The Four Horsemen of Web Traffic
Paid Advertising: Paid advertising includes, but is not limited to PPC advertising, which was the subject of our last post. In addition to PPC, an online marketer may choose to pay for banner ads on a specific websites. For an example of this type of add, check the TurboTax ad just below the fold of the Get Rich Slowly Blog.
Organic Search: This term applies to all unpaid search engine query results. This field of web traffic generation is what Search Engine Optimization seeks to master. Search Engine traffic is often referred to as “free” traffic. But this of course is NONSENSE, since we know that “there is no such thing as a free lunch.”
To get any kind of sizable amount of search engine traffic serious hours of optimization work will most likely be required. SEO is an ever evolving field, so in addition applying optimization techniques; the savvy online marketer needs to keep up with his SEO research if he wants to remain competitive. It would be much better if people, instead of calling it “free” traffic simply said… It is traffic that is usually cheaper than PPC.
Social Networking: Using social networking such as MySpace, Facebook, as well as scores of other sites, for the purpose of online marketing is what I like to call “pounding the online pavement.” It’s kind of like going door to door as a sales man trying to get induce someone to buy. Only here you are going from website to website trying to generate some traffic. Social networking sites can be used to do more than just post links to your website.
Social networking sites often allow the formation of groups to discuss specific topics. These groups can be an excellent soap box from which to market yourself. In addition to groups, profiles on social networking sites provide mountains of information which can be mined for marketing purposes. By viewing profiles you can determine which members of the general public might easily become prospects for your offering and which are probably not worth your time.
Viral Marketing: Viral Marketing is the process of creating any type of marketing campaign that will spread itself. In other words once someone comes into contact with part of a viral marketing campaign there is more then a negligible chance that that person will feel the need to tell someone else about that particular product or service. In theory just about any product, service, or content could become viral.
An interesting recent example of viral marketing is an email sent from John Hopkins University with interesting tips on preventing and fighting cancer. The email seems to have done an excellent job at spreading itself all over the internet!
The best part is, this viral campaign does not market a product, it markets a public service message! The email informative, provides information that I for one had never heard of before, and ends with this elegant yet powerful last sentence… “This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.” To see a copy of this email click here.
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Taken together the fields of online Paid Advertising and Organic Search are often lumped together by the term Search Engine Marketing (SEM). There is a fifth source of web traffic that we have intentionaly left out of this post, it is what we refer to as “the hidden source of web traffic” and will be the subject of a future post.
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January 29th, 2008 at 9:42 am
This is very helpful, thanks for your detailed description of web traffic generation. I like the fact that you give very good examples, especially the one about John Hopkins university email, this stuff is the perfect example of a viral campaign!