Website traffic is the lifeblood of any online business so it is understandable that it is the focus of a great deal of internet marketing effort. A number of strategies have been developed and improved over the past few years which help webmasters build website traffic. Some of these ideas are excellent, some are okay and some are downright scams.

One of the most effective strategies to drive traffic to your site is viral marketing. The purpose of viral marketing is to make word of mouth recommendations easy. If people discover something on the internet that is particularly interesting, funny or even shocking, they are likely to share it with friends.

Viral marketing makes use of this human tendency by deliberately placing controversial, amusing or unique content on a website or blog in order to increase the popularity of their site. In doing so, website traffic increases and more interest is generated in a company's products or services. Online games, streaming video, and surveys are all popular viral marketing inclusions as are controversial articles or unique information.

A particular benefit of this form of internet marketing is that it is generally low cost and easy to implement. The long term benefits outweigh the time or cost of driving initial traffic to the site because these visitors will become your ongoing marketers and continue to bring traffic to your site. As personal recommendations grow, so too will your website traffic.

Using a "Tell A Friend" Script

An effective and simple way to take advantage of viral marketing is to use a "tell a friend" script. This is a basic programming script which can be included on your website. It is usually put on pages where media is used so that a visitor can easily pass the media on to friends or family.

The way the "tell a friend" script works is that a viewer is given the option to give his name, email address and the recipient's email address in order to send the media to them as an attachment. The recipient would not interpret the email as spam since their friend is seen as the official sender. Therefore, the email is likely to be opened and read rather than simply deleted.

Using
a "tell a friend" script greatly reduces the likelihood that your email will be blocked because it is sent officially from the referrer. Consequently, it can be a very effective marketing method that has the capacity of working very quickly.

Once the email is opened by the recipient, most will read, view or play the media included. This provides a company with a wonderful opportunity to introduce themselves, their products or services. Also included is another "tell a friend" script.

Thus, the cycle continues. As more and more people utilize the "tell a friend" script to pass on interesting material, the number of people actively aware of the company or site being marketed will rise exponentially. Often people who enjoy the information or material they have been sent will then click on the link to the site. Traffic is therefore driven to the website which benefits from an increasing pool of potential customers.

How Can You Get a "Tell A Friend" Script

"Tell A Friend" scripts require only very basic programming skills, however you can still obtain a script even if you have no programming experience whatsoever. These scripts are easy to find on the internet and can be copied and pasted onto the desired page. Simply search for the term "tell a friend script" on any search engine.

On the results page you will find that there are many different links to sites offering a "tell a friend" script. Click on these links and see what they have to offer and if there are any conditions to using the script. Choose the script that suits you best and copy and paste it to your web page.

The "tell a friend" script is an amazing viral marketing tool that can provide spiraling traffic generation benefits for little or no cost. Combining this strategy with creative media ideas and insight into what will catch people's attention can lead to a dramatic improvement in your business's profitability.

No matter how good the "tell a friend" script is in creating a buzz, if your chosen media doesn't attract interest as quickly as expected you will need to have patience. It may take a little while for it to be shared online. Ultimately, however, it will spread and an increasing number of people will view your ads and visit your site. Once viral marketing takes off, your website traffic will increase and so will your sales.