An estimatation of time needed: give people an idea of how much time survey will take to complete.

A mix of open and closed questions: A closed question gives quantitative information. Example: Please rate usability of web site ? Very good – Good – Average – Bad – Very bad An open question gives qualitative information. Example: What subject would like to see on site ? Users are free to answer as they want to.

Closed questions are much easier to analyze. With an open questions you may get as many different answers as respondents. It is sometimes useful to mix open and closed in same question. Example: What subject would like to see on site ? Answer: News – Interviews – Pictures – Games – Other, please specify. Therefore a good ratio is one open question for five closed questions.

No personal information that are not necessary: do you need snailmail address or phone number ? The more personal information you ask, fewer responses you will get as people will give up along way.

Ask respondents to leave a comment at end of survey. Inform them that you can use a comment as a testimonial.

Let users enter a sweepstake, offer exclusive content, give them a giveaway, anything to motivate people to take survey.

When you write questions and answers, always have in mind what it will take to analyze them. Do not offer too many answers. Do not ask too many open questions. More answers mean multiple different results and a risk that trend that should be there is diluted and cannot be seen.

The best tool to analyze answers is a spreadsheet such as Excel. Although some online survey tools are able to analyze answers.

It is not recommended to give results online to users as it can influence people who have not taken survey yet and inform competition.

Some suggested questions to ask in a survey are:

What do you think of web site content ? Very good – Good – Average – Bad – Very bad

Rate usability of site ? Very good – Good – Average – Bad – Very bad

Is it easy to find relevant content on site ? Yes – No

Do you like design of site ? Yes – No

What content would like to see on site ? Open question, users are free to answer what they want to

After 100 or 1,000 surveys filled and analyzed, you already have a good snapshot of users' opinion. The next step is to adapt web site based on survey's results and satisfy users.

The added advantage with articles as well, is that you can post them on other related websites. By doing this, you can create numerous backlinks by including your link at end of your article.

Search engines love Article content; but we’ll go more into Search Engines in next section.

IV -Search Engines --------------------------------

Search engines are great for driving web traffic if you can get into about top 30 results for popular search terms. With Google, rankings depend largely on backlinks and PR.

In addition to these two variables; another variable is Onpage Optimization.

Onpage optimization is basically editing of your HTML code so that its ideal for placement in search engine results.

This editing may including editing of meta tags, descriptions, keywords and content realignment.

Quick tips for Onpage optimization for web traffic

1. Use H1 header tags

Make sure that this tag contains your keyword.

2. Use H2 tags.

Largely taken as a subheading, make sure this also contains your main keyword;

3. Evenly spread keywords

Also, with regards to content, try to make reference to your keyword regularly, but not too often. Try to mention it evenly throughout document. This is where article writing from previous sections comes in handy. With your articles, make sure that

There are numerous other Onpage Optimization tips I can give you, but I go into that more in Optimization tips article HERE.

V - Discussion Boards/Forums --------------------------------

Discussion forums are a great way to get your message out and generate even more web traffic.

To find these forums use your keyword and word 'forums' with www.google.com

For example, ‘Cat forums’. Make sure that you keep a log of all of them. You’ll want to be making regular posts here.

On registering, try to include your URL and a brief description of your website in your signature. If you make regular posts on forums, and change signatures every once in a while to reflect what’s going on at your website, you will have a steady stream of visitors.

For example, an example signature could be ‘Catland.com – ‘How to make cats happy’ article just posted 12/34/04’.

On these boards, you will also realize that there are several recurring questions new persons ask.

With reference to Cats forums; there may be a question which you find reoccurs 'How should I groom my Cat?'.

If you can create an article to answer each of these questions, you can always post link to your article everytime a newbie asks question. This will drive fresh users to your website and once your website has in great content; will ensure repeat user and more web traffic.

VI - Conclusion --------------------------------

There are always new ways of finding means of developing web traffic. Offline promotion such as developing business cards can also help. You've only just begun your journey! The last thing I want to say is that fresh content ALWAYS brings return vistors; keep adding content; and your visitors will return time after time.

With that said I wish you all best with your web traffic quest!