Struggling for traffic

by cmarkc
34 replies
I've had a website up for about 2 years, and it's going nowhere. I need help!

The website is BallroomDancersWorld.com , and it's designed to serve the Ballroom Dance industry. I've tried to design it with solid content, along with affiliate links to Amazon.

I'm just not getting any significant traffic.

Can you people help me by reviewing the website and providing feedback? Is my content bad? Does my SEO suck? I've simply thrashed through everything i can think of and am out of ideas.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Thanks, and Merry Christmas
Mark C
Phoenix
#struggling #traffic
  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Create derivative content and share on social media and free upload sites

    Engage your visitors and use that engagement for content production
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  • Profile picture of the author wlasikiewicz
    I would say SEO and Social Media but I'm taking your already doing that.
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  • Profile picture of the author bonesaj
    The design is rather messy but that probably isn't a huge deal if your not getting the traffic.

    What are you doing for traffic? where are your keywords ranking? What is your social media like?
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    • Originally Posted by bonesaj View Post

      The design is rather messy but that probably isn't a huge deal if your not getting the traffic.
      I agree with bonesaj.

      I noticed your website is WordPress based which means you could try and find a better looking theme. If I was a ballerina and I landed on your website I would be very interested in what your trying to say or what you're trying to sell because of the way the site looks.

      Design is very important. I would recommend changing the theme and implementing a email newsletter. This is a great way to retain visitors to your website and you can sell to them.

      Keep us posted on the progress of your website
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  • Profile picture of the author Jessicaonline
    Your site might be in need of some SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author kilgore
    Sorry, but I can't SEO and social media helping much.

    To be blunt, I just don't see a compelling reason why someone would visit your site instead of just visiting Amazon directly. What's your value proposition? What about your site is special, better, different?
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    • Profile picture of the author vicg100
      I've recently started experimenting with Reddit and have gotten some great traffic with that so far. Find some subreddits related to your site and try posting in those.
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Probably a pretty decent niche I would suspect. Looking at your blog.. I would say you are missing the mark with your content. if you look here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballroom_dance and specifically look at all of the different dance styles that "Ballroom Dancing" represents, you should have an article for each and everyone 3 and 4 times over. I would go as far as to post audio or video of each.

        Ballroom dancing is a visual representation of music... so your site is falling flat. but the reason your site is not getting traffic is you will not get traction with "Music". focus with the theme of your site and start creating content very closely related to dance.


        Good Luck
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        Success is an ACT not an idea
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  • Profile picture of the author megalinktraffic
    participate in forums of similar or related niche with a signature of your website in it..
    create a page google+ page with your site link in it...and ask your friends to share it..
    see traffic will build up slow and steady perseverance is important....
    rueben
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve L
    Originally Posted by cmarkc View Post

    I've had a website up for about 2 years, and it's going nowhere. I need help!

    The website is BallroomDancersWorld.com , and it's designed to serve the Ballroom Dance industry. I've tried to design it with solid content, along with affiliate links to Amazon.

    I'm just not getting any significant traffic.

    Can you people help me by reviewing the website and providing feedback? Is my content bad? Does my SEO suck? I've simply thrashed through everything i can think of and am out of ideas.

    Any help is greatly appreciated

    Thanks, and Merry Christmas
    Mark C
    Phoenix
    2 years? That's your problem. What you want to do IMO is throw a bunch of stuff (ideas/offers) at the wall (the market) and see what sticks. It's all about the offer.

    You can put together an ebook and offer in less than a month, if not a week and start driving traffic to it. You'll know within another month (if not sooner) if the offer converts at all. If it doesn't, move on to the next. If it does, awesome, move on to the next.
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  • Profile picture of the author tahoecale
    I think in order to help drive traffic to your site you should become active on other ballroom dancing websites,blogs, and forums. Post some quality content there as well as on your blog. Also, make a Facebook page and post towards your blog, join related Facebook groups and post content.

