By BuildYourHomeBiz.com

You know those companies that boast that they can increase your hits significantly, and for free?

Like many sparkly-eyed hopefuls online, I once used a traffic-generation service. My blissful daydreams included visions of $10,000 cheques arriving in the mail, after hordes of eager customers pushed and shoved for the opportunity to throw their money my way.

Too bad it didn't quite work that way.

Oh, these services *did* provide me with traffic. In fact, I got hundreds of extra click-throughs to my website. But I didn't get one single sale. It was absolutely maddening! What went wrong?

It was actually very simple. These traffic-generating services were meant to do exactly that: generate traffic. They do their jobs, but they don't necessarily give you TARGETED traffic, which is what you want. And they certainly can't help you with your website or your products.

Some of these traffic services require their members to click through a certain number of links - in return, members also get a certain number of click-throughs to their own sites. These people are only trying to accumulate as many click-throughs as they can. They're generally not interested in what you offer.

When it comes down to it, the only types of 'hits' that mean anything are those that come from REPEAT VISITORS to your site. Your visitor may view 3 pages one day ... then come back a day, a week, or a month later and read a few more.

Why the focus on repeat visitors?

For one thing, trust is a big reason people buy. Repeat visitors get to know you and your site; after spending time there, they'll begin to develop a "relationship" with you. When they trust you they're also more likely to buy from you.

Now, if you're certain you're getting quality traffic and you STILL have zero or few repeat visitors, then you need to take a good, hard look at your website. Are you giving them a reason to come back? Do you offer valuable content, a discussion board, or other incentives or rewards?

Remember that it's QUALITY that counts, not quantity. Make your visitors WANT to return to your website. Instead of trying to accumulate as many hits as possible, concentrate on getting INTERESTED prospects to visit. And, of course, offer great products. Do all three and you're well on your way to increasing your online profits!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Angela's website www.buildyourhomebiz.com features tutorials, tips, and articles on starting and building an online income. Sign up there for her popular free ezine, The Netrepreneur's Notebook, which offers real information from real people who make money online!