Direct Impacts and Search

Our visitor numbers have risen by about 25% in the last month.

This wasn’t too much of a surprise. We hired an SEO consultant last month to analyze and fix some tech issues. Most were relatively minor, but the combined impact is satisfying. The cost was low and the value was high.

If 70% of your traffic comes via search (as it does for most communities), what would a 20% increase in search traffic mean to you? What happens if you can increase your visitor numbers by 14% in a month? That’s 14% more value.

Too often we engage in endless rounds of yak-shaving activities when there are simpler solutions to achieving our goals.If you want more newcomers, improve your search ranking. Skip the referral scheme, competitions, and adword campaigns for now.

If you want more activity, focus on your most successful activities. If you don’t have any, find out what people like to do and test those activities.

If you want more value, find more ways people can add value. Members don’t just buy from you, they can help you recruit staff, create better product knowledge, promote you to friends (if you provide an incentive).

Tackle the biggest wins first.