Everybody has a Website

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

Nearly everybody has a website, but what does one do to get people to come visit their website and share that site with others? That was a question I was asked this past Saturday while speaking at a tech gathering in La Jolla California. I don’t have all the answers, but after 10 years of managing a popular chiropractic website, and hosting web sites for hundreds of others, I’ve picked up few bits of useful information. If you’re asking yourself “what would a chiropractor know about getting traffic to one’s website?” you’ll be missing out on what I’m trying to get across. This isn’t about chiropractic, it’s about the Internet, and some of the things nearly all web sites have in common.

(photo: a clipping from a 2007 national newspaper featuring a story about the website planetc1.com)

There’s no way I’d be able to share all the secrets of website traffic in one article. I have written about the topic a number of times before and I will provide links to those articles and posts for those that want to investigate this topic more. It may seem silly, but I really don’t think there are any so-called secrets. In fact, I’m sure many a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) professional, would look at Planet Chiropractic, and find all kinds of problems (everything ranging from duplicate content issues, poor indexing, lack of 301 redirects, lack of PageRank sculpting or siloing, and numerous others) that if fixed would help the site perform better in search engines. So I’m not going to talk about optimizing a site, contact an experienced and qualified SEO for those services.

During the past week I spoke at two different tech related events, and my topic at both was focused on writing good creative content that people are actively searching for. The first event took place in Los Angeles and was hosted by a company called Mixergy. The link to the left will lead you to an article that has a number of useful tips on getting web site traffic.

The second event was held that the Microsoft office in La Jolla California, Barcamp San Diego 2008 was the name of the event, and it features a wide variety of different people speaking on different topics. It tends to attract a fairly techy crowd, which is a group I feel real comfortable hanging out with, especially when I’m not hanging out with other chiropractors.

It was that the San Diego Barcamp event that I was reminded the importance of sharing information related to getting web site visitors. I started doing this in the 1990s (Planet Chiropractic was launched in 1998) and I sometimes take for granted the many things I’ve learned during the past decade. Being a chiropractor that loves marketing and the Internet, has been a good fit for me. Not only do I get to share small-business marketing tips with people in my industry, I get to share them with entrepreneurs and owners of other small businesses worldwide. The post I just linked to is a good example of something that holds value to nearly every small business in the United States, and not just chiropractic offices. Why not share that information with others?

You’ll have to endure a lengthy amount of text, but there is a transcribed version of a 40 minute phone conversation I had with the founder of Mixergy, in early April of 2008. Rather than rehash all that information here, it’s best to you view the information one post at a time. Guerilla marketing techniques is the title the first post opens with, and it’s important to know none of the topics involve investing any money, they do however involve investing a significant amount of time, energy, and dedication to your passion (which is hopefully the topic of your site).

After the guerrilla marketing post, I spoke about blogging as a way to get traffic to one’s web site. Even with all the hubbub about blogging and citizen journalism, I still think the idea of having a blog for your business (and being active on that blog) is underrated.

I spoke about getting links with linkbait but I’ll confess that I’m nowhere near the success rate of some people I know well in the search marketing industry. That being said, real basic articles (like interviewing chiropractors that are married to Playboy models) can attract a lot more traffic than your average chiropractic article on subluxation.

Using top stories and showing the world how they have something to do with what you do is a great example of writing good thoughtful content and bridging that gap between what could be a really boring subject and something really exciting. One example from this web site is writing about Super Bowl XLII and mentioning the roles chiropractors play in taking care of professional football players. The same goes for popular television shows (such as dancing with the stars) and popular rock bands (such as Van Halen).

So whether your site is about laptop computers, fishing, promotional item manufacturing, temporary job services, auto repair, or any number of topics you can think of, there are a world of ways that writing good content can attract more visitors (and potentially more links) to your website. But you do have to get engaged, and participate online, long enough for your seeds to take root and flourish.

planetc1.com-news @ 8:32 pm | Article ID: 1210217596