Dirt Cheap Traffic... The Real Secret?

14 years ago

You make a good point here.

Most people are concerned about getting the cheapest traffic possible. Getting cheap traffic is really not an issue these days because there are tons of sources for cheap traffic (i.e PPV networks, 2nd tier search engine).

The issue is the getting this traffic to convert and this is where most people online fall flat. They will buy a ton of cheap traffic and send it to an affiliate offer without bothering to optimize and then complain that affiliate marketing doesn't work.

Optimization means constant split testing using tools like Google Website Optimizer and testing everything from headlines to page load up speed.

I always felt that if the traffic is *real* and not converting, then maybe you are pitching the wrong product to this crowd.

Gauher

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Kenster

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Gauher

You make a good point here.

Most people are concerned about getting the cheapest traffic possible. Getting cheap traffic is really not an issue these days because there are tons of sources for cheap traffic (i.e PPV networks, 2nd tier search engine).

The issue is the getting this traffic to convert and this is where most people online fall flat. They will buy a ton of cheap traffic and send it to an affiliate offer without bothering to optimize and then complain that affiliate marketing doesn't work.

Optimization means constant split testing using tools like Google Website Optimizer and testing everything from headlines to page load up speed.

I always felt that if the traffic is *real* and not converting, then maybe you are pitching the wrong product to this crowd.

Gauher

I've seen this face before :p

Its interesting because traffic is the heart of any campaign. One thing I always stress is that targeted traffic is one of our biggest goals and also one of the biggest challenges we face as marketers because sometimes you need to infer and extrapolate your traffic. Further, the more targeted you get, the more competitive (price) and less volume there is in general. Thus, targeted traffic isn't the end of the puzzle.

As Gauher mentioned, converting your traffic is massively important and is equally if not more important. In general, the more targeted your traffic, the easier it is to convert and thats how targeted traffic and converting traffic come together.

BUT, even more important than targeted traffic or converting traffic and at the heart of any business is the numbers. At the end of the day its about the return your traffic and more importantly still is your bottom line. I am willing to give up some return if the increased volume led to a larger bottom line.

So understanding and converting your traffic is the tough part, but what ultimately matters is how much you are making. People who just want "cheap traffic" or just want "targeted traffic" are only looking at one piece of the puzzle.

If it were only as easy as buying super cheap, super targeted, super abundant, easily convertible traffic :p

~ken

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Doug Pretorius

14 years ago

It probably comes down to this:
They don't have the money to buy targeted traffic. And they're too lazy to develop free sources of traffic. So they're trying to get both and end up with nothing.

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williamrs

14 years ago

I believe that cheap is relative.

A. Your CPC is $0.01 and your conversion rate 0.1%

B. Your CPC is $1 and your conversion rate is 20%

Which do you prefer? I have campaigns with a ROI as high as 250%, so I consider that I'm getting very cheap traffic with them, but it doesn't mean that I'm paying 1c per click.

So I think that people ask the wrong question. Instead of how can I get cheap traffic, I think that they should ask how can I get a high conversion rate?

William

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Doug Pretorius 14 years ago

Alright, William...how can I get cheap traffic AND a high conversion rate?
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- williamrs 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by 33centsaday
  
  Alright, William...how can I get cheap traffic AND a high conversion rate?
  
  Of course, I can't answer this question with a simple post. If I could say in a phrase or 2 how to get cheap traffic and a high convertion rate everybody would be making a full-time income online by tomorrow.
  
  However, what you have to understand is that campaigns are combinations between 3 elements:
  
  Traffic -> Website / Landing Page -> Offer
  
  If you make the 3 elements match you make money.
  
  Don't put all your effort on finding a cheap traffic source, because any traffic will be too expensive if you don't make it work combined with the other 2 elements. So, look for good combinations instead. Find a nice offer, figure out what type of audience would fit that offer, build a landing page to put people in the right mindset and start making tests. A good combination will make your traffic cheap.
  
  William
  
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ChrisBa

14 years ago

Originally Posted by magicmarcus

ok so this has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time...

as an internet marketing coach i get people all the time asking "how can i get cheap traffic" how can i find a "cheap" place to advertise" ect...

most of them are "price shopping" traffic.

while ill admit i do like low cost advertising i think far to many people put the emphasis on cheap... like wow i can get traffic for 1c per click or what not instead of focusing on how you can serve the market and get a good roi.

for me personally i would pay $1000 per click if i could make it convert

post your thoughts below - i would like to see other opinions on this.

It's all about true EPC.. in the end who cares how much a click costs, for example if a click costs 0.01 but makes you nothing, it's useless, but if it costs $1.00 and makes you $2.00, then why not..

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Okley

14 years ago

These are some really informative post.

