I recently ran into an old friend who had a Second Hand shop up on the Avenue. After some small talk, I asked him how business was going, and he told me that he had closed the store down and moved to another location. I was somewhat surprised since he had been there for about 10 years. When I asked him why he had moved, he told me matter of factly, "Bill, you've got to go where the traffic is". While that's good general advice it's a little different in the world of cyberspace. While there are some methods which will enable you to receive instant traffic, the reality for most of us is it takes time and effort to build a web presence and steady traffic. Building long term traffic can be done in several ways, and the best part is many are FREE. Some of my favorites are; linking, traffic exchanges, writing articles, and posting to forums.

One of the foremost ways that people use to increase traffic is linking to other sites. While there are many linking strategies, the one I'm referring to is exchanging reciprocal links with other sites. I first used this strategy with an 'Oldies Internet Station' I had started about 5 years ago. While our site was strictly about Oldies music, I realized that there were many related sites such as collectibles, movie posters, CD and record sales, nostalgia sites, etc., that were prime candidates for exchanging links. After making a list of suitable sites, I emailed the people running them, and showed them why exchanging links would be of mutual benefit to both of us. While not everyone responded, some did, and I continue to receive traffic from some of the sites to this day. A couple of points; look for sites that relate to what you're about, but don't try to link to sites selling the exact same thing. Another thing is, you'll want to find sites that already have hundreds of links to other sites. In most cases, your link will get lost among the crowd. Linking to other sites is often overlooked by many people but can be a great way to build long term traffic. The thing is, you just never know how much traffic one site can bring you over time.

Traffic exchanges are another way to build long term traffic if used properly. The mistake that many people make with them is that they try and sell some product directly on the exchanges. A more effective way to use traffic exchanges is to build a network of people who will continue to build traffic for you many years from now. There are two basic approaches that you can use to do this. First, you can join several exchanges and link one site to another. For instance, if you had four sites named Joe, John, Pete, and George, you would advertise Joe's exchange on John's site, you then would advertise John's site on Pete's site, etc., until you've linked all the sites together. Another way to do this is to advertise one U.R.L. that has numerous exchanges integrated into it so that by joining one site, your signup has the potential of joining numerous exchanges under you. A couple of points, many of the people that sign up under you will do nothing. To work traffic exchanges effectively, you will need to have lots of patience and understand that sooner or later you will run across that go getter that will be active and join all the programs and actively surf building your network and traffic. Also, you'll have greater success if you create your own unique pages. So many people on the exchanges are using the same affiliate pages that their effectiveness have become quite diluted. Create a simple page or series of pages and do as mentioned previously. Traffic exchanges can build lots of long term traffic but it takes time and patience.

Another way to receive lots of long term traffic is by writing articles for directories. You'll benefit several ways from writing articles and submitting them to Article Directories. First, you'll receive traffic directly from people who read your articles and click on the link in the 'Resource Box'. The Resource Box is a small box of text at the end of the article where you're allowed to talk a little about yourself and your business. It also includes a link back to your site. The real kicker that will bring you lots of long term traffic is when a webmaster or some other person with a website decides to include your article on his website. Along with your article, you guessed it..your Resource Box will be included with the article and a link back to your site. Finally, as you write articles and your incoming links increase, more weight will be given to your site since search engines often give added weight to sites with numerous revelant incoming links. All in all, writing articles for directories is a real win-win-win situation!

Posting to forums is another great way to build long term traffic. When you sign up for a forum they'll usually allow you to include a 'signature' which is usually three or four lines of text which allows you to advertise yourself and your website. This means that every time you post to a forum, you're advertising yourself and your business, and these posts often stay active for years. Also, Google indexes forums looking for relevant content, so if you're a regular poster, you'll receive lots of FREE advertising! A couple of things to keep in mind; when posting make sure that you're saying something of relevance, don't just add a 'me too' kind of post, but try and add something to the discussion. Also, when joining a forum, check the rules to make certain that you're allowed to include your signature. Some forums require you to post 50 times or more before your signature is included. Be certain to understand the Forum's rules before joining.

While building long term traffic takes time and effort, it's well worth it since things you do today will bring you targeted traffic years from now. Start today by using some of the free traffic builders, and be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, but...it was built.