In Search of Your Own PerfectTraffic Machine

sterThe Internet is such an unknown commodity anything
is possible. One of the most intriguing questions
concerns the idea of a perpetual traffic machine.
Create a website and design a system of automatic
programs (both interior and exterior) that delivers
content and backlinks to a site that updates itself
automatically and keeps growing without any help
from the creator. In the process you build a flow
of traffic that never stops, even if the site is
abandoned or not touched for a couple of years or
never again.

Is such a perpetual traffic system really possible?

Before you conjure up pictures of HAL and creepy
talking computers in distant space... realize that
question may carry more weight than it would seem
at first glance. But is it like its predecessor,
the perpetual motion machine - just more an illusion
than actual fact?

For curiosity's sake if for nothing else, the idea
of a perpetual traffic machine does require further
investigation. Such a system would have special
interest for millions of webmasters whose main task
is acquiring traffic for their sites, not to mention
the potential for monetary gain a PTM (rhymes with ATM)
would produce.

Some credence was given to the idea recently when
Tinu Abayomi-Paul, a well-known online free traffic
expert, produced with the help of Marlon Sanders an
info-product entitled "The Evergreen Traffic Machine."

Tinu's story is very interesting. Tinu had built up
a whole array of sites and optimized them successfully
for countless keywords in all the major search engines.
She had built up a steady flow of traffic, resulting
in thousands of visitors "a day" to her sites. This in
itself is not that extraordinary, but that's not the
full story.

Because of a personal illness she abandoned or left
alone most of her sites for over a year or more - only
to discover the traffic systems she had put into place
didn't just dry up, they still kept producing tons of
traffic even though the sites weren't being updated.

The traffic was still coming. The traffic was still fresh.

Tinu basically built her perpetual traffic system
around three major areas: High Profile Article
Marketing, Exact Keyword Focus and Blogging/RSS
Feeds. Tinu's system proves you can create a traffic
system for a year or two, but the real question is
will it still produce traffic five years from now?
Fifty years from now? How about a hundred years?

The real question: how long will such a system work
without fresh input of unique content like the viral
articles and blog posts now feeding it? This question
is even more tantalizing when you consider it is now
possible to create fresh content on your sites with
RSS feeds, blog comments and user contributed content.

What's more intriguing is the fact that all aspects
of a website can be automated, including payment for
all renewals: domain, hosting, autoresponders... as
well as the collection of revenues such as affiliate
commissions and advertising fees.

Are we at the stage where the Internet will be filled
with these automated human-less web sites drawing
traffic/visitors and slowly building and expanding
on their own for eternity? Many cynics would argue
this is already the case with the majority of sites
on the web.

In case you like that idea and want to fully embrace
this brave new automated perpetual Internet, here are
a few tips to create your own eternal traffic machine:

1. Build lists and pre-load your AR system with follow-up
messages to keep visitors coming back to your site. You
can rotate these messages and ask your subscribers to
opt-in to different lists on related subject areas.
Always ask your readers to recommend your content to
others.

2. Use social bookmark software or links so that your
visitors can easily bookmark your content which brings
in both new links and new traffic. Simple programs like
the one offered by Addthis.com will get your visitors
building your backlinks for you, bringing in fresh
visitors who in turn will also bookmark your content.

3. Write viral articles, reports and ebooks that have
your backlinks in the resource boxes. Likewise, viral
software programs can help bring a constant flow of
traffic to your site. If your content is of a high
quality and your themes universal... new sites will
pick up your content and build your backlinks, creating
fresh traffic. The search engines will also index these
new links and your rankings will increase, bringing in
more traffic.

4. Use blogging and RSS feeds to get your content out
there. You can also use these RSS feeds to bring in
new fresh content to your site. Creating new content
will be your main obstacle to creating perpetual traffic...
you can get new content from feeds but will it be unique?
Comments in your blogs could bring in unique content but
if you're not monitoring them, you must have solid
software in place to fight against spam.

5. Have "Tell a Friend" forms on all your content.
This will bring new traffic to your site, which can
be self-refreshing as new people discover your content.

6. Encourage user generated content such as articles,
comments, posts... you can even have a community
monitoring system where your site's members monitor
this new content.

7. Form JV alliances with webmasters in your related
field. Do co-registration so that you help build each
other's lists and traffic.

8. Likewise, if you have products to sell, create an
affiliate program to get your affiliates to build your
traffic for you. Affiliates are an excellent source of
permanent traffic.

9. Automate all aspects of the running and managing
of your website. Set up automatic payments for your
AR system, hosting, domain renewal, PPC payments...
thru PayPal or credit card. Likewise, receive affiliate
commissions thru PayPal or direct deposit. Many
advertising programs like Google Adsense offer
direct deposit.

10. PPC Traffic - While we have mainly looked at free
traffic systems, don't forget creating a PTM is relatively
easy with Pay Per Click advertising if you know what you're
doing. Target less competitive keywords to keep your costs
down, tie this traffic into a good squeeze page for feeding
your AR system with leads and have a good landing page that
converts. You can create a system that delivers perpetual
traffic and pays for itself from your affiliate commissions
and advertising fees.

In summary, the argument for the existence of the PTM
mainly relies upon the quality of your content or site.
Is it unique enough to draw in new visitors? Does your
topic have universal appeal that people never tire of?
Does it solve or offer advice on a common human problem?
Will or does it have a viral "word of mouth" element to it?

As we move to a more and more automated world, all the
automated programs and hardware are in place for the
creation of such perfect traffic machines.