What a great question. How do you build traffic to your Web site? Sorry, but if you are looking for a quick fix, you can stop reading now. Thanks for coming. We wish you the best.

The truth is, there are no shortcuts here. Having a great kowledge base, looking for ways to exploit your competitors shortcomings, and keeping an eye on the future are undoubtedly extremely helpful. However, there is no substitute for hard work, consistency on what you do, and a focus on integrating all of your marketing efforts.

If your digital marketing efforts have met with stubborn resistance from search engine rankings and social media platforms, it's likely because you're not following the rules. Don't get mad at me, I didn't make the rules. I promise not to get mad at you, either. You may not even know what the rules are. They've changed. It's not your fault.

Building site traffic is critical to your company's survival, and here's a secret:

Many of your competitors are still unaware that the shift to online marketing is having a dramatic and immediate impact on market share.

Whoever wakes up to this fact first will be the clear market share winner. History is full of examples where "first to market" and early adopters win. Playing catch up after the fact, after your site has fallen further and further behind, makes coming out of obscurity increasingly difficult. Building traffic today catapults you to page one rankings tomorow.

So what can you do to build traffic to your site?

Make the Commitment
Make it real, and make it now. Realize that you are going to spend 20 hours a week at a minimum working the system. If you can't do it yourself, then find someone in your organization or outsource it. Don't think you have the money to outsource it? Take a portion of your traditional media marketing investment (Yes, this is an investment...) that may not be working for you the way it used to work for you, and re-apportion it to your online inbound marketing efforts. If you hire someone who knows what they are doing, you will be shocked at how quickly the needle moves.  

Give it Away, Give it Away, Give it Away now.
Did the Red Hot Chili Peppers get it right? I think so...white papers, how-to guides, buying guides, checklists, planning sheets, and other meaningful, well-written information places you directly on your prospect's radar. Afraid to give too much away? No problem, your future customers can just keep Googleing, and find it somewhere else. A word of caution here: Thinly veiled attempts to lure unsuspecting prospects into schemes where you hit them over the head like figures in a whack-o-mole game, don't work. This is about educating customers and gaining trust. 

Integrate Your Marketing Strategy
Every piece of your marketing strategy (you do have a marketing strategy, don't you?) should work with every other piece of marketing that your business produces. Your email marketing campaigns should feed into your blog, and your postcards should offer something that can be redeemed on your Web site. Eveything should have a similar theme, look, and feel, too. By the way, the blog that is so important to your outreach? Sites that receive regular infusions of fresh content earn higher rankings with Google, particularly if that content contributes to a larger body of work. Using keywords that 'speak' to the multiple personas that you are trying to attract result in higher rankings as well.

So, after reading this, you now know to:

• Offer valuable, information rich content.
• Keep the content fresh. 
• Start now, before your competitors wake up.
• Integrate everything! How does today's blog article show up in tomorrrows e-news?

 Need more help? Download our free Internet Marketing Guide.