[meaghannf]

I feel as if I've spent the last two months very seriously promoting my site using many of the tricks and tips I've learned here and on other blogs and forums about Search Engine Optimization and internet marketing. I've also been running google ads. My backlinks are increasing, I'm getting a bit more press on blogs and such, but my traffic is completely static. (I'm getting about 40 uniques a day).

Of course I'm biased, but I feel like I have a fairly strong site in terms of content and unique niche but I'm just not getting anywhere with developing my user base.

Have the rest of you been at this stage? What did you do to get out of the rut? How did you motivate yourself? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

[rogercbryan]

I'm in the same boat as you. I've spent the past six months trying to learn some of the Search Engine Optimization ropes in order to promote my sites. I'm seriously contemplating using a third party company when my new site launches in a few weeks.

For about $250 to $600 per month you can hire someone who does this for a living. They will hopefully be much better at it then you and I. If you are serious about making your site work (become profitable) then you might want to consider this. I still haven't made my decision... but feel I can't generate profitable traffic on my own.

[meaghannf]

Yeah, I've thought about that - I did actually just pay someone a small fee to submit my site to a number of directories so I'll post back and let you know if anything comes of that. I think that's more for backlinks rather than relevant traffic, but we'll see. I'd prefer not to shell out another couple hundred bucks but whatever it takes .

[enriquerojas]

Originally Posted by meaghannf

Yeah, I've thought about that - I did actually just pay someone a small fee to submit my site to a number of directories so I'll post back and let you know if anything comes of that. I think that's more for backlinks rather than relevant traffic, but we'll see. I'd prefer not to shell out another couple hundred bucks but whatever it takes .

Thats your first error. Did you know that this people use a software to submit your site to directories? Any way, if you are serious about building your business I can help you. I am a dedicated Search Engine Optimization/SEM consultant. I can study your site, do a market research, analyze your logs and I can help you increase traffic, and when the time is right we can analyze and make that traffic convert.

I am not a forum Search Engine Optimization guy, I am Search Engine Optimization engineer. The difference? I provide you with reports, analysis, we discuss every process I am on your side to make this happen. PM and we can talk further.

I am located in Connecticut. We have here Yale University, Quinnipiac, we are close to Harvard and others. I can help you market this baby out.

Best,
ER

[Power_Advisor27]

Hi meaghannf,

Before you go running off to pay for anyone else to help you in your traffic efforts, I have a few suggestions that might help you you.

I see that your website has all kinds of articles related to college students and various aspects of college/campus life. But how much market research have you done on your target audience? Have you done enough research (or at least searched for research) which will clue you in on their likes, dislikes and how they prefer to use the Web? If not, you might want to do so, and here's why.

College students are a active generation who need certain stimuli to gain their interest. Many of the features which have made social networking sites so famous are exactly the kinds of things that draw the attention of someone in this age range. However, I'm seeing very little to none of that on your website. This could be why your traffic is static.

Young adults are very into Web 2.0 at this point, and though you'd think they read a LOT, any chance they can get to do without reading...they're there! Why do you think YouTube, Myspace and similar sites are so popular with this age group? Because they are allowed to do on those sites. They can upload, watch, comment on and rate video, upload & listen to audio, create profiles (which allow them to display their uniqueness), share info and so much more. There is tons for them to do on such sites, but not so much with your site. The articles are helpful to be sure, but when the only thing they can do is read and comment, this crowd will likely move on. They've been spoiled by the world of Web 2.0.

As a side note, I've also gotten the feeling from your website that it is primarily targeted toward young women. Your design, graphics and your choice is certain topics suggest this. This means you're alienating young men who might also be into the advice and tidbits you have to offer.

Perhaps if you were to structure your website more like a social network and give it a more "co-ed" feel, allowing all of your target visitors to do more on your site, your traffic and popularity would increase. Also, getting more involved in today's current events and issues would really help. College students are very into the upcoming presidential elections, environmental issues, health issues and freedom of speech (which is currently being tampered with across the Web). Why not allow for discussions and interaction surrounding these topics? It would give you more to rank for in search engines, and pull in more of your target audience.

Think about it this way. One of the things that fascinates this age group so much about college life is dorm living. Dorm living speaks freedom and community. Your website should reflect the same. But at the same time, these are folks who are officially becoming adults by our laws and standards. They want to be viewed as adults. They want their voices heard, want the chance to express themselves. This is why social networks are so popular. If you're interested in this approach, just let me know. This is something I do for a living, so I can help you get set up rather quickly. There is much more to this than I can explain on this forum, but it's basically all about knowing your target audience inside and out, knowing how to push their buttons and knowing how to move them to action. While I love the subtle design of your site, it does nothing for moving me to action. So while it's a great site, there is still much work to be done. Let me know if you'd like any assistance with this, and good luck to you!

-PA27

[clp11479]

instead of spending on generic placement through google, i'd look to spend to advertise on a more targeted place like facebook.
also, like someone mentioned, you can download free software to submit your site to hundreds of search directories.
what is going to drive traffic to your site is if people find value in the content. if so, then your uniques should grow through word of mouth.

might be wise to spend some time in getting college kids to take a survey pertaining to your site, i.e. ask them what they like, what they dislike, if they'd use your use, why or why not, etc... You may need to spend a little money to offer them some kind of incentive, but the feedback may be worth it.

[capforge]

Originally Posted by clp11479

might be wise to spend some time in getting college kids to take a survey pertaining to your site, i.e. ask them what they like, what they dislike, if they'd use your use, why or why not, etc...

Yes- before spending any more time trying to build traffic, you really need to find out if there is traffic interested in coming. If you ask people- are you interested in dorm life- they may say yes. But are they searching for it on their own? You can't build traffic to your site if there isn't any traffic there in the first place.

For example, a quick check at wordtracker shows only around 40 searches a day across the web for dorm decorating and related terms. So you getting 40 uniques a day may actually be pretty good- and expect a huge hit in this very specific niche may not be realistic without aligning yourself with bigger/more universal college related topics.

[meaghannf]

Thanks all, this is really fantastic stuff.

Power_adviser, I totally agree with the web 2.0 content. As I am a college student myself, my next step is to integrate some more interactive content.

clp - surveys are a great idea and I'll take a look at the options for surveying other college students ASAP.

cap - thanks for the heads up about search terms, I hadn't even thought of that. Also, those terms are more popular when incoming freshmen and their parents look at that info in the fall.

Thanks again guys, this is really helpful!

[Power_Advisor27]

There is a website which may be useful to you as far as the survey goes. I just recently used this site to conduct a small survey for my local business, and it was quite successful. It's called SodaHead.com, and it is like a combination social network and widget bank. It allows you to create surveys on a variety of topics, and site users can submit their opinions, even add comments that further explain their choices. There are tons of ways to create a survey, but this site has the social network already attached.

It also provides you with a link so that you can promote your survey. I suggest doing so on other social networks that have a large population of college-age individuals, such as Facebook, Myspace, Student.com, Sconex, Classmates.com and even MeetUp.com. Hopefully you'll find some use in this.

-PA27

[FELEX84]

I do not advertise through google adwords,but i submitted my blog to almost 250 web directory which is my first step.Next i will work hard to research keywords before i post my topic,this is good to get high rank in Search Engine Optimization.Daily i left sincere comment to almost 50 blogs -Which will link back to my topic related to them .I see the results of getting good traffics .