The Easiest Way for Startup Websites to Build Traffic Fast

Unless you have a substantial Internet marketing budget, it can be difficult for a new website to find visitors.

Pay-per-click ads are an option, as are press releases and sponsored links, but each of these can be expensive at best, and wasteful at worst.

So, if you need to quickly draw traffic to a brand-new website, why not do it the easiest way and borrow it from another site that’s already getting lots of targeted visitors?

Don’t worry, we aren’t advocating any kind of piracy or unethical optimization tactics. Instead, we are talking about inviting links from trusted sites with strong articles, videos, and other content.

Here is your quick five-step plan for making it happen:

1.Find out who your customers are and where they hang out.

One great thing about the growth of the Internet is that there are established websites and forums for nearly every interest, industry, and hobby on the planet. While that might make it harder to “break in,” it also means that your potential customers probably already have a virtual meeting place that you can pull visitors from. Find out which ones are most popular so you can target them directly. LinkedIn Groups, Google Communities, and Industry blogs are great starting points.

2. Figure out what they like to find and aren’t currently getting.

No matter how well established these websites are, there are probably items or topics that potential customers are missing (like subjects that aren’t being addressed, products that aren’t being sold, social features that aren’t integrated, etc.). If you can find out what buyers wish they were getting more of – especially when it comes to information and advice – you can start to create a foothold for building traffic.

3. Establish contacts with your target website.

Once you have some target websites and possible topics of discussion, it’s time to reach out. Explain to the business owner or webmaster at the existing site that you’d like to contribute some material. Emphasize that what you’ll be adding isn’t meant to compete or draw anyone away from the site, but to add a new dimension to the discussion and make the site more valuable. They will realize that you’re trying to build your own traffic, of course, but most business people and webmasters are open to this if they’re getting great content in return. It’s a classic win-win arrangement.

4. Send some interesting and unique content that adds to their site.

The important point here is that you have to follow through on your promise: What you write, post, or otherwise contribute to the site has to be insightful, valuable, and unique. That benefits the website owner, of course, but also gives visitors a reason to find out more about you. At the end of each piece or item, of course, there should be a back link to your site, inviting them to check out more similar material.

5. Build up your own site with different content to keep people coming back.

Finally, you need to populate your own website (or blog, etc.) with more interesting and unique content that focuses on your core products, topics, or areas of interest. Over time, visitors will continue to come back if they find you are a growing resource. In fact, before long, you might find that other people are trying to contribute to your site as a way to build their own credibility.

Getting traffic from a bigger, more established website in your industry isn’t always easy, but it is the most proven way to quickly grow your site’s traffic and profile (not to mention earn a place on Google and the other search engines at the same time). So, follow these tips, stay the course for a few weeks or months, and then watch your visitor statistics take off!