The Facts about Targeted
Web Site Traffic
You hear it all the time. "You have to get targeted web site
traffic." We can't argue with that. The problem
is, not everybody agrees on what "targeted" web site traffic really
is. While I am not suggesting that the views presented in this article are by
any means the be all and end all, I hope that these opinions and observations
will give you some food for thought. As to this article being about
"facts" of targeted web site traffic, well, I'll let the reader decide
if indeed they are factual or just opinion. Testing
your web site traffic will be your only real clue.
The so called "technical"
definition of targeted web site traffic means traffic that is specifically
looking for the product or service that you happen to be selling on your web
site. Seems simple enough, wouldn't you say? On the surface, it would appear
that there could be no argument as to what targeted web site traffic really is.
Well, I'm going to blow that theory out of the water with an example of "targeted"
web site traffic that isn't so targeted.
You're running an Adwords campaign. Your product happens to be a natural
cure for acne. So in your Adwords campaign you use the following keywords,
acne, acne cure, acne treatment, acne remedy. You're pretty new at this so you
leave it at those few keywords. Now, on the surface, it would appear that these
keywords will get people who are interested in what you have to offer to your
site. But there's a major flaw in this "targeting" of keywords.
You've left out one very important word. Know what it is? It's the word
"natural" which is after all the treatment you're offering. So what
do you think is going to happen? People are going to come to your site, see
that your treatment is "natural" and turn away because they don't
believe in natural cures. They want some
strong medicine to get rid of their acne.
Now, you have to admit, Adwords advertising is probably
one of the most targeted forms of advertising that you can use, and yet in this
case, you're not really getting targeted traffic to your site. At least it's
not as optimized as possible.
Granted, this is a rather extreme example. You would like to think that
somebody running an Adwords campaign for a natural acne cure would use the word
natural in their ad. But not everybody is an expert at Adwords advertising.
The problems
with targeted traffic get even more complex when you have a web site that
doesn't deal with just one particular product or service. What do you think
will happen if your web site is an entertainment web site that doesn't really
specialize in any one particular thing? Let's say you have movie reviews, a
section on DVDs that you sell through Amazon, music reviews, and so on. You may
get people coming to your site who are interested in the general category of
entertainment, but you have no idea what these people are specifically
interested in. They may ultimately find
nothing on your site that they are interested in since entertainment is such a
broad category.
My point is this. Your targeted traffic is only going to be as targeted or
pinpointed as the kind of site that you have and the quality of your
advertising, even under the best of conditions.
This is why so many people complain that
their site is getting lots of visitors but not making any sales. The
problem may very well be that the traffic
they're getting isn't as targeted as they think.
So, do your homework. Make sure your ad campaigns are solid and targeted to
your web site traffic. Make sure your site description is as clear as possible
so that people have a good idea of what they'll find when they get there. The
better job you do on these things, the better your "targeted" traffic
will be.
Source:
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