This time of year everyone seems to be making resolutions for the New Year. I know that most folks resolve to lose weight, quit smoking, or learn a new language – but I’m resolving to increase traffic to my web site. Here are the top 5 things I am resolving to get done.

1. I resolve to have a rock-solid title tag. Most search engines, including the big three – Google, Yahoo, and MSN – place some importance on a website’s title tag. You can prove this to yourself by searching for something in Google, and then observing the title tag of the search result. Odds are that the title tag contains some form of the term that you searched for – so should the title tag on your web site.

2. I resolve to use text and not graphics to describe things on my site. The search engine spiders can’t categorize what they can’t see. If you are using graphics for main topic headings on your site, you should switch these to text. As the spiders crawl your site, they can then review your text and sort your web site appropriately.

3. I resolve to have a better list of keywords for Google AdWords. If you don’t know how to use pay-per-click search to drive website traffic – find out how fast. If you do, then you should have an exhaustive list of targeted keywords. Since you only pay when someone clicks on your ad, it makes sense to have lots of different search terms in your list. Plus it keeps costs down. Google has also introduced a cool, new tool to help expand your keyword lists. It’s called the ‘keyword tool’. You can access it from where you adjust your keyword bids. Try it out – it will help you increase your targeted keywords.

4. I resolve to issue a press release on my website’s activities. I have released news a few times through a great service at www.prweb.com. It works pretty well. The site permits any level of financial commitment to release your news – from free to several hundred dollars. I have found that for a minimum of $80 you get Yahoo! news distribution – which seems to really boost penetration. You must have something to tell people about if you run a web site – so why not publish a press release and get some additional site traffic?

5. I resolve to give something away on my web site this year. Site visitors expect to get something for nothing at your web site. Either information, or a free download, or something. So this year I’m going to increase the amount of free stuff I give away. We’ll have more free information and more free tools. This will drive the additional traffic that is necessary to monetize my web site.

I am resolved to have a great new year for my web site. The resolutions listed above should help me increase my website traffic. If you have a web site, why not try a couple of the ideas listed above this year? Good luck in increasing your website traffic.

About Derek Vaughan

Derek Vaughan has been actively marketing on the Internet since 1995. His extensive online marketing experience includes the online direct marketing of books for $300 million per year NYSE traded book publisher Thomas Nelson. Mr. Vaughan has also marketed products online at the Walt Disney Company as the online marketing manager for the ESPNstore.com. Mr. Vaughan was also the marketing manager for the launch of the NASCAR Online Store.

In web hosting, Mr. Vaughan served for 3 years as Senior Director of Marketing for the Affinity Internet, Inc. family of companies. Most recently Mr. Vaughan has been consulting with Cheap Web Hosting Directory. Mr. Vaughan holds degrees from both the Indiana University School of Music and Purdue University. He has also received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Owen School at Vanderbilt University.

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