How to drive targeted traffic to your affiliate marketing business

You will need visitors to your site who are looking for exactly what you are offering, known as targeted traffic. Here are ten proven ways to drive quality traffic to your affiliate marketing business site and increase your online income:

1. Articles

Well written and informative how-to articles are proven traffic baits for affiliate marketing business sites. Use the resource box to provide additional links and include links in the body of the content to similar or additional information that can only be read on your site.

2. Email campaigns

Carefully used email campaigns can easily drive targeted traffic to your commercial affiliate marketing site. By providing highly relevant and valuable information in the body of the email message and then offering a link that will lead recipients to your site.

You can provide the full content in the email message, and then offer a link that invites the recipient to view more similar reports on your site. Or provide just a portion of the content in the email and offer the rest on your affiliate marketing site. A link must also be provided in your signature.

3. Blogs

In addition to your affiliate marketing site, use a blog to stay in touch with prospects and members. Blogs are considerably more personal and lighter in tone than most affiliate business sites and can be a great source of information, news, advice and tips for you and your prospects. Include a link from your blog to your affiliate marketing site. Please also allow comments so that your visitors can interact with you.

4. Electronic publications and newsletters

Information is what people search for on the Internet. By using proven methods to drive targeted traffic to your affiliate marketing business and offer a free ezine or newsletter on topics that interest your visitors, many visitors will choose to receive your information.

Offer your visitors free bonuses, such as e-books, for subscribing to your free newsletter. Use a separate landing page to manage the subscription process, or place the subscription box on the fold of your website where it is clearly visible.

5. Discussion forums and forums

You can encourage other members to react and reply back by leaving helpful and stimulating comments in discussion forums and forums. This will allow you to build a network relationship from here. Be sure to sign with a link back to your affiliate marketing business website.

6. Social bookmarking sites

You will find that these sites are a rich source of targeted traffic that can lead to your affiliate marketing business site. The demographics of your market is also easier to define, making sending invitations to prospects and members is much simpler.

7. Guest blogging

By becoming a guest blogger, you could drive traffic captured from another blog to your affiliate site. Readers of the site will find it interesting enough to follow you to your own site if you can write well and can offer unique and useful content.

8. Organize a contest

Locate your target market and then promote a contest through ads or emails. All details must be found on your affiliate marketing website so that you can direct traffic there. Registration must also be done on one of your landing pages. Just be sure to offer rewards that visitors who come find useful.

9. Allow bookmarks on your web pages

You can drive traffic to your affiliate marketing site by allowing your readers to bookmark certain pages that contain good content. This will help promote those pages and your website to others who may be interested in the same topics.

10. Offer gifts!

Everyone loves a freebie! There is nothing like a free gift to drive targeted traffic to your affiliate marketing site. It is easy to implement and can be relatively cheap or even free. Plus, you can offer these visitors an incentive to sign up for any campaign you're promoting.