Online Community Management For Dummies®

Chapter 11

Attracting More People to Your Website

In This Chapter

• Using keywords to attract traffic
• Writing eye-catching content
• Using social networks to invite new members

When I talk about community traffic, I'm not talking about cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Instead, I'm referring to the number of people who visit your online community each day. Your traffic is based on how many people drop by each day, and you want more rather than fewer.

In Chapter 13, I discuss how to measure your traffic. Here, I focus on how to bring traffic to your community by using the right kinds of keywords and content.

Gaining Momentum: Why Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Online communities aren't set-it-and-forget-it affairs. Though the best case scenario is to achieve steady, organic growth, the truth is, it doesn't happen overnight. You may be frustrated at first because you have only a few members at a time and your employer may not think your community is growing quick enough, but the truth of the matter is that very few overnight success cases occur.

A slow, steady growth can give you a better idea of who your community members are and help you tweak your online tools accordingly. A mob scene doesn't give a community manager the opportunity to get to know members on a more personal level. It's important to know exactly who is in your community, for several reasons:

• You can tailor content ...