Search engines can provide two forms of traffic- Organic and paid.
To get organic traffic you will need to get your pages listed high in the search engine results for your selected keywords. If you have done you research correctly then this should not be a problem as you will have choosen a niche market that you can compete in.
So for niche websites there shouldn’t really be a requirement to purchase traffic from the search engines using PPC (pay per click).
However you shouldn’t dismiss pay per click traffic out of hand. It is very useful for getting traffic:
- for testing a niche idea
- for getting traffic while your site is new and not ranked well
- for getting traffic for related keywords that are not possible to rank for.
PPC Traffic for Testing
Is your niche idea going to work? Well you don’t really know for sure until you’ve tried it. But getting organic traffic from the search engines can take many months, and require that you create a content heavy website; which in itself takes time.
However you can turn PPC traffic on and off in an instant, and send it to a small mini site which you can put together in days.
This sounds easy, but in practise it requires that you have experience in PPC, Website building and testing to make it work. For that reason it is really more suitable for experienced web masters looking to test a new idea, than beginners looking to start.
Getting Traffic For a New Website
Free organic traffic takes months, and sometimes years to build. For sites that sell a product or service, then it is well worth considering getting the initial site traffic by paying for it.
How much you can/should pay depends on many factors, but usually most site owners will want to see a positive return. Meaning that they will want to pay less for the traffic than they make from the traffic.
Getting Traffic for Related Keywords
You may have a site on computers, and have targeted the term computers for your keyword. You also have several pages of reviews on various computer models that are linked to affiliate programs, and convert very well.
You may find that you can create a PPC campaign to drive traffic to these pages with two main benefits:
- You make more affiliate sales
- You get more site visitors.. Just give them a reason to return
In summary PPC traffic isn’t for everyone, but it does have its uses, and should not be dismissed out of hand. It does however require mastering a new skill, and is not really for beginners. However for experienced web masters it is well worth considering.
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