FREE Traffic Generation Worth It?

20 replies
  • SEO
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Recently i've tried lots of FREE methods of generating traffic to an offer (youtube, articles, google etc)

As i've been using PAID methods (PPC, solo ads) for some years now, i was shocked by the amount of work needed to build articles, backlinks, keyword research etc to make this free traffic thing work..

I moved back to paid methods as i think that it's safer and more scalable.

Do you think FREE traffic is worth all the work? What are your main traffic sources? Your thoughts?

Cheers,

Gary
#free #free traffic #generation #google #myth #traffic #worth #worth it
  • Profile picture of the author salegurus
    Well, "free" traffic methods work for some people because that's all they know or they simply don't have a budget for paid traffic methods...
    Free traffic simply costs time whereas a failed PPC (For example) campaign can cost you a ton if you don't know what you are doing...

    As far as traffic sources, there are dozens of threads from here to Timbuktu covering the subject...
    PS. Have you just discovered the thread "poll feature"?

    Cheers
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      For me, the big distinction, from the perspectives of quality and business-building ability, isn't between "free" and "paid" traffic: it's between search-engine traffic and non-search-engine traffic. Either can be free or paid, of course.

      You can get Google traffic either free (via organic SERP's rankings) or paid (via AdWords).

      You can get article marketing traffic either free (syndication to free ezines) or paid (syndication to paid ezines) ... and so on.

      My own business has been built almost entirely on free traffic (but not very much of it on SEO traffic).
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      • Profile picture of the author Gary Ning Lo
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        For me, the big distinction, from the perspectives of quality and business-building ability, isn't between "free" and "paid" traffic: it's between search-engine traffic and non-search-engine traffic. Either can be free or paid, of course.

        You can get Google traffic either free (via organic SERP's rankings) or paid (via AdWords).

        You can get article marketing traffic either free (syndication to free ezines) or paid (syndication to paid ezines) ... and so on.

        My own business has been built almost entirely on free traffic (but not very much of it on SEO traffic).
        Interesting distinction..

        Would be great to know what other free traffic sources you use ? (apart from google)

        So for you all other paid traffic sources (PPC, solo ads, PPV etc) are not worth it compared to free traffic? It's better to spend time building free traffic sources?

        Cheers,

        Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author echelon
    I think that both free and paid traffic have their places. In fact, a person who is just starting out may feel more comfortable with free traffic because of the belief that there is less risk involved.

    However, as you pointed out there may still be an investment of time required with free traffic. Thus, it is not that free at the end of the day.

    While I value free traffic, I prefer paid traffic. Some reasons for it may be that paid traffic can hit your pages faster, and may definitely require less effort.
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  • Profile picture of the author Smith18
    Very cheap traffic and free traffic is usually pointless. It doesn't convert well at all from my experiences on multiple sites. It's better to pay for good campaigns on Adwords of Facebook ads, it will pay off if you keep testing it.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulgl
      You have to spend money to make money.

      Most people don't not realize that for a regular amount
      of paid traffic in various forms, you get more regular
      free traffic.

      Do you think big websites advertise on TV for the heck of
      it, just to toss money down a hole? Magazines, radio, newspapers,
      snail mail, the same.

      Paul
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      If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

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  • Profile picture of the author shafinazahra
    What I like to do is create youtube videos and send them to my list and then track them back to my blog - blogging is free, youtube is free, and it increases my list because the list that I bought before become my viewers and start increasing my rankings
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    Shafina Zahra
    Loving Life!
    successwithshafina.com

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  • Profile picture of the author Igor Fridrihs
    Free traffic is not bad and you can get it without huge efforts posting at forums and blogs, say 20-25 posts per day. But if you need to speed up the process paid traffic is perfect for the task.
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  • Profile picture of the author Andyhenry
    There's no such thing as free.

    The question is - do you value your time. If not then spending lots of time getting links etc. may be worth it to you.

    The real question is - what will the traffic do for you?

    People always start out looking to do everything for free, but when it comes to traffic - if you can't convert traffic into buyers then free traffic is much worse than paid traffic. If you can convert visitors into buyers then why wouldn't you spend money to get those buyers knowing that the more you spend - the more you make?

    This question appears to be a sensible one - but it is founded on the missing foundation of understanding what different traffic is worth to you. Once you know that you can define how to get your traffic and how much you should pay for traffic.
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    nothing to see here.

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  • Profile picture of the author curationsoft
    generating traffic to your sites pays a lot of work, time and effort weather it is free or paid method.
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  • Profile picture of the author williamrichard
    Generate more traffic using free is the best method.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Thomas
    When it's a long term investment, it's a great simultaneous effort.
    Problem is, people are so obsessed with "Free Traffic", that they go for traffic exchanges, i.e. clicking on each other's websites to gain some empty meaningless clicks.
    Some people have Craigslist as their go-to placement for affiliate ads, other classified sites, despite it being non-converting.

    The output of social/organic traffic, may be far lower than your paid results, but once you're done with the bulk of other work, blog comments begin to sound like a good idea
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  • Profile picture of the author 1GreatCPA
    Free traffic is good source but it take time. While paid traffic show results immediately.
    I use paid source for my advertising.
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  • Profile picture of the author RockNRolla
    Yes, free traffic methods do require work, but the work pays dividends potentially for years to come.

    For example, I still receive commissions every month from sites I set up years ago promoting affiliate products. The only traffic still going to these sites are from articles, YouTube videos and Yahoo Answers. With paid traffic, you get the traffic you pay for one time, then it's gone. This is why I think that putting the work in to the free traffic methods is so worth it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gary Ning Lo
      Originally Posted by RockNRolla View Post

      Yes, free traffic methods do require work, but the work pays dividends potentially for years to come.

      For example, I still receive commissions every month from sites I set up years ago promoting affiliate products. The only traffic still going to these sites are from articles, YouTube videos and Yahoo Answers. With paid traffic, you get the traffic you pay for one time, then it's gone. This is why I think that putting the work in to the free traffic methods is so worth it.
      Very good point..

      I don't know any paid traffic type that brings visitors over and over again for years..

      This is a major advantage of FREE traffic.

      Cheers,

      Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author jfbmarketing
    Originally Posted by Gary Ning Lo View Post

    Recently i've tried lots of FREE methods of generating traffic to an offer (youtube, articles, google etc)

    As i've been using PAID methods (PPC, solo ads) for some years now, i was shocked by the amount of work needed to build articles, backlinks, keyword research etc to make this free traffic thing work..

    I moved back to paid methods as i think that it's safer and more scalable.

    Do you think FREE traffic is worth all the work? What are your main traffic sources? Your thoughts?

    Cheers,

    Gary
    Hi Gary,

    Good question, at times l also feel that all the work you have to do to generate free traffic is a waste of time. But when l did a study on all my results from all the source of traffic l found that the best traffic that was converting was the Free traffic which l call organic traffic.

    Organic traffic is people who type key phrases into the search browser, they have a need, desire and in most case they are ready to buy or subscribe to your offer...

    Yes it is work.... but when you do it correctly you can obtain a great amount of new subscribes to your offers...

    Cheers Joseph
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    All the Best,

    Joseph F. Botelho

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