to $51.1 billion in 2012. During the forecast period, Internet advertising will grow about eight times as fast as advertising at large.

The Internet will go from the number 5 medium all the way to the number 2 medium in just 5 years, says the report, making it bigger than newspapers, bigger than cable TV, bigger even than broadcast TV, and second only to direct marketing.

Video advertising will be the principal disruptor of Internet advertising during this time, as its revenue grows sevenfold from $0.5 billion in 2007 to $3.8 billion in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate of 49.4%. Brand advertisers will shift significant amounts of money into video commercials, primarily from broadcast television and to a lesser extent from cable television. ”

Put on your seat belts, it’s going to be a great ride! But back to the beach vacation, I need to get just….a few new things, luggage and a great bag from Kate Spade at the sale at eBags and tickets for a fun event, Beyonce or Hannah Montana are the top choices at TicketsNow But don’t forget the Chocolates, I’m going to the Beach, maybe I do forget the Chocolates just this once!

Now back to that anniversary gift, I really do love jewelry, a hybrid car, or travel to the beach? All comments are welcome, and thanks again for all the referrals!!

Stay optimistic and do what works!

- Kathy, Lee and Trina

The Online Optimist is written by the founders of TriCalyx, a web services company specializing in optimizing business for the web. You can learn more about TriCalyx by visiting their website at www.tricalyx.com.

In early 2007, three women technologists founded TriCalyx, an online business optimization and web development company. At that time, we also started this blog, the Online Optimist, as a way to share our online business knowledge with you, the readers. Business has been great and now TriCalyx has been nominated as one of Startup Nation’s Top 100 Home-Based Businesses of 2007.

We have been placed into the “Greenest” category since we all work virtually from our home offices, carpool to customer meetings, and are virtually paperless in addition to all three founders driving high fuel-efficient vehicles!

We would love it if you could help us win by placing a vote for us at the following link. We are listed as “TriCalyx”. You can vote once daily for us, and we would definitely appreciate the votes!

Vote Now! (http://hb100.startupnation.com/hb100topten/)

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