Project Heavy Traffic Links

Project Heavy Traffic has decided to launch Project Heavy Traffic Links.

I am going round inviting other bloggers to exchange links with me. I am now PR3 and has a technorati rank 0f top 6000 and technorati authority of 631. I want to build up my incoming links and hopefully help others to build up theirs too. I will be introducing interesting sites from the exchanges in my post .

To prove that i am serious, i have moved up my link section - Bloggers’ Network and Blogroll, in front of my blog Ad section, on the top right panel.

Please help me to spread the words and put this request in your post if possible.

If you are interested to exchange links with me, please leave your blog URL in the blog comment. No political, profanity and porn sites please. Thanks. Once i have enough links, I will be categorising the links to make it more orderly and visible.

I will very much appreciate it if you could add the links of my bloggers’ network on your site as well. Let’s help each other to build up links.

You can experiment it too and you will be surprised to see there are many kind bloggers out there!

Cheers to greater traffic!

I am fascinated by the interesting method used by a new blog- bigmoneylist. Although the method of gaining incoming links that fast might not go well with Google bots but it still has its place in generating traffic in this vast DotUniverse of blogs and sites . I am very encouraged by the author’s determination and willingness to experiment similar to the spirit of this blog.

Michael, the author of bigmoneylist, in his post Maturing as a Blogger reminded me of my own journey and my blog purpose, which seems to have lost some steam due to time and toils. I have decided to recharge and put in refreshing content. Please bear with me as it takes time.

It has also reminded me of my strong belief of the collective strength of bloggers’ network rather than just individual effort. We can learn so much from one another. “There is enough of the pie to go around” as one of my friends always advocate. Let’s prosper together!

Of course, these are just numbers.

One of my friends has asked me why do i detail my struggles in attracting web site traffic, in my blog. It does not make my site “sounds” professional.

“Just post the good news” he said.

I told him i am not an expert (yet) and there are many so-called “Expert” site out there that declared that they had tripled their web site traffic in a very short time but did not reveal the process. They merely listed down the general methods which could be found all over the internet. Hey! we want to know the real secrets!

It is like saying “I get from A to C”. Great! so where is the step ‘B’? What happened? What were your struggles in getting there?

This site is (at least trying very hard to) detailing the journey not just the result. You can actually trace back my posts to see where you are now (if you are starting out) and how i get to where i am now (which is not THERE yet by any Expert standard). But at least i am applying what i have gathered and learn and you can witness the live result in this blog.

The step B.

There is an interesting article i would like to share with you. This Blog is about sharing (as i constantly remind myself) and experimenting.

How to make money from your blog by StevePavlina

StevePavlina launched his site on Oct 2004. By April 2005 it was bringing in about averaging $4 per day in income. Now it earns over $1000 per day! Want to know how he did it?

Be Warned! This article is is very long, only for those who are interested.

Cheers!

Web Traffic Method #2: Alternative SEO Keywords

A week ago, i posted my thoughts on the Edison Chen scandal saga which is what blog is supposed to be - Thoughts to Blog.

I revised my post to include keyword tags for experimentation sake just to prove a point i wanted to verify for a long time.

Bloggers (including myself) are increasingly editing their posts carefully resulting in fewer ad hoc articles. This trend makes blogging closer to the main stream media. Some says this trend is worrying but that is another topic altogether.

After publishing the revised post, i received traffic from search engines from related keywords about the Edison Chen incident. It was despite the fact that i did not write at length about the saga, just my after-thoughts on the incident.

The following are some of my recent keywords search to my blog from search engines:

This one-time experimentation proves that (1) people loves scandal story (2) many bloggers use scandal related tags to ‘enhance’ their traffic even though it is not related to the content of their blog. I will not comment on whether it is right or wrong. Who am i to judge…

I guessed many of you already knew of the above facts and are not surprised at the above findings. I was just gathering small empirical data to show that this method (controversy aside) still works and alot of bloggers are doing it.

This blog, however, will not go that direction. Not because i think i am righteous but because i chose not to.

I know that most of you, like me are tired of general strategies of increasing website traffic like “Writing good content”, “create good blog design” etc.

In the next series of post, I will introduce practical methods, in which I have tried and yielded results.

