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Relying too much on search engines

by Mar Matthias Darin

I have spent enough time as a web master, web page designer and server administrator (10 years under my belt) to see a very bad trend that ultimately hurts any site that focuses solely on it. I'm sure the title of this article gave what the "it" is away... Search engines, all too often, administrators and designers focus too much of their time on search engines and ignore more direct methods of generating traffic.

Yes, there are other ways to generate traffic that often work better then search engines. Lets start with something that usually gets ignored completely - classified ads. The local "nifty thrifty" or small community classifieds paper can actually be a boost in traffic when its really needed, during the slow periods. Holiday shopping trends show that businesses that advertise in such papers do gain a slight edge over businesses that don't use these cheap resources as efficiently or at all.

Another often overlooked resource that is your business card. Even if you don't have a business, a business card advertising your blog or web site can be a real traffic generator. Plus a pack of one thousands cards can also be very cheap. Stapling a business card up on a community bulletin board in a library can lead to an unexpected traffic boost as well. Making a simple gesture such as leaving a business card behind on a table in a doctor's office or even in another business can also lead to traffic. Business cards also work well in promotion by word of mouth. Rather then racking off some unweildingly insanely long URL, just simply whip out a business card.

So the next time your site is in a rut, think about the simplest and cheapest ways to generate traffic and believe me, there are many more of these methods that really do work better than search engines. Remember, it can take upto a year or more to be listed in some search engines whereas leaving a business card or paying a few bucks for a classified ad are near instantaneous.

Top tags: business, traffic, card, engines, search, site, web, work, better, boost

Comments from PaulsHealthBlog.com ^24.144.23.18

I have done all of the above.

In particular, business cards have been good for me.

Most people simply don't know enough about driving traffic to their site via search engines.

Comments from carol at A Second Cup ^{67.235.37.214}

Thank You Matthias. I have business cards. I never though to post them on community bulletin boards.

Comments from Mar Matthias Darin

PaulsHealthBlog.com: Very true. I also believe people don't diversify their approach with regards to search engines but rather they'll focus on a single search engine and ignore the rest.

carol: You'welcome.

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