Judging from all the other webmaster resource blogs out there, most of the traffic sources for your site are to be found by actively building links, finding where your target demographic congregates online and recruiting them from those places, and forging relationships/partnerships with other sites.  It’s also true, however, that some of the most powerful sources of traffic for your site can be found in an often overlooked place–your stats counter.  That’s right.  That humble piece of javascript code you slap on your sidebar widget’s text box or straight to your site’s HTML code might contain traffic “secrets” that can blow your traffic volume up.

The best thing (the worst thing to some people) about public web pages is that someone somewhere somehow at sometime in the vast expanse of cyberspace can link to you.  They can link to you directly, they can link to you using an infinite number of link titles, they can link to you via pictures, etc.  The important thing to note is that they can and do link to you.  Mine your stats counter to see who links to you, how they link to you, and why.  See if there is a good fit between the referring site and your blog/site.  See if you can “expedite” or assist their link.

Why would people want to link to your content?  Forums and other places for online social interaction live on and can only survive based on CONTENT.  Most of the time, people just paste content into forum posts.  However, to avoid copyright issues, some of the more conscientious posters post links with commentaries, or just straight links.  Blogs also require content and often sample (with link back) other sites’/blogs’ content along with the blog’s specific commentary.  There’s tons of other variations on this.  The bottom line is that someone, somewhere, somehow will link to you.

Lessons learned

If you notice new entries in your referral logs, INVESTIGATE.  Despite some shortcomings, I suggest you use Google Analytics for your stats tracking.   Its major drawback is that it doesn’t give you the direct url of the traffic source.  It uses the format DOMAIN.COM/referral.  Despite this drawback, it allows for dumping referrer sites in a CSV.  Another good program to use to find referrers is Stats Counter.   See how much total traffic unsolicited thirdparty links bring in.  Paste the link onto a new browser window and see how you were linked.  ACCELERATE the flow of traffic by opening an account in that forum and bumping the thread that contains your link.  Alternatively, if the link came from a blog, post a followup comment on the blog entry that mentions your link.  You can also copy and paste the URL of the blog onto Pingoat and ping the blog that’s linking to you.  COLLABORATE with the link source through a formal link exchange–blogroll link exchange or placement of your link in their resources/links page.

Important sources of traffic might be ‘lurking’ right under your nose.  Check out your stats report and see if you can dig any goodies.

Photo credit: Lumaxart