WebTraffic method #1: BlogExplosion.

BlogExplosion is a good source of constant web traffic for me. The web traffic gets better when I put up a banner on BlogExplosion Header. I received lots of clicked through and first time visitors.

There is one feature, which I particularly like, which is the blog rocket. It is fun to play. To get listed on the rocket, you need to at least surf a blog for that day. It costs one credit to list your blog on the rocket. Your blog will be listed on the rocket (top 20 blogs) until it gets exploded’at the top by new entries.

I have learnt alot these few months from trial and error. I wished that there was someone out there who could tell me from the start what to do when creating a blog and to attract good traffic so that i would not have to waste precious time, much heartache and energy going around in circles.

But i also understand that i could not have learnt without getting my feet wet. Any way, it is the purpose of this blog to try all methods.

Ok. These are what i have learnt on hindsight. Hope it is useful to you.

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***10 Must Have Tips for New Bloggers***

#1: Use WordPress instead of blogspot

Personally i find that Wordpress is better in terms of design and functionality than blogpot although many bloggers like to start with blogspot or blogger.com. Consider carefully and plan well from the start as it is quite costly in terms of Ranking (technorati, PageRank etc.) and traffic to switch later on. many blogger did not think long term when starting a blog (that includes myself and that is why i am still stuck with the projectheavytraffic.blogspot.com although i have a wordpress one at projectheavytraffic.com).

#2: Place Google Adsense only when you have good traffic

Ever wonder why those professional blogger earn hundreds of dollars from Adsense and you earn only a few cents?

Another mistake i made which i have realised from hindsight is that new blogger should not be too eager to place google adsense on their blog else they will be placed at lowest Ad Band which is meaningless as you only earn a few cents. Place Google Adsense (or any other click per pay ads) only when you have good traffic and when you are eligible for a higher band.

What you should do is to concentrate on churning good articles.

#3: Have a traffic counter right from the start

This is not so much to show how many visitors you have but to measure your traffic flow. It is a must have tools for new bloggers. You get the counters from Sitemeter, statcounter or any other traffic measuring tool. Just type ‘counter’ in google will yield you a long list. Without measuring tool, you are like driving to an unknown place without a map or doing business without a business plan.

Measuring is only part of it. You have to do something about it once you know the numbers.

#4: Technorati, My blog Log, Blog explosion and RSS FEED

I recommend new bloggers to sign up Technorati, My blog Log, Blog Explosion and RSS Feed right from the start to attract traffic. A site is only as useful as how well you pormoted it. I got good traffic from each of these source. Technorati is a THE BLOG LIST, a must for new bloggers who want blog known. My Blog Log is a community site where you can promote your latest post and ask bloggers to join your community. Blog explosion is a manual traffic exchange site and it is getting popular!

Many new bloggers (including myself) have ignored RSS feed at the beginning which can cost you traffic. I have since learnt the importance of RSS and is now monitoring my feed at feedburner.

#5: SEO and Keywords are important

We cannot be always replying comments, visiting blogs and exchanging links. We need organic traffic from search engine to be sustainable. That is why Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and keywords are so important. New bloggers should start right from the start because it takes time to build up traffic from Search Engine. Read my post on 5 tips to increase keyword success and Search Engine Optimisation Part 1

#6: Do not Clutter your blog

Personally, this is one of the hardest point to master. Although we know that cluttering the blog will slow down the loading speed, we still face many tamptations of adding interesting widget and affiliate badges to our blog sidebar. We keep fighting the lure of decoratinfg our blog with awards and chat box and blog directory buttons. What i did is to trim my blog fats from time to time. And for this blog. i change to a simplier template. You have to keep trying…

Compare this blog with my projectheavytraffic.blogspot.com blog.

#7: Experiment on Different traffic methods.

This blog is a result of experimenting with different traffic methods. I dare say that it would not be what it is now if i did not participate in meme or tagging game. Some says that it is not an orthodox method but says who? All methods are way of beating the system. And who own the system anyway. Do you want to let one system say PageRank rules the blog universe? Have an open mind, you will receive surprising result!