For a complete misguided newbie, like myself, push and pull in every direction
most will say start with PPC if you don't have a traffic network.

When all your resources depleted and you haven't make a dime, from lack of understanding or knowledge of how to test to find a winning campaign.

Turn to article marketing, bookmarking, web 2.0 and blog to set up a network of traffic.

It is nice to see some real helpful information. I may not know how to do the steps that you imply in the previous posts, but, at least it will point in the right direction.

Thank you guys very much

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ChadH

14 years ago

Mastering your ability to get high click through rates that are in line with your sales message is the real "secret". On almost every platform, the higher ctr, the cheaper the traffic.

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iamx

14 years ago

Very true Chad...

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TheMarketingGuy

14 years ago

To be quite honest, I think traffic, and specifically free or dirt cheap traffic, is just the big hype lately. You just need to take a look at the marketplace. Of course traffic is important, but just how some of you mentioned, it's as impotant as the other factors. Given that, the traffic topic sells a lot more info products!

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Kenster

14 years ago

Originally Posted by TheMarketingGuy

To be quite honest, I think traffic, and specifically free or dirt cheap traffic, is just the big hype lately. You just need to take a look at the marketplace. Of course traffic is important, but just how some of you mentioned, it's as impotant as the other factors. Given that, the traffic topic sells a lot more info products!

I think many newer marketers see big traffic numbers for cheap prices and then run quick estimates of conversion ratios they may see with good targeted traffic and get all excited.

You cant apply the same ratios and numbers to dirt cheap traffic as you can your normal good and targeted traffic. The cheap traffic can literally convert 10, 50, 100 times less than your normal traffic. Theres a reason its free.

So dont just run quick numbers in your head and start expecting huge results from cheap traffic!

~ken

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PoolWarrior

14 years ago

Think about it... what we need are buyers , not cheap traffic but traffic that convert , so if you advertise in the right place and right moment you will make $$$$ ..if not you will lose your money ..this is the secret ..try and try and try until you find your Goldmine..personally i advertise in facebook ..is not cheap but it converts .

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yourhotkitty

Banned 14 years ago

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Kenster

14 years ago

Originally Posted by yourhotkitty

I totally agree with PoolWarrior, you can get 1Million hits of garbage traffic if the traffic came there for the wrong reason, its worth less. Running a CPC campaign takes alot of money to do it right. I started with 250/week and i was barely making that up in sales. So i haven't found the trick yet, but what i have noticed is that my competitors that have been in the business for some years now is that it seems that they spend $4K per day in CPC, so they must be making at least double that in sales to cover their costs and CPC? So do i have to take the risk and just shell out 4K for one day and hope that it turns 8K of revenue. I see it as a gamble what if i dont get 8K in sales then im SOL for 4K?

I would say NO

Just because you are putting more money into your PPC campaigns doesnt mean you will get more out. The trick is to test small and then expand once you know something works. If you have a huge budget, then you have the luxury of speeding up the testing process by shelling out massive money to get massive traffic to quickly optimize yoru campaign, but that costs a lot of money.

If you dont have the money like most people, then you need to test small. Once things start seeing potential, then start increasing budget, going wider in keywords, trying to get better ad positions etc.

If you put $300 into traffic a day and see $300 in sales, then you are essentially breaking even. If you turn that same campaign into $3000 out, you will likely see $3000 in sales or less. So just putting in bigger amounts of PPC dollars doesnt mean you will see bigger rewards.

The key is optimizing your campaign. If you are breaking even now, thats amazing. Either optimize and start scaling at the same time or optimize first and scale after you are comfortable you have a winning campaign.

This was a very wordy way of saying -- dont just put more into your PPC campaigns because the big guys are doing it, you will lose. Focus on optimizing and then you can start putting more and more into your campaign once the return is positive.

~ken

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magicmarcus

14 years ago

i am enjoying all the thoughts on this one...

the true "secret" to internet marketing is to learn how to sell...

you sell people on clicking your ad, clicking your offers, joining your list, buying stuff, ect.

work on conversions... not finding "cheap traffic"

BUT... the big paradox... is once you learn to convert... you can make money in little 1c per click niches or even free traffic niches... its easy!

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Kenster

14 years ago

Originally Posted by magicmarcus

i am enjoying all the thoughts on this one...

the true "secret" to internet marketing is to learn how to sell...

you sell people on clicking your ad, clicking your offers, joining your list, buying stuff, ect.

work on conversions... not finding "cheap traffic"

BUT... the big paradox... is once you learn to convert... you can make money in little 1c per click niches or even free traffic niches... its easy!

Learning how to sell is important. Learning how to market (which deals with selling) is even more important.

At the end of the day, I personally think the most important thing is mastering a traffic source. If you can master a traffic source, then even with average sales skills you can do well.

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