I wanted to write something today for everyone who might have been in this business for a few months but are finding it tough. I’d hate to think that anyone was out there pulling their hair out in frustration and wondering why nothing they tried was working out for them. I’ve been in that position myself a lot of times (before there were places to seek help, like this site) so I’d like to offer a few suggestions if you’re there now.

Getting help.

This business is unique in that the competition are generally supportive and helpful to one other. One of the things that’s always blown me away is how folks pull together in the webmaster community and are happy to share their experience and knowledge. If you’re stuck, can’t make any cash, or the traffic is not happening, then ask away. Post on one of the chat boards, get help on ICQ or another instant messenger, or email me or Tim.

A fresh start.

One of the first things that I did, and still do, when I hit a brick wall was to start a new notebook and go back to researching. Get the input from some other webmasters and try to learn how they are making their money. As well as this site, check out the links in the right sidebar under “webmaster resources”. Research into their approaches and see if there’s anything you can try next.

Branch out!

When I was starting out, I had a lot of problems with traffic at one point, and with sales too. I was stuck on a pretty feeble income (next to nothing) with my websites. I’d tried everything (I thought) and was slowly going down the drain. I asked for help from one of the more knowledgeable webmasters of the time and they sent me a lengthy, in depth email that contained one great tip, which went something like:

“Whenever we hit a wall like that, we branch out and try something new. Try search engine traffic instead of link list traffic, or start a totally new type of site altogether…”

That was great advice - pure GOLD in fact. I started making blogs and things began to pick up. Branching out is still a major way forward for webmasters.

In depth research…

Unfortunately, this business is far tougher than it used to be. It’s no longer a question of making a page and then submitting it to the search engines, for example. If you are to see traffic from the those lumbering giants, in a quantity that will get you the sales you need, you’ll have to really study them hard. This is true across the board. You need to study and know your traffic source inside out. If it’s link lists - become an expert on link lists. If it’s search engines, then leave no stone unturned in that area.

Pick a traffic source (it’s not important which one right now) and commit to just studying that traffic source for one hour per day for at least a month. I guarantee that this will improve your traffic and will be a new starting point for you. The only drawback being that this will take TIME. But if you want to be able to compete and make it in this game- it’s time that will have to be spent.

Those darn search engines…

You’ve worked hard and made some good sites or pages, right? But how many of those sites/pages are actually listed IN the search engines? I’m not talking about one or two post pages, or article pages, I’m talking about your index.html/index.php pages - the all-important HOME pages! Spend time getting the home page at LEAST listed in the major search engines. Even if you only ever get your index pages listed in the search engines, which shouldn’t be too tough, then you’ll be looking at much better traffic. Ten site visitors from 10 search engines is already 100 site visitors per site. And remember, SE traffic converts (usually) way easier than link list traffic!!!

Double what you have now… or, double the content you have now.

Here’s one idea you might like to try in the next month or so… Using sub folders www.domain.com/pet-health/ (which are ideal because they’re obviously free) literally double the amount of pages that you have. Go through the usual search engine / link list submission routine and see what a difference this makes. Remember that one theory in this business is to have a lot of pages that each get a little bit of traffic. Double the pages you have and you may double the traffic along with it.

However, the opposing theory is to have one site that you concentrate one, make personal and use unique content for. I happen to do both. I have dozens of ‘mini-sites’ that address narrowly specific topics. But the sites I concentrate on, on a day-to-day basis, are my ‘big ones’. The ones I care about, update daily with fresh and unique content, and work very hard on. So, you can pick one theory, or both, though I would recommend picking one to start and then getting to the point where you can do both.

If you have one site you work hard on, go on a content generation spree. Add good, relevant and unique content at a quicker pace. I tend to do this during holiday months. For example, right now it is October, so I am posting 5-7 posts a day on one of my blogs on everything from Halloween treats to making your own costumes to part ideas. Remember that holidays come *every* year - so this content will still be relevant *next* October.

Staying in the game.

Above all - DON’T GIVE UP! If there’s one thing that I’ve learnt about webmastering, you can have zero sales for six days and then sales on the 7th day can make it your best week yet. This is an extreme example but it shows that things can turn around very quickly in the webmaster business…