#8: Having the correct Attitudes

Having the correct attitude is important . Do not start a blog to milk for money immediately. it will not be sustainable Please read my post on 5 Attitudes in making your blog Successful and Don’t just blog for money

#9: Do not be Obsessed with PageRank

I have written many articles on PageRank. My PageRank went from 0 to 4 back to an unjustified zero again all these within a short span of a few months. Although i tried to Explain PageRank, discussed about the Page rank mystery, Facts and Fictions on PageRank, i came to a conclusion that PageRank is only a tool. We don’t know what are the actual criteria for its ranking.

Although i did said it is a brilliant tool (see In Defence of PageRank). I am now not so sure after they revised the system. I have learnt not to be too bothered about PageRank. It really does not matters unless your blog is all about writing paid post.

#10: Build traffic one comment at a time.

I have learnt to build traffic one comment at a time. Comments are important. I wish i have time to put comments on all my favourite blogs but we have limited time per day and other commitments (work, family, social). Nevertheless, i have built up a network of friends, which to me is the most valuable asset since i started blogging.

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You can read the rest of my struggle and journey on how i increase website traffic.

Cheers!

In my effort to increase organic (FREE) traffic from Search Engine, i have started a Keyword experiment. My experiment has yielded some success for me. I want to share my “secrets” with you here on PHT.

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For keywords:
“Tips to Increase Website Traffic” - Project Heavy Traffic is on Page 2 of google search list

“Increase Website Traffic”
Project Heavy Traffic is on the top 11 pages (not bad considering that there are millions of pages on this topic)

Of course, these are just only two of the many keywords i have experimented on. Some niche keyword has yielded surprising result.

Want to know how to increase keyword success? This is what i have gathered to achieve the above result. Although the list may look like just general guideline but if you follow it consistently, you can achieve the same result like my blog. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SECRET ABOUT IT!

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5 Tips to increase keyword success :

1. Use the right keywords/phrases to attract your target customers.

Not sure what keywords to use? You can use the tool (currently free- read T&C before using) http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html to research for the popular words for your blog.

2. Place the keyword in your blog post title.

3. Place keywords within the first sentence of your content.

4. Place keywords in web page Title and META tags (note: this is increasingly becoming obsolete as it is believed that this is not a priority of search engine anymore).

5. Do not paste keywords all over your blog, Search Engine will treat it as “Autoblog”. All your efforts will hence be down the drain.

If you are using wordpress, you might want to consider this keyword pugin.
A WordPress Plugin for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

I still not found a good widget of this kind for blogger. Have you seen one? Please let me know.

To Blog traffic success! Cheers!

Project Heavy Traffic 1.0 gets its current traffic flow (average 50 to 70 unique visitors per day) within 6 months by sytematically applying web traffic methods.

Considering the fact that i am only a part-time blogger with only less than an hour at night to blog, it is a result i am proud of.

Let’s Recap Project Heavy Traffic’s tips on how to increase web site traffic (Read from bottom up for chronological order).

It is by using these tips methodologically that PHT gets to where it is now. I do not claim to be a guru or an expert. This is a real experiment and it is only part of the journey.

Episode Bonus: 5 ATTITUDES in making your blog successful
Episode 30: Focus on Viral Tag
Episode 29: Act on it!
Episode 28: Traffic Full Throttle
Episode 27: Tagging
Episode 26: The four letter F*** word which is…
Episode 25: Spiral Links
Episode 24: Blog Community revisit
Episode 23: Perhaps the most important web traffic…
Episode 22: Classified Ads
Episode 21- Expand your traffic horizon!
Episode 20: Blog Directories
Episode 19: Good Affiliate Programs
Episode 18: Pinging
Episode 17: Forums
Episode 16: Exchange link with other sites
Episode 15: DIY viral marketing I
Episode 14: Add a widget
Episode 13: Advertising network?
Episode 12: Bookmarking my site
Episode 11: Traffic exchange site
Episode 10: Register with social content websites
Episode 9: submit url to google, yahoo and the oth…
Episode 8: Join a blog community site
Episode 7: Register Site with Technorati
Episode 6: Add RSS feed
Episode 5: Content review
Episode 4: Adding a statcounter to measure traffic…
Episode 3: Blog description is important!
Episode 2: Add Google Adsense
Episode 1: blog creation and enhancement