Regardless of what type of website you own, it has goals. Tracking those goals is a critical step in understanding your visitors and making improvements to your site. Goals give you direction in your actions and unlock a level of information that every website owner needs to make informed decisions.

Everyone loves FREE, and almost no one can resist a contest – so they can potentially draw hundreds, maybe even thousands, of visitors to your website. Here are some guidelines to using contests and giveaways to drive traffic to your site(s):

To keep visitors coming back to your blog, establish yourself as the go-to expert in your industry or field.

What is your expertise? What is your passion? How do you tap into everything you know, everyone you’ve met, every place you’ve been, everything you’ve learned.

Are visitors to your website or blog doing what you want them to – opting in for future communication, clicking through to links, commenting, purchasing products or services? If not, look at your content and ask yourself, “Did I ask them to?” Chances are, you haven’t – you don’t have a call to action.

Defining the role you would like your website to play is the key first step to having a successful website / employee. Ask yourself this question, “What is the overall goal of my website?”