Your niche dictates your traffic potential

The header on this page seems self evident, but is especially true when using search marketing since:

Search engines do not create traffic, they merely direct it.

This applies to both organic and paid search and is the reason why I refer to these methods as traffic COLLECTION methods as opposed to Web 2.0, email, banner and offline advertising which CAN manufacture traffic. The latter traffic manufacturing methods insert an interrupt into someone's personal space in an attempt to get them to go to a website. Typically conversion rates are much, much lower than with organic search or ppc, if you can somehow manage to measure them.

So what are the implications of the fact that SEs distribute traffic and don't create it? The biggest one is to make sure you pick the right niche! I know for some of you with an established web site this is like saying "pick the right parents" as the best way of getting rich, but it is nevertheless true!

If your niche gets no search traffic, it's pretty much pointless to expect even the best search marketing campaign to have a positive ROI. If you find yourself in this sad position either focus on traffic generation approaches or find a new niche. Okay, you ask yourself, but how do I know what situation applies to me?

Keyword research is the answer!

Google provides free tools for this that are getting better all the time and with a little reading and some work, you can come up with a pretty good idea of the number of searches your keywords are attracting each month.

If you assume an SEO campaign can get you to #1 position on Google, you can also assume about 40% of the total search traffic will click your link and visit your site once a #1 ranking is achieved. From that point you can determine if the investment in SEO would be a smart choice for your business.

On to the next article in the short course: Keywords, Keywords, Keywords

If you are interested in understanding what things need to change on your site to attract more visitors, simply click on the button below to request a free site evaluation.