    Good Luck toYou
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    • Profile picture of the author krod16
      Originally Posted by tahoecale View Post

      I think in order to help drive traffic to your site you should become active on other ballroom dancing websites,blogs, and forums. Post some quality content there as well as on your blog. Also, make a Facebook page and post towards your blog, join related Facebook groups and post content.

      Good Luck toYou
      You need to be doing what tahoecale said. You need to provide valuable content to the people who are interested in ballroom dancing with your comments, posts and help on other websites, blogs and forums. Also consider giving something valuable (like a free ebook) for people who will sign up on your website.
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  • Profile picture of the author surfer30
    If you are not getting any traffic from SEO yet. focus on building your tribe in social media sites then start an engagement by posting good content. build your brand and the traffic comes
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  • Profile picture of the author dsilvestre
    Two things for immediate traffic:
    1. Guest post on blogs on the similar topic
    2. Join niche forums and participate

    Also I'm not exactly sure but I think Pinterest could be huge for this kind of website (never tested it though).

    If you want to spend money, then definitely go with Facebook Ads.

    Also, you might wanna rethink your design.

    Cheers
    Dan
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    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      I do not think it would hurt to try some PPE ads on facebook and build up a following for Fan Page.

      You can really narrow your target down with FB ad platform


      - Robert Andrew
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      • Profile picture of the author celente
        Originally Posted by discrat View Post

        I do not think it would hurt to try some PPE ads on facebook and build up a following for Fan Page.

        You can really narrow your target down with FB ad platform


        - Robert Andrew

        Good advice! But with over $12000 spend on ads, and testing, the best way we found with this is to get CHEAP 0.02 cent likes, keep testing ads, get likes to your page, and keep building your likes and send them to content TWICE a day, with new posts.

        yes, its a chitload of work, per day, but its gets massive sales roll in. And like I said we tested everything.

        Why 2 times a day, well we tried everything else, and it was not engaging enough. People are always on FB. We tried likes, and then once a day, and once a week, NUP!!! did not get the same traffic as 2 posts a day, leading to content with your sales buttons.

        Outsource the content, and bob is your uncle. We do this, start of DECEMBER and turned a FB fan page with 0 likes, to over 189,000 LIkes [including viral likes] and generated thousands in sales, for physical products, t-shirts, merchandise, buttons, badges, and everything else.

        The NICHE? Well it has something to do with HILLARY CLINTON and what she is doing?

        Once you hit the right niche in FB, you can go it hammer and tongs, and make heaps!!

        Set things on VIRAL, and you get more likes, and can even stop advertising and still get likes. :-)

        Test, test, test, test with a few hundred dollars, but like I said we used $12,000 for testing, and this got us HUGE results as explained above.

        Hope it helps.
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        • Profile picture of the author cmarkc
          Originally Posted by celente View Post

          Good advice! But with over $12000 spend on ads, and testing, the best way we found with this is to get CHEAP 0.02 cent likes, keep testing ads, get likes to your page, and keep building your likes and send them to content TWICE a day, with new posts.

          yes, its a chitload of work, per day, but its gets massive sales roll in. And like I said we tested everything.

          Why 2 times a day, well we tried everything else, and it was not engaging enough. People are always on FB. We tried likes, and then once a day, and once a week, NUP!!! did not get the same traffic as 2 posts a day, leading to content with your sales buttons.

          Outsource the content, and bob is your uncle. We do this, start of DECEMBER and turned a FB fan page with 0 likes, to over 189,000 LIkes [including viral likes] and generated thousands in sales, for physical products, t-shirts, merchandise, buttons, badges, and everything else.

          The NICHE? Well it has something to do with HILLARY CLINTON and what she is doing?

          Once you hit the right niche in FB, you can go it hammer and tongs, and make heaps!!

