162,000 uniques.. what should I do next?

[zackster]

My website just surpassed 162,000 unique visitors over the last 30 day period. I'm looking here for suggestions to increase traffic - what should I do next?

The url is CompassionPit

traffic sources: 50% stumbleupon, 22% direct, 12% reddit, 5% google (organic) and the rest from random tumblr/other social media...

p.s. the design was contributed by "granted" here on the steve pavlina forums

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by zackster

My website just surpassed 162,000 unique visitors over the last 30 day period. I'm looking here for suggestions to increase traffic - what should I do next?

The url is CompassionPit

traffic sources: 50% stumbleupon, 22% direct, 12% reddit, 5% google (organic) and the rest from random tumblr/other social media...

p.s. the design was contributed by "granted" here on the steve pavlina forums

Well the easiest thing to do for monetization would be to put some Adsense ads up on the website, or some other form of automatically-served ads.

[zackster]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

Well the easiest thing to do for monetization would be to put some Adsense ads up on the website, or some other form of automatically-served ads.

I am not eager to add ads just yet.. I would rather grow traffic first.
However, I do agree that AdSense is worth considering. I hear it delivers low CPMs though - I think I could do better with a sponsorship, if I found one.

[danthony]

162,000 uniques is nothing to sneeze at. Maybe put an affiliate offer for monetization and send an email swipe to a target ezine group as a solo ad. That will help drive traffic quite a bit if you have a back link to your site.

[Rebecca800]

Wow this is a cool site concept. I think you should approach some online media outlets who might like to publish a story on it. Points to cover could be: how the concept came to be, what people typically talk about, and how it can benefit their lives having this anonymous shoulder to cry on. If I had a blog about the internet or counselling or psychology, I would definitely considering featuring this as a story + interview piece. That could generate a lot of traffic and high profile links in to boot.

Also, consider adding more SEO content. You could certainly flesh out your About Page and perhaps add some articles about psychology and the benefits of talking through your problems. The optimized text would get you more traffic from the Search Engines.

Maybe run a Facebook Ad campaign as well. You can sometimes get the CPC down to 1c. I don't know if you are already up to speed with it but I have written some tips on creating a profitable Facebook campaign.

I'm very impressed with the traffic you have so far, how did all that come to be?

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Great site concept. Dynamite stuff

Make a facebook page for it. Embed a Like option on the site. Watch traffic double. Edit: Oops, Rebecca already suggested that.

In that case add the page to StumbleUpon, Digg, reddit, de.li.cious etc. Don't let it go anywhere near a chan though. Otherwise it might turn into TrollPit.

[Angelique]

Neat concept. I had two chats on there. Nice.

[Rebecca800]

Originally Posted by KaleidoskopicVision

In that case add the page to StumbleUpon, Digg, reddit, de.li.cious etc. Don't let it go anywhere near a chan though. Otherwise it might turn into TrollPit.

What's a chan? (sorry if that's a stupid question )

[zack637]

Originally Posted by Rebecca800

What's a chan? (sorry if that's a stupid question )

You don't want to know ... trust me.

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by Rebecca800

What's a chan? (sorry if that's a stupid question )

It's a spinoff of some Japanese imageboard that has multiplied into various versions of chan which is a word that has something to do with image boards in Japanese, chan boards are usually referred to as the back end of the internet because of the general lack of anything resembling thought, countless images both disturbing and ridiculous, spawning ground for internet memes (lolcats? straight from 4chan), trolling (the art of intentionally baiting someone online with ignorant or inflammatory remarks to elicit a negative emotional response for the amusement of said troll), hentai (anime porn) and other things which shall remain unmentioned.

[mikethedrummer44]

I'd stay away from pasting ads all over the place. The vast majority of your traffic is social, meaning they wouldn't click on them anyways.

Monetization on this one seems a bit tricky, but I'm sure there's a way. Think outside the box, and work on delivering even more value to your visitors, in the form of a product or service. Remember, social traffic usually doesn't stick around too long, so you'll need something good to capture their attention.

[Rebecca800]

WOAH. 4chan sounds f**ked up. I guess this tells us something about the human condition. Thanks for enlightening me Curtis.....

Anyways I went onto CompassionPit last night and had a lengthy chat with a venter, it was really interesting. My only complaint was the chat got cut off with bad internet and there was no way of finding each other again...

[danthony]

Took a look at the site, very interesting concept and not something you see every day. I'm intrigued by how you are getting those traffic numbers with just web 2.0 sites mostly. Do you market the site daily by chance?

[Andrew Brunelle]

This is a really good idea for a website. Seems like you're doing pretty well, although you could always do better. You need to market yourself and your site somehow to get a bigger following. Promote your site everywhere, and tell people about it. I'm not sure how many people will actually use it, but getting the word out will start a chain reaction. I'm not sure how your site is set up, but you could expand on the idea and also put a forum in and maybe even a blog.

One on one chat is great, but wouldn't a forum be great as well? This forum is pretty great, and it has multiple perspectives. Again, very creative idea. I wish you luck in your endeavors.

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by mikethedrummer44

Monetization on this one seems a bit tricky, but I'm sure there's a way. Think outside the box, and work on delivering even more value to your visitors, in the form of a product or service. Remember, social traffic usually doesn't stick around too long, so you'll need something good to capture their attention.

One thing you could do is to start a "resources" page. On there you can have affiliate links to coaching services, books, online products etc.

At some point I'll figure out how to create affiliate links for my website and I will be looking for places where people come to look for help / solutions to work together with them. I cannot imagine being the only one...

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by Rebecca800

What's a chan? (sorry if that's a stupid question )

Moved the entire discussion on Chans here: Chan discussion

[KaleidoskopicVision]

Originally Posted by ssandra

Moved the entire discussion on Chans here: Chan discussion

Thanks, I was about to ask someone to do that as it's a potentially interesting discussion.

[Sandstone]

Wow. You have a really, really good idea. 162,000 visitors is awesome! Do your research and get some solid advice then run with it. I can see you being very successful with this website.

[ron7519]

VERY cool idea. I agree with Rebecca...contact media outlets. It's a very unique concept. It reminds me of that confession site where you post bad things you've done or just random things...but this is dynamic.

I can see this site going places.

[Smitten]

I think you should try setting up an AdSense unit or two. As long as it's not all over the place, visitors won't be disturbed with it... and some users will surely click.

[eudj]

Originally Posted by Smitten

I think you should try setting up an AdSense unit or two. As long as it's not all over the place, visitors won't be disturbed with it... and some users will surely click.

Adsense is not always profitable. One of my sites with over 300,000 monthly uniques had monthly adsense income of $100 This was frustrating, I just removed adsense from there

[Smitten]

I agree that AdSense is not always profitable, depending on several variables. However, it's often possible to find a good ad placement that delivers decent results, when you get those traffic levels.

In this website, you have a empty hotspot that IMO would better be filled with adverts. I'm talking about the space on the lower bottom, right side of screen (the zone below the "like" button on main page).

Try blending a single ad unit in there (300x250 or smaller), and I'm sure you'll get worthwhile results!

Also, you may want to try to experiment with promoting e-books on personal development/ get your ex-back and similar topics. Try and test, that's the only way to know what works! If you really have that much traffic, the website should be pulling in at least $1k per month.