If you have done your on-page SEO and gotten your site indexed in Google and other search engines it is time now to start the process of building success for your website. No matter whether you have a product or service to sell or if you are looking to gain authority status as a major information site, the next step in the equation is the same; you need to begin getting traffic to your website.

Another big misconception is that your website will be an overnight success if you do things just right. While it is true that you can begin driving traffic to your site right from the start, like anything in business, it takes time to get established and build your success. For long-term, sustainable profits, you need to have a long-term strategy for gaining authority status within your market. It isn’t until you gain that authority that you will really see your site’s full potential and reap the profits associated with that status.

That is not to say that you will not make money in the meantime. You should be making sales within a short period of time if you take the time and effort to do the promotion necessary to generate targeted traffic.

The big myth that you can do nothing and make money online is just that…a myth. The truth is that you must work your online business just as much as you would an offline business. The only difference is that you have many more tools at your disposal and have a much larger audience to market to. Your chances of success online is greater as a result which is why we read so much about those businesses that have struck gold on the internet.

Do you honestly think they did this with no work or investment involved? If you do, then I have got some lakefront property for you in Arizona! I am not trying to scare you off or dash your hopes and dreams, but sometimes a healthy dose of reality is what is needed to get you focused and on the right track.

The reality is that it is almost impossible to make a website a big success without the help of experts as well as some time and effort on your part or the ability to outsource that time and effort.

Here is a short list of tasks that need to be done on a regular basis for a successful online business:

1. Keyword research. Now this should have been done before your site was built, but sadly in 99% of the cases it was skipped through lack of knowledge or lack of knowledgeable web design services. You can’t reach a market if you do not understand it and know the numbers.
2. Competition analysis. You need to know what your competition is doing in order to beat them at their own game. The whole idea is to take the market share (traffic) away from the competition and point that traffic at your own website. You can’t do that unless you know how your competitor got to where they are today.
3. Link building. You absolutely must have a link building strategy in place for the long-term. You can’t do this in fits and sputters and expect to see results. You need to have a plan and you need to implement that plan on a daily basis.
4. Social media. In today’s market, it is not possible for you to have authority status without the use and help of social sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Connecting with your potential customers on a personal level is expected online. Reverse marketing, relationship marketing and social marketing are all relatively new terms when it comes to promoting a business, but it is a key factor in your site promotion strategy.
5. Email marketing. If you have done any research, you would likely be aware of the importance of building and maintaining an email list as a factor in generating profits for your business online. This does not mean you need to be a spammer. On the contrary, it is important that you treat your email list subscribers very well. In return, they will buy your products almost on demand.

As you can see from the short-list, you have your work cut out for you if you want to see real success from your website. Getting indexed in the search engine is not enough. You need to create an online presence in order to get a return on your investment.