6 Evergreen Traffic Tactics That Still Work
Evergreen Traffic Tactics ! The Internet’s official birthday is January 1, 1983, but it didn’t become widespread until the mid to late 1990s. It is 2022 at the time of this writing, so we can confidently state that humans have been utilizing the Internet in its current form for almost 25 years. I’m sure your imagination made that old “dial up” internet connection noise and made you cringe. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, thank your lucky stars you’re still young. Evergreen Traffic Tactics might be oldies, but they are goodies! Read on and evergreen your traffic strategies.
Advertising strategies on the Internet began as soon as it became mainstream, and we’ve come a long way since then. Although banner ads are claimed to be the earliest kind of Internet advertising, I recall the days of classified ad sites and message boards, which predate banner ads, so I’ll argue these were the first forms of advertising. And, while technology has evolved a lot, there are still some “old ways” of advertising that work today, and I strongly advise you to include them into your business. I mean, if something isn’t broken, why fix it?
Here are six “traditional” traffic methods you can employ to promote your company and drive traffic to it:
1. Banner Ads
The first banner ad was paid for by AT&T in 1994, when they paid HotWire $30,000 to post banner ads on their website for three months. They received a clickthrough rate of 44%. To put this in context, the current industry standard clickthrough rate is. 1% Now known as display ads, banner ads can be purchased in a variety of methods, but the best approach to get your banners on famous websites is to use media purchasing strategies.
2. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
Planet Oasis introduced pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to the Internet in 1996. PPC advertising has evolved significantly in recent years, and there are a variety of approaches available. You may get into PPC advertising in a variety of methods, from search ads to social ads. Some studies even claim that it is the most effective form of advertising because the visitor has already expressed an interest in your website. They’ve seen your ad, they’re intrigued, and they’ve gone to your website to learn more. In any case, after 26 years, it’s obviously not a method to overlook.
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO was first used as a word in 1997, and it has probably altered more than any other approach I’ve described. We’ve progressed from “stuffing” a bunch of popular keyword phrases (even if they weren’t relevant) and getting a lot of traffic. Now marketers apply the most complicated techniques for gaining (and attempting to hold) the coveted top spots in the search engines.
Today, SEO works by developing a strategy for your organisation and putting that strategy into action on a regular basis. Things like keyword research to locate the right keywords to help you achieve the business objectives you’ve set. Creating content that appeals to both your audience and search engines. With a slew of other elements tossed in for good measure. SEO is here to stay, and it’s a strategy I recommend if you’re not in a very competitive niche or can outsource your SEO efforts. Because of the frequent changes in search engine algorithms, SEO can be a full-time job!
4. Affiliate Program Marketing
Affiliate marketing and affiliate programme marketing are sometimes confused. While affiliate marketers are required to make your affiliate programme successful, affiliate programme marketing is the process of establishing an affiliate programme for your company, recruiting affiliates, and having them promote your products/services for you in exchange for a commission.
In 1989, William J. Tobin is credited with creating the first affiliate programme, which he put up for his PC Flowers and Gifts company. By 1996, it had grown to 2500 affiliates and was generating millions of dollars in revenue each year.
Today, affiliate programmes are omnipresent, and it’s a fantastic strategy to incorporate into your business if you want to acquire a lot of traffic and revenue from the millions of affiliate marketers out there. If you have your own items or services that you can charge others a commission for, this is a strategy you should not overlook!
5. Email Marketing
According to legend, in 1978, a man named Gary Thuerk sent an email to 400 persons advertising his company’s computers. This one email resulted in a 13 million dollar transaction! So, in 1978, there was email? I’m not sure, but it’s a fantastic story, right?
However, email advertising (either to your own list or through paid email advertising) has proven to be effective for a long time, and it’s something you should consider incorporating into your business in a variety of ways.
Things like buying email lists, actually SPAMMING people, and a slew of other tactics have popped up over time, but the best thing you can do right now is create a list building strategy to build your own list and use email marketing to meet your business goals, which can vary greatly depending on your industry. The bottom line is that email marketing that adheres to today’s standards and tactics is effective!
6. Communities
We used to communicate with people via message boards and chat groups back in the day. I lost count of the number of acquaintances and relationships I made in those communities. The first message board, according to legend, was constructed in 1978. Is it 1978 all over again? I thought the Internet was founded in 1983? Anyway, then came forums, which allowed for the growth of even larger communities. Forums were becoming more popular in the early 2000s, and business owners/marketers were using them to drive a lot of targeted traffic to their websites.
Fast forward to now, and our access to communities has changed (think social media and communities that you can establish), but it’s still a terrific way to drive traffic if done right. A great example of communities is membership sites. Here is a link to an article on plradvisor.com that describes how affiliate marketers can use membership sites to grow their business.
To Sum Up …
So now you know six different methods, their backstories, and how to employ them right now. I hope you’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane, but more importantly, that it’s opened your eyes to tried-and-true website traffic strategies that have worked for decades and continue to work now. When it comes to determining which traffic strategies to use in your organisation, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest tactics, which frequently only work in the short term. Have at least a few of “ancient approaches” in your marketing armoury to ensure you’re putting your money where it counts! Before you leave, maybe check out another of our traffic articles, 6 Important Website Traffic Strategies.