I know a lot of folks with web sites, and they have them for lots of different reasons. Some of these people create websites to promote a neighborhood cause or share the produce of their favorite hobby – writers, artists, musicians with day jobs. Some started their webites thinking it would be a great way to make money part time.
Even more, I know quite a handful of folks, many of them consultants, who rely on the Internet to market themselves and run their businesses. I myself fall into this latter category. The one thing I can say about my approach that is unique from folks in all web development categories is the level of attention I give to the performance of each one of my websites. I don’t know anyone else who knows the performance of their eCommerce as well as I know my own. One of my strongest traits is that I am doggedly persistent. Another strength is that I am consistent by nature.
At 1:30 a.m. today I wrapped up my day’s-end tasks. In the wee hours I check my money, check my traffic stats, check my e-mail. It’s easy. There’s no rush in any of this – it’s all but rhythmic, because it’s so second-nature to me. Across the board, my two dozen sites are performing increasingly well. With an eye on the details, I can catch small problems before they become big ones. I can see clearly what’s working and do more of that. Here’s an example.
HealthForPeople.com is a site I was inspired to create after I was in an auto accident recently. I had a frustrating experience with one of the emergency personnel, and it struck a chord in me. Her philosophy seemed to be that I didn’t know anything about my own health – when the opposite is true – and that I had no right to participate in my own well being. Now, I’ve worked in both healthcare and alternative healing. I feel pretty strongly that it’s time for people to take a greater share of responsibility for their health, to work as partners with their providers, and for providers to honor that paradigm shift.
Apparently I’m not alone in this attitude. HealthForPeople.com is not even “finished” and it’s getting real, organic traffic. It’s cracked through the 1 million barrier, with an Alexa rank of 958,678 after 5 weeks and zero promotion. A third of the articles are irrelevant to their headings, waiting for more of my loving attention. But I sure do like that site. This is a prime example of how my consistent nature is paying off in eCommerce. I consistently identify the cultural gap, pursue my passions, and share the results with a broader world. Consistency. Persistence.
My web host reports that I’ve got about 500 requests for pages a day, with occasional spikes in the thousands. My money blog, SectorMatic Money Journal, is getting more than 5,000 visitors a month. All of my two dozen sites will continue to see further development from my persistent, caring hand. I consistently care about the information I’m presenting – about the value I’m adding to the marketplace.
One thing that the search engines love is change – freshness. I heard that sometime ago. I see that with every effort I make. Push ahead, and get more rank. Tweak this, and get more traffic. Test and tweak, rinse and repeat. Persist. Write. Move. Study. Use the tools consistently. Apply the leverage. Go back and do it again. The smallest effort sometimes yields the biggest results. Do what you know, and then learn more. Don’t ever stop moving, because the inertia of standing still is so hard to overcome. With consistency, with persistence, with applied knowledge, it all just keeps getting easier.
