No matter what you're marketing on the web, there are days that it seems like your traffic numbers are dwindling, and you cant seem to tell exactly whats off. It doesnt matter if your audience is out of town, glued to the Olympics, or simply not making it to your website. Theyre just not there when you need them to listen most. Every website owner has a time when they feel that their traffic may be suffering. Luckily, this is the best time for you to get moving and take a few fail-safe steps to action. Stop checking your statistics in a fever pitch, and choose one or two of the following traffic back-up plans to boost your traffic, and reach a new audience, within days.

Idea 1: Post on Craigs List in your area. Everybodys doing it. Create a professional ad in the appropriate section. Make sure it is well-written, has an active HTML link, and sells your brand or products. You can post a new ad every day, as long as its not the same ad. Post and feature one of your products every day, if youre an online retailer. If you sell services, run a special for Craigs List users only. If you can code a simple HTML table, with links to the graphics on your website, your advertisement can set you apart from the crowd. Visit: http://www.craigslist.org and look around for examples of ads. Its also a great place to barter some of your services or products with other small businesses.

Idea 2: Do a contest for a giveaway and spread the news about it. Choose a nice item or quick service that you want your audience to know about, and give it away in a drawing. You can do this on a weekly basis or once a month. Its easy to do, and not too expensive. All you need is a form on your website which is great for adding subscribers to your email list or postal list. If you have a message board or discussion group, make sure to announce your giveaway. In fact, any forum you belong to should be notified about it. Write up a quick announcement for email lists and newsletters you receive. (Or, if youre really, really bold, and want a huge amount of traffic, submit it a few internet sweepstakes sites) A press release is also a nice, professional touch that may help your contest make its way to a few websites and local papers. If you decide to do a regular contest, expect a lot of links to your website in the future.

Idea 3: Join a business or social network online and introduce yourself. Have you heard of MySpace? (www.myspace.com) How about Ryze? (http://www.ryze.org) Both of these forums are a place for self employed and other business professionals plan their work, and play. The concept is simple; your network expands as more people join your friend list. You can join forums, groups, and subgroups based on your interests, as well as learn about real-life, local networking events. Think of it as part directory, part chat room, and part advertising space; a place where people surf around, view profiles, and form an opinion of you and your business. Then they decide if they want to network with you in real life. So take a few minutes, create a professional profile, and join some discussion forums. Be friendly, chat openly, and participate. Every time you join a group or create a post, people are watching and visiting your website. And every time you have something to announce, youll have a whole new subculture listening to you!

These are just a dent in the many ways there are to increase your audience and build traffic. Theyre great in a pinch, and youll be able to see tangible results after about a week. But its really a great idea to have a thorough marketing plan in the long run. Use these as a quick fix, and build up your audience, but be aware that building website traffic is a daily affair. Hard work and determination, and the right knowledge, will help you immensely in your quest for quality traffic.