How to make a website popular

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Learn how to make a website popular with these tips for bloggers and site owners

The 21st century Internet age has brought a lot of money and even more web users to website after website. Because there are billions of people looking for information online, there are also more people than ever who are trying to start their own business online or create their own blog.

In order to have a popular website, you need to be able to draw people to it. No matter what topic you are discussing, there are probably sites that have already beaten you to it.

It shouldn’t necessarily matter if the topic you are dealing with has already been covered. The important thing is that you are using the right techniques to draw people to your little corner of the web. Learning how to make a website popular isn’t rocket science. There are a couple of different tactics you can take that will result in more visitors than you could have hoped.

Bring a Fresh Voice

If you are starting a blog, you need to know that no matter what you cover, it has indeed been done before. If you don’t believe me do a Google search for the oddest topic you can think of and you’ll find that dozens of sites pop up.

This doesn’t mean that the web can’t support one more, but it does mean that you need to come up with an approach that stands out from the pack. If you want to start a blog covering your favorite sports team, don’t just offer up game previews, breaking news and recaps. People can find that kind of stuff on much more well established sites. When starting out, make sure you are giving things a spin that is 100% you. Find a fresh voice and a fresh angle. If you are good at what you do people will notice.

Network … Network … Network

Networking is an age-old business concept that basically means you have to get out there and get your name known.

On the Internet, networking takes on a specific meaning, because you literally can go onto social networks — Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin — and promote yourself. Sites like Twitter and Facebook are set up to allow you to get your name and whatever you have to say out to the public. Facebook actually allows businesses to better reach potential customers through business and brand pages and Facebook ads to attract followers.

Whether looking to start a blog, or an online store front you can use social networking tools to attract attention and hits. In the real world, word of mouth promotion became a back burner advertising approach offline, taking a seat on the bench in favor of advertising blitzes. On the Internet, just having someone mention your site on their own favorite social networking site can drive hundreds or thousands (if its the right person is making the right mention) of people to your site.

You can also partner up with sites that might deal in similar topics in order to drive traffic back and forth. If you are writing about the Kansas City Chiefs, find other sites that are covering that team and make sure they know you’re out there. Show them what you can do, be sure to reciprocate any positive attention and soon their visitors might be coming by your site to see what your take on an issue is.

Bring the Bells and Whistles

Pictures and videos can make your site all the more attractive to a massive number of visitors. If the pictures and videos are original its even better, because you will literally be the only place where they can see them. If your original pictures and videos are picked up by other sites, common courtesy says that they should be giving you credit and hits.

You don’t want a small business website or blog that is drab and common place. While you should be bringing a fresh voice, you also want a fresh look. Don’t stack the photos so deep that people can’t see the content, but remember that a website that is nothing but a wall of text is going to be ignored in favor of one that is attractive and well designed.