          Set things on VIRAL, and you get more likes, and can even stop advertising and still get likes. :-)

          Test, test, test, test with a few hundred dollars, but like I said we used $12,000 for testing, and this got us HUGE results as explained above.

          Hope it helps.
          THanks for your advice. I need to make sure i understand:
          were you selling product on a FB page, and advertising thru FB

          or were you selling on a website, and driving traffic through FB ads?
          Outsource the content, and bob is your uncle
          Not sure i understand this. How do i outsource it?
          and Bob...Uncle ... huh?

          I'm not quite sure how you set it up, and i'd really like to know more. Do you have a link to it you can send me?

          thanks
          Mark C.
          Phoenix, AZ, USA
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        • Profile picture of the author cmarkc
          Good advice! But with over $12000 spend on ads, and testing, the best way we found with this is to get CHEAP 0.02 cent likes, keep testing ads, get likes to your page, and keep building your likes and send them to content TWICE a day, with new posts.
          I'm looking thru facebook advertising options and i don't see anything regarding "$.02 likes " . Can you fill me in on that and where to find it?

          thanks, and Merry Christmas
          Mark C
          Phoenix
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    When I get to your site, I don't know what you want me to buy. I see a strolling gallery with heels and fuzzy images, a facebook "like" platform on the body of the page, bad copywriting, no good headline... you should promote one thing at a time to these people. I'm not in the niche and even I'm confused. What do you want them to do when they reach your site? Where do you want them to go, and what do you want them to buy?
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  • Profile picture of the author TrafficFlow
    I would get rid of the affiliate links, and start posting high quality content. Once the site starts getting traffic you can probably get advertisers (companies in the ballroom dancing business to advertise on your site).

    Just a thought. I don't think the design of your site is that bad that it merits any type of redesign.


    Originally Posted by cmarkc View Post

    I've had a website up for about 2 years, and it's going nowhere. I need help!

    The website is BallroomDancersWorld.com , and it's designed to serve the Ballroom Dance industry. I've tried to design it with solid content, along with affiliate links to Amazon.

    I'm just not getting any significant traffic.

    Can you people help me by reviewing the website and providing feedback? Is my content bad? Does my SEO suck? I've simply thrashed through everything i can think of and am out of ideas.

    Any help is greatly appreciated

    Thanks, and Merry Christmas
    Mark C
    Phoenix
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Here is an example of a ballroom meme facebook page.

    No new posts since August so I'm not sure how active it is.

    The "Likes" and "Shares" are in the dozens.

    https://www.facebook.com/BallroomDanceMemes
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  • Profile picture of the author cmarkc
    Thanks to all of you who have responded. It has been enlightening, humbling, and HELPFUL!

    As i read them, here's a summary
    • participate in other forums to leave links/references to my website
    • the site is poorly designed and needs an overhaul
    • there's no specific focus to the site or what it's about
    • try an eBook giveaway
    • try publicizing on Reddit and Pintrest
    • Try advertising on facebook
    • create and share "derivitive content"
    • cut down on affiliate links, bring them back later

    To be candid, i've thought about several of these already, and stopped for some reason. I think my next step is to explore each individually and clarify as needed. Such as website re-design - to what? Do you have an example?

    What are your thoughts about this? What should i tackle first?

    Again, thank you all for your responses, it has been very helpful. Stay tuned .... and ...try Ballroom Dancing!
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      Originally Posted by cmarkc View Post

      Thanks to all of you who have responded. It has been enlightening, humbling, and HELPFUL!

      As i read them, here's a summary
      • participate in other forums to leave links/references to my website
      • the site is poorly designed and needs an overhaul
      • there's no specific focus to the site or what it's about
      • try an eBook giveaway
      • try publicizing on Reddit and Pintrest
      • Try advertising on facebook
      • create and share "derivitive content"
      • cut down on affiliate links, bring them back later
      Me personally... When I am developing a site like this I am going to look at Form Follows Function as a mindset. So the basic question is what is the function of the site? the answer being affiliate sales of ballroom dancing products. That aspect is easy enough.

      Now you know what you are starting with.. you know what it is the end point is Point A and point B are defined... you need to simply draw the line between them. So the idea of a website is to answer a question that your visitor may have. That line between Ballroom dancing as a subject and selling ballroom dancing product, needs to be filled with answers.

      Home page - what is ballroom dancing - Its 10 plus dances Ramba Cha Cha etc..
      Category page - What is Cha Cha? video clips music variety.. contemporary / traditional answers answers answers.

      from the category page there is many ways you can go..i would also focus on the talent that is dancing. Betty and Bob ( just throwing out a few names ) world champions etc etc...

      If the end goal is to sell product... What product do betty and bob use? shoes? fashion sense.. etc this is the product tie in. It fits in, its not going to be silly banner ads and direct connection.. betty and bob wear ballywear footwear to stay light on their feet. Look at our collection of Ballywear here.

      Hope that helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author david2015
    You can create a blog to give valuable tips. This would grow your blogs followers and from your blog, you can direct them to your websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author bostjan33
    Banned
    Originally Posted by cmarkc View Post

    I've had a website up for about 2 years, and it's going nowhere. I need help!

    The website is BallroomDancersWorld.com , and it's designed to serve the Ballroom Dance industry. I've tried to design it with solid content, along with affiliate links to Amazon.

    I'm just not getting any significant traffic.

    Can you people help me by reviewing the website and providing feedback? Is my content bad? Does my SEO suck? I've simply thrashed through everything i can think of and am out of ideas.

    Any help is greatly appreciated

    Thanks, and Merry Christmas
    Mark C
    Phoenix
    Use Promobrite to get leads and stop struggling Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Getawab
    There are great sources where you can learn SEO.
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    Amazing Offer! Get Free SEO.

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  • Profile picture of the author tyronne78
    I would rethink your monetization strategy...Amazon's affiliate program doesn't pay that well from my experience. People are hitting your site,clicking on your Amazon affiliate links and leaving your web property. Focus on building a list first then go from there.
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  • Profile picture of the author EPoltrack77
    Are you going out putting backlinks across the web everyday?

    Be steady and you will gain organic traffic!

    Also you can go find other relates sites and some will allow you to place banner on that site and you can redirect traffic over to you.

    Set yourself up an advertising budget for your banner marketing and maybe some PPC
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    Working to achieve higher results...
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  • Profile picture of the author trecher
    Hey CMark,

    have you thought about doing a podcast (maybe interviewing people in your niche) and using that as a marketing tool?
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    • Profile picture of the author cmarkc
      Not yet, but i'll definitely give it a thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zubb
    Banned
    Your website loads too slowly and is filled with tons of Javascripts.

    You may want to cut those down a bit.
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  • Profile picture of the author flyingeagle
    agree with zubb .. your site load to slow than other site .. and footer is quite messy .. but yiu receive 7 to 8 page views per visitor .. it is good enough.. also try to write good content about ball room dancer :

    ballroom dancer movie
    how to become a ballroom dancer
    beata ballroom dancer
    famous ballroom dancer
    ballroom dancer diet
    ballroom dancer salary
    ballroom world of dance
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Ops site looks horrible.

    Clicking on the Shop & then Men's includes images of women's Belly Dance Accessories. WTH are thinking?

    The whole site is a cluster ^%*$ with no goal. Even If you manage to get traffic the'll bounce because there's no reason to stay on the site, it's just a bunch of junk that serves no purpose.
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    • Profile picture of the author cmarkc
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      Ops site looks horrible.

      Clicking on the Shop & then Men's includes images of women's Belly Dance Accessories. WTH are thinking?

      The whole site is a cluster ^%*$ with no goal. Even If you manage to get traffic the'll bounce because there's no reason to stay on the site, it's just a bunch of junk that serves no purpose.
      Not to worry. It's gonna get fixed!
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