You probably would like to have the maximum amount of traffic to your website, and you may be looking at your website statistics to see how many people are visiting your site each day. But before you jump for joy over an increase in traffic, you should consider whether you are getting targeted traffic or not. Targeted traffic means that you getting visitors who are in interested in your product. If it is not targeted traffic, then you will not see any corresponding rise in orders, inquiries and sales and when you consider it, these are the most important statistics for your website.

If you want to get the kind of traffic that can be converted into some tangible results then there are two steps to take: Optimize your site for the right search engine keyword or keywords and promote this site in places where your target audience frequents.

Who is your site speaking to and who is it attracting? You can find out by looking at your website statistics and seeing what kind of searches people are finding your site with. If you are selling used cars, then you want your site to be found by people looking for a used car, not a new car. Whatever your site is about you have to be careful that your unique selling proposition is clearly identified and emphasized clearly. Your copywriters have to make sure that the search engine keyword that people use to search for products such as yours is prominent in headlines and in the body text as well as in the link text on the page.

If you are not sure how the usual Internet surfer does his or her surfing, then go to the www.overture.com site and use the search term suggestion tool, and you will see approximately how many people searched for a particular term and what variations they used during the past month. If you get your search engine keyword or keywords right, and if your site is properly optimized for that keyword, then the people who visit your site will be more likely to follow through and buy your product or sign up for your newsletter, or take the actions which you most desire them to take.

Also, once you have your proper keyword or keywords selected and properly blended into your site you can get highly targeted traffic via pay per click advertising. This can be expensive, but if your site can really convert visitors to buyers then it is the fastest way to get results.

Another way to get targeted traffic is to actively promote your site in places where your target audience is located. Imagine what your average customer looks like, how old she or he may be, what they wear, where they live, and most importantly, where they hang out on the web. What kind of websites do they visit? When this is clear in your mind, then you have to bring your site to the notice of this target audience.

Maybe you will have to advertise on sites where they visit, or place your link on such sites or in such directories. Do they visit certain forums? If so, then you should make some postings on those forums. Do they read electronic newsletters? if so then you should advertise in those newsletters or write articles that are published in newsletters and the websites where these people "hang out." A well directed promotion campaign will bring the kind of traffic that is useful for you.

To sum up, targeted traffic combined with a persuasive website equals Internet success.

About the Author

Donald Nelson is a web developer, editor and social worker. His firm http://A1-optimization.com provides affordable search engine optimization and website promotion services. You can read more articles like this one at http://www.a1-optimization.com