I've always read (and it makes sense to believe) that search engine traffic is the best kind of traffic because it's very targetted--people are actively looking for what your site contains (usually). But one of my sites in particular gets a lot of traffic from a link that's on another site with a similar theme. Would that traffic be just as good as the search engine traffic? What do you think?
In case it is related, it helps both. It increases your chances to be found in Google on that subject, and it increases to be found on a related website. Search Engine traffic is the best in my opinion because people dont know a good place yet, thats why they search for it. If your site is good and found first, they wont look further. If your site is linked on a related site, they probably know a few more sites about it and there is usually a slightly lesser chance they buy something. Still like mentioned before, the relevant link exchanges with actual traffic are the top best you can get. THEY make you get search engine traffic as well.
Our site is old. We started working on google serps slowly about 1 3/4 years ago. We were buried at the time and hard to find. We had a couple of very themed links that delivered a lot of traffic which was tightly themed and converted. As our serps improved the volume of this themed traffic diminished. It still is relevant and still is quality in terms of turning up conversions...just less so since we are first page for important keyword phrases and easier to find. Tightly themed links work very well...and good serps work very well. Work on both. Dave
It depends on what your site is. If you sell a product (ebook/software..) the most targeted traffic comes from adwords, good articles you've written and endorsements/links by/from affiliates who have traffic that trusts them. For a content site the best traffic comes from searches/forums/endorsments. jmo
my $0.02 - if the site that you have the link on is VERY relavent it can be MORE useful that search engine traffic... but you can answer your own question... analyze the logs and determine the conversion rate coming from either source. as conversion is what really matters.
The themed site link can be invaluable for branding when it appears on a respected themed portal. You may never actually connect the dots as to the source, but IMO, the exposure to traffic that does not follow the link can eventually lead to an indirect sale.
Yes traffic from search engines and links from the sites with similar theme, and even from the forums of similar themes, all are good, as far as the readers get good stuff and make them stick to the website.
Would that traffic be just as good as the search engine traffic? i think its good since its related to the content and converted to buyers or targeted isnt it )
You mention "similar". The benefit of that traffic would be based on how "similar". As mentioned in earlier posts it can work, and well, if targeted enough. You can more closely target your link traffic with proper use of your anchor text. If it mirrors what they will find on the other end of the click the traffic can be great and convert very well.
It's all about the specific website. Traffic from search engines is the most common way in getting organic traffic, but of course, if a high-traffic website put up a good link to your website - that's great!
best is to have diversified sources of traffic. Even if search engine traffic forms the bulk of traffic, it is also good to get traffic from other sources. At the rate that Google changes its algo, there might be some days when search engine traffic ceases temporarily.
Heh. This thread is quite old. In fact I commented on it 6 years ago. Re: search engine versus themed link traffic. About 3 weeks ago I met face to face w/ a webmaster. We link to one another and have done so for several years. The particular websites are complementary. There is a theme. In both cases traffic from one site to the other ranks amongst if not the highest generators of link traffic to one another's sites. The relative volume of our mutual link traffic to one another is a mere speck compared to SE traffic. Perspective suggests for most sites...target SE traffic.
Yes, it is. Targeted traffic simply means the audience that you are trying to find that would be interested in what you have to offer. Maximise your traffic building efforts by gathering from both non-SEO and SEO methods together.
I don't think I understand the question. The source of the traffic really doesn't matter if you are getting conversions. I mean, there is potential for higher traffic through a SE than a link on a site, but I'm not sure if that was your question..
Either or. Link traffic is definitely cheaper though. Just go on mturk or microworkers, say you'll pay someone $1 or less to put your site in their "featured sites" or "blog roll" you can get constant traffic for very little. Then make the link say something related to your niche obvs.