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Recently, I stumbled upon a simple way to hit the target on my Internet marketing strategy for driving potential web traffic to my site. For me, this was an incredible “Ah Ha,” because I am not a “techie” and my sales strengths are building relationships and understanding numbers. The Internet by its very nature provides an immediate obstacle to building relationships, but offers opportunities to gather and analyze numbers. And this is where many small businesses and even some larger businesses fail to capitalize upon this potential business strategy in their Internet marketing efforts.

Every day I receive at least one if not several articles about article submission as a marketing strategy to increase web site traffic. And yet, not one of these articles discusses if these articles are meeting the needs of potential readers. One senses that if you write enough articles or white papers (quantity), you will increase your business (quality). This reminds me of the old saying “Build It and They Will Come.”

So how do you truly know what articles are being read when you use a paid article distribution service and more specifically what topics are generating the greatest interest? Even though my practice focuses on education and training through organizational and leadership development, I recently authored an article “How to Gain Web Traffic Through 9 Simple Tips.” This article was my sharing of my recent experiences through the advice of two marketing experts (www.hodgecomunications and www.leaders-perspective) as I actively worked one goal within my strategic plan to increase traffic to my web site.

This article was first posted on 08/27/05 at www.ezinearticles.com and then submitted to a paid article distribution service www.articlemarketer.com. I was quite surprised when reading the “time viewed” through my free membership and monitoring page at Ezine Articles. Using my most frequently viewed article “Work Ethics - A Paradigm Shift” posted on 04/20/05, I then checked the average daily views through an excel spreadsheet that I had created for all submitted articles. What I discovered to my amazement was that the web traffic article was receiving almost 15 views a day while the other article received around 3 views a day. To ensure that this wasn’t an anomaly, I reviewed other daily view rates and learned that no other article was even close.

Wow! With 38 articles in the distribution highway, one article was out performing the other 37 by almost five to one. Remember the Parento Principle: 20% of your efforts account for 80% of your results. For someone who continually advocates if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, I then realized that this adage also applies to writing articles as well as to watching the statistics from my web site. Since this article was distributed, my daily web visits have increased 50% in just 6 days.

Is this article solely responsible for this increase? Absolutely, not. However, given the measurable increase in traffic, the number side of my brain began to click in. I began to wonder if I concentrated my activity during the next month on articles focusing on Internet marketing and web traffic would I continue to secure a daily view rate of 15 or greater for those submissions? During the next 30 days, I hope to have a measurable answer to that question and please feel free to contact me if you wish to know the answer as well.

If you also want to hit the target on your Internet marketing activities or as some might say, work smarter not harder, can you answer these 5 simple questions:

(1) What are your average daily view rates for your articles?

(2) Are your articles within a specific topic area or a variety of topics?

(3) Have you avoided topics that fail to demonstrate your expertise?

(4) What is your strategy for tracking your article submissions against your daily web traffic?

(5) Do you know for your efforts which specific topic generates the most daily views?

With the Internet being a major source of information, writing articles is a definite strategy to drive traffic to your web site. However, given the amount of time it takes to write a quality article, it does appear to make sense to leverage that time to secure the greatest results possible.

Copyright 2005(c) Leanne Hoagland-Smith, www.processspecialist.com

This article may be freely published. Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).

Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S. CEO of ADVANCED SYSTEMS located outside of Chicago, IL, is the Learning & Process Specialist. With over 25 years of business & education experience, she helps her clients to double their performance. By uniting systems, strategies and people to create loyal internal customers, Leanne delivers ROI solutions in 4 key areas: financials, leadership, relationships and growth & innovation within a variety of industries including education, healthcare, manufacturing and professional services. As co-author of M.A.G.I.C.A.L. Potential: 7 Capacities for Living an Amazing Life Beyond Purpose to Achievement due for 2005 release, Leanne speaks nationally to a variety of audiences. Please contact Leanne at 219.759.5601 or visit http://www.processspecialist.com if you are seeking to connect your passion to your purpose to double your performance for unheard of results.

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Content is the most important factor in drawing traffic to your web site. Internet marketing requires more than just developing a web site and hoping for the best. Providing useful content is imperative to the success of your internet marketing endeavors. There are several ways content can boost your sales, bring visitors to your web site, and increase your profits.

Internet marketers must place the appropriate keywords on their web sites if they expect a high ranking in the search engines. Depending on the nature of your business, finding the most searched for terms on a particular topic will bring visitors to your site. You must provide fresh content on a regular basis if you expect the search engines to find you. You can also increase your subscriptions and your clientele by regularly updating the content on your web site. By offering free reports or informational publications you will increase your customer base. People love to receive free bonuses, and by offering them to new subscribers or clients you will surely attract new business.

You can create additional cash flow by using an auto responder to send out multi-part newsletters containing links to affiliate programs or web sites. Your subscribers will love the constant information and they will be drawn to the links you provide. Training courses and multi-part newsletters serve as excellent freebies for prospective clients.

Simply having a mailing list is not enough to find success in the internet marketing industry. You must build a relationship with your subscribers and actively seek out new subscribers.

As an internet marketer, sending out new content in the form of informational articles will establish your expertise in your particular area of business and will allow you to gain the trust of your subscribers. The result will be that your subscribers will be anxious to pay for the services or products you offer. Make sure to not take advantage of this trust by offering low quality products. You will quickly lose the trust you have gained if you do not offer the best your business has to offer.

Internet marketing has one constant rule. A list of subscribers is money in the bank. Cultivate your list with new content and special offers. Affiliate programs and link sharing are excellent money making tools for internet marketers. By providing new content on a regular basis, you can keep the interest of your subscribers and gain their trust as an expert in your field. Keep your mailing list up to date and offer special promotions and freebies to your subscribers. Success in internet marketing consists of more than developing web sites and waiting for the traffic to flow. You must offer unique content and attractive incentives if you want your business to profit.

Many internet marketing businesses have failed due to lack of updated content. Your web sites must be constantly updated with new content in order to draw the attention of the major search engines. Keep this in mind when cultivating your mailing list. You can keep the interest of your subscribers by offering free information and offers of free training courses. Your subscribers will love the attention and the expertise you share with them. Internet marketing is a great way to put money in the bank. Just be certain you are providing valuable, new information to keep your subscribers interested.

Peter Dobler is a 20+ year veteran in the IT business. He is an active Real Estate Investor and a successful Internet business owner. Collect more free software and bonus content for your own web site at http://www.online-business-idea.com

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