Generate website traffic by using Interaction

Visitor Interaction is the process in which a visitor to your website/blog/squidoo lens communicates with you (the web-master) via comments, feedback, polls, discussion etc.

So, there are, effectively, two types of visitors:

1. Those that visit, read and leave maybe bookmarking your Squidoo lens for future reference in the process or not. So, maybe they'll return or maybe they won't. They may think that they received all they could from your site and felt there wasn't much point in coming back. They are known as your 'unique visitors.'

2. The other is those that visit, read and interact. E.g. maybe taking part in a poll, leaving a comment, feedback or joining in with a discussion and leaving a rating (if they're a member of Squidoo, that is!) They also bookmark your site with a view to return because they want to see what the response is to their feedback etc. This visitor is known as your 'returning visitor.'

Which, to you, is the most favourable of visitors?

So, the questions you need to ask are:

How do I encourage visitor interaction?
How do I make sure that my visitors return time and time again?
How can I make my website/blog/squidoo lens 'sticky'?

The level of interaction that you may receive from your visitors, depends largely on who you are!

If you are known for writing good content, engaging with your visitors, then you will definitely attract more feedback, comments, and interaction.

Check out some of the more popular lensmasters on Squidoo and see how much interaction they receive on their lenses!

1. Respect
2. A relationship with your visitors/readers
3. Traffic
4. Ideas or suggestions for new posts/new content
5. More comments or interactivity
6. Growth of your squidoo lens/website/blog
7. A way to get to know your visitors personally
8. Guaranteed return visitors

How to engage with your visitors

1. Reply to comments.
2. Reply to any emails you receive via your Squidoo lens.
3. Ask for feedback via polls, debates, discussions, voting, ratings, etc.
4. Publish a newsletter.
5. Run regular contests.

Don't be afraid of possessing a strong opinion.

If you do, then you are more likely to receive visitor participation in debates and discussions.

If your opinion on a topic is too 'middle of the road' or on the fence, then search for another way to spark a debate.

See How you can Encourage Visitors to Debate for ideas on how to achieve this.

The way to turn comments into content that you can use on your squidoo lens/blog/website is quite simple.

What you need to look for are the comments that pose a question or a request. You could reply to these comments direct into the comment section of your Squidoo lens but wouldn't it be so much better to answer the question on your lens?

E.g. I received this question on Mooncup - Reusable menstrual cup from Rose:

'I was just wondering, how old do you have to be to use the mooncup? Is it suitable for anyone under 15?'

- Is the question already answered on my site and, if so, is the answer clear enough for my visitors?
- Would the answer to the question create sufficient enough content?
- Is the question relevant to the rest of the content?

Hamblin, Mark
Buy at AllPosters.com

To , one way of 'livening' up a 'dead' squidoo lens is by introducing a debate or discussion.

With some topics this will be easy to accomplish however there will be some that will, initially, prove very difficult to achieve.

Note, that I say, initially :)

I believe that there is always something you can ask or state that will spark a worthwhile discussion. However, it will take some work and hard thinking on your part to find it!

So, how can you do this?

Take a look at the subject of your Squidoo Lens. Now, first search for the subject in Google, Yahoo or any search engine of your choice.

Has it been mentioned in the news recently? Why?
Has it become questionable? i.e. Is it creating controversial discussions elsewhere in the news?

Ask for comments or feedback. Don't do this too much on the same Squidoo lens but asking for comments could help to encourage visitors to leave feedback.

Don't forget to provide ways and means to do this!

1. Politics.
2. Crime against specific people groups or humanity
3. Religion.
4. Something which poses a question.
5. Sports e.g. football
6. Morality

One way to encourage interaction is to play Devil's Advocate:

A devil's advocate is someone who takes a position he or she disagrees with for the sake of argument. This process can be used to test the quality of the original argument and identify weaknesses in its structure.

Don't forget to check your stats for your Squidoo Lens!

Periodically I check to see which search terms have been used to find my Squidoo lenses. Very often, visitors will insert a question into a search engine like Google, Yahoo or MSN.

Questions I've come across on my lenses are:

Is the alphabet killer a true story?
How many victims of Jack the Ripper were there?
What's the best ds rpg ever?

If you can answer the question, then use it for new content on your Squidoo Lens!

Note! Always make sure that you explain the reasons why you're are including the debate on your squidoo lens. Why is it relevant to your subject?

Books - Research the author. Has he/she won any awards? Is there something in their personal life that has raised doubts as to their competence? Do you agree with the story? If so, why?

What about the subject of the book itself? Does it feature a controversial subject e.g. rape, paedophilia. Should these subjects be written about? Why? Or why not?

What reviews has the book received? Are they good, bad or mediocre? Question the review that has been given. Why do you agree/disagree? Ask for feedback!

Cooking/Food - Has an ingredient that you have used in a recipe difficult to obtain? Why is it so? If it's a fish dish, is overfishing of this species a problem?

Has the recipe won any awards? Is this award justified? Who created the recipe in the first place? Is there anything in this chef's background that could be used as a discussion? Some example of Chef's that have been in the News recently are Jamie Oliver and Antony Worrall Thompson.

Internet - Pit two competing pieces of software/applications/OS against one another. E.g. Two popular web browsers, two popular pdf readers or two popular blog hosts.

Nature/animals - Again, pit two very similar predators together. Why is one better or more dangerous than the other? Which do you prefer? Why?

People - Who were they? What were they like? Were they involved in something criminal? What are your thoughts about this? What was the outcome? Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

Did they live or die in suspicious circumstances?

Were they involved in something legal but controversial? E.g. JonBenet Ramsey was a murder victim but she was also a child beauty queen. This in itself is a widely debated subject. Not everyone agrees with pre-pubescent children being over-sexualised and made up to look older than their years. Some say it encourages paedophiles.

Like I said, just some ideas! So, now go and spark that debate!

Hopefully, by following these tips and suggestions in this squidoo lens, you have been able to increase your website traffic by using visitor interaction.

Please do bookmark this lens for future reference as it will be regularly updated with new information and helpful advice.