Generating Traffic in a tiny niche

How do you all go about generating traffic to a site that has very little (if any) established sites about the theme?

I just launched a Vietnamese American site and have already worked on a couple backlinks from sites that have been up for a while. But now I'm sorta stuck on what to do next.

I can't find anymore related sites - the only related directories are no longer updated (so I'm trying to start my own). I'm linked to from probably the only authority site out there.

So how do I get the word out about my site? I know there are people out there interested in it...but if they never hear about it - how will they know?

 

Your site is nicely designed and organized and has good content. You've won half the battle there, because good sites get linked to. I can see your problem though, there are not many sites related to your topic and the keyword phrases are probably infrequently searched.

One thing you can do is to make an RSS feed for your site (if you're using blog software it probably does this automatically) and submit it to the various RSS websites. Depending on how often you update content, this could bring daily repeat visitors to your site. I just did this with my webzine and have gotten new traffic from it.

Also, try submitting your articles to related websites and let them reprint the article in exchange for a link to your site. You should also look into websites that are not necessarily Vietnamese American focused, but may still attract possible visitors. For example, your article on Minorities in the Newsroom might be well received at some smaller news sites, and might attract some interested visitors.

I notice one of your articles says that vietnamese women is the most searched phrse with vietnames in it. My guess is, Vietnamese men are searching this term looking for dates, and these might be people who would be interested in your site. Maybe create some kind of Vietnamese singles/dating page? Obviously thats not the point of your site but it could attract people who might stick around and check out the rest of the site.

 

I've made the RSS feed already - its on the left side (orange bar thing). How do most people find the feed through blog sites though? (I'm registered over at bloglines, but I don't think I get any traffic from there)

The biggest problem with submitting articles to related websites I've found is that the majority of them aren't updated. Some of the top sites don't even have working contacts anymore. But thanks for the tip - I'm gonna continue to figure out different sites I can approach.

I think the dating site might work - more time and effort but I guess it will work in the end. Thanks.

 

One thing that has worked for different subjects...but the same issue of bringing in more traffic and links is along the following lines:

Create a directory for other reasons why people might want to turn to a Vietnamese - American magazine. I can't say what they are. But an example of this would be a restaurant that is also a caterer. They might have a directory of wedding planners, florists, limo services, etc. What that can do is drive other sites to your site. It will allow you to drive in traffic that have interest in your subject matter...and that of the associated subject matters.

I have seen this work more than once...primarily for localized sites but also for my site in a nationalized way.

BTW I looked at your restuarant pages and noticed that your site is oriented toward California cities (Too bad...I eat a lot of Vietnamese food in the Washington DC region) Maybe your site is somewhat regionally oriented and you can draw traffic and sites with localized web sites that overlap with Vietnamese-American topics.

Good luck.

Dave

 

Yeah at the moment we only have content for California cities - I want to branch it out to other cities but I don't know much about it. On the other hand - I just added a Washington DC category. =P Feel free to add to it.