Before discussing various other ways to increase traffic to your website, we need to be sure you have a clear understanding of exactly what this means. To the internet rookie, the most important thing to watch on a page is the counter - it is considered the single most important tool to tell how "popular" or "worthwhile" your website is. The more "hits", the more successful the endeavor.

It's Not Just Your Time Anymore!

Just as there is a price for fame, there is a corresponding price to be paid for fame on the internet. Do you think you have "unlimited traffic" at your website? Look closely at the "fine print" in the information provided you by your website host - there is no such thing as "unlimited traffic", and if you happen to luck across a hosting service that truly offers it, I can assure you it will not last long! Generally, the traffic limit on each website is 2 GIG/month. There are some hosting services that offer as much as 8 GIG/month, but I have yet to see a hosting service successfully offer more than that.

Regardless of the limit imposed by your particular website host, there are fees charged to you for "excess traffic", and if you do not pay these fees, your site will be disabled. Unfortunately, I'm not talking small potatoes here - generally, if you get into the "excess traffic" arena, you will be shocked to find fees in the neighborhood of $100/month imposed on you. And, obviously, the better your site promotion, the higher the traffic, the higher the cost to you.

How do you avoid the high traffic costs? Well, generally, you don't - it's a trade-off, NOT an avoidance. For instance, you may strike a deal with a hosting service that specializes in the type of content you have on your website that will welcome you into their fold for no additional cost, but, you probably will have your site in a frame of the host server's site, and it will begin to lose clarity that it actually IS your site. Or, perhaps you will develop a website that takes off in a huge way, such as the Mirabilis ICQ program, and some large corporation will purchase it from you. More than likely, neither of these will happen.

Offsetting the Monetary Costs

So… What you then may do is consider some type of compensation to off-set the costs incurred due to high traffic.

Websites that "Sell" Something

If your website has an online store, or is online merely to promote a product or business, and your traffic increases to the "excess" point, chances are your sales have correspondingly increased, and you should be happy to pay the small price for the additional sales. It was always a shock to me to work in a fledgling corporation who had suffered the customary "start-up" costs and was thus, "in the red" for a few years, only to finally see profits come in and subsequently be in a position of the high income taxes that came directly out of the profits! That, however, is a cost of doing business, and successful online businesses consider their "traffic fees" a normal part of business.

Using your Website as a Reseller for Products

I have done this myself, in the "software" section of enchantress.net Resources. Basically, you are accomplishing a few things this way - you are offering your visitors easy access to products you recommend, you are providing them with an online address to purchase those products at a great discount (assuming you are affiliated with an above-board seller), and you are earning some small commission on the products that are sold by linking through your site. Not a bad deal - I used to refer all my viewers directoy to JASC to purchase PaintShop Pro - the affiliate program I have joined sells the product $20 lower than JASC does, and I profited NONE before!!

Links that Pay

If you are not incredibly opposed to having banners on your website, you may want to consider adding some banner links that pay on high-traffic pages within your website. There are several program available from many sources; the most common and known banner program is LinkExchange (the banner links that pay are not the same as participating in the Link Exchange Banner Network).

In the course of doing research for this section, I finally determined I couldn't provide any information with substance unless I actually entered into affiliate agreements myself. I also determined that if the links that pay was a viable business opportunity, I wanted to know as quickly as possible so I could report back. SO… I started two brand new websites, with similar information, within a week of each other to watch the results. The first website, EZ Money Now!, is housed within my own domain; the second website, EZ Cash, is housed within a free space domain.

If you are interested in learning more about banners that pay, please visit one of the above two websites; I have provided information about the programs and some selling tactics there, and do not need to repeat them here!

Search Links That Pay

Looksmart's SmartLink Search Box
GoTo.com's "Search in a Box"

Admission Fees

If you happen to have a website that is incredibly popular, but you aren't selling anything, then undoubtedly you either have some of the best content available or you're giving something away that has value to others. If , for instance, you are providing something people "pick up" for free from your website, such as graphics, midis, fonts or programs, you may want to consider moving a large portion of your freeware over to an area "for members only", and charging either a "per visit" fee, an annual membership fee, or a lifetime membership fee. Some of the best online services I used in the past several years have turned from "free" services to "pay" services strictly because of the enormous cost involved to keep their services online.

Advertisers / Sponsors

Some webmasters solicit advertisers and/or sponsors for their sites, and, if you have a popular website and are not opposed to placing advertisements of sorts on your pages, this is also a viable opportunity. This would be one of the MORE difficult ways to obtain funds, as you would have to research sites that are in the same context as your site, then individually contact each with, more or less, a "business" plan.

Referrals for Hosting Services

Many of the current website hosting services have plans in which you can participate to bring in additional revenue. Basically, you refer people to the hosting service, and, if someone you refer opens an account with the hosting service, you will receive a commission.

In addition, you may wish to become a host "reseller" - you enter into an agreement with a hosting service, and you offer space to others as if it were your very own to offer. The hosting service provides you a reduced rate on the web hosting package, and you charge whatever the market will bear.

Hosting Service Resellers

Virtualis offers an incredible reseller program, with an easy to complete application, quick setup, and more instruction than you'll find anywhere for making a success out of your participation. For each virtual server sale you make you will receive 25% of that site's monthly hosting fee. In addition, Virtualis now has a new line of 4 dedicated servers fit for all size corporations. Commissions for dedicated servers are 20% setup and 20% recurring commission. Every single month. There is no expiration on your commission! You will not find a more generous continual commission schedule anywhere else! The truly amazing thing about Virtualis, though, is that they actually make you a complete website, within just minutes of registration, to begin your hosting sales. Take a look at MY Virtualis Hosting Site - OR have a look at what they offer if YOU sign up for your own hosting reseller site!