To succeed, all online home businesses need the same thing it traffic - and lots of it. After all, what good is a website without any traffic? So, here are some tips on how to build and maintain it:

Step #1: Optimize Your Site

Have you ever wondered how webmasters manage to get their sites to the top of Google rankings? They do it by using a technique known as SEO.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the process of increasing the volume and quality of website traffic from search engine results for targeted keywords. Using these same keywords throughout the body of your pages’ content will help search engines pick up your site.

Major search engines such as Google provide information and guidelines to help with site optimization. There are many keyword tools available, one of the best being Google’s own: http://www.goodkeywords.com. (And it’s free, too!) Avoid single words, as these are too broad. Choose phrases relevant to your online home business - the more specific, the better.

Be warned though! Many people have a negative opinion of articles and web pages overstuffed with keyword phrases, feeling that they are a paid advertisement (which they are). It is better to use the natural occurrence of the keyword phrase in the writing.

Putting choice keywords into your website pages is only part of the story, however. SEO can also involve a site’s coding, presentation, and structure, in addition to preventing search engine indexing programs from spidering your site.

Step # 2: Back-Link Your Website

Increasing the number of backlinks to your site is essential to developing a good relationship with the major search engines. This involves establishing as many inbound links as possible, preferably from highly respected websites and directories related to your niche.

Many webmasters establish links by emailing other webmasters with websites of a similar theme to ask for a link exchange. Some websites will do this job for you. A word of caution: search engines regard two-way links less favorably and do not treat them as positively as one-way links.

Step # 3: Become an Article Marketer

Google algorithms prefer sