Breaking through to the next level.

my income hasn't increased in the last few months, what now?

[uhwebs]

My income has been pretty steady over the last few months.
what can I do now to go up to the next level?
I have about 3-4k visits a day, and 8k subscribers on my mailing list.

I'm guessing the advice I get will be "more traffic"... but what's a good way to do that? adwords? free contests? more link exchanges?

[OptiRex]

"more traffic"

Yep:-))

but what's a good way to do that?

Are you already #1 in the SERPs for your keywords?

If not then you need to work on your SEOing, if you are #1 then only by adding new content and natural, organic growth will increase your earnings.

I'm actually looking at trying to buy out smaller competing sites to increase overall site traffic.

Quite simply some sectors do not have huge traffic patterns and the ones that do can be low paying or have very low CTRs.

If you do find the answer, let us all know:-))

[uhwebs]

I'm on the first page for my keywords, not always #1.

[OptiRex]

I'm on the first page for my keywords, not always #1.

It's generally accepted that there's a huge difference in traffic volume between #1, 2 and 10th position on the first page, #1 on the second page can sometimes be as good as the top of the first page.

[uhwebs]

Well, I guess I could work on that then... how do I know which keywords I should be pushing for #1?

[jatar_k]

do some keyword research and find out which ones get the most traffic

then see which are converting for you or bringing you the most traffic

target pages etc

reference
Keyword Research Forum Library [webmasterworld.com]
Successful Site in 12 Months with Google Alone [webmasterworld.com]

[edited by: jatar_k at 7:13 pm (utc) on Aug. 17, 2006]

[smells so good]

adwords? free contests? more link exchanges?

Those are all good methods to increase traffic. I've found my products mentioned in various forums, and that always brings traffic - but generally little or no conversion. (I hope they would at least click an ad.) Niche directories are sometimes a decent source of traffic. Basically, nearly any place that you can put your site in front of people will help. Think outside the box as well. Some people get references while away from their computer, then rush home to type in a URL.

how do I know which keywords I should be pushing for #1?

This is another topic altogether. For starters, I would look at my server logs and see what people are using to find me. A little SEO from that humble beginning will be a move in the right direction.

Best Wishes.

[ken_b]

I'm on the first page for my keywords, not always #1.

More importantly, are you on the first page for your visitors keywords? You know, the words and phrases they actually type into a search box?

If you aren't sure, the place to start is your log files or stats reports.

[uhwebs]

Since my site is a small niche, i'm thinking I'll also expand into more areas and see what's popular. A lot of the keywords are low traffic, but together, a lot of those bring in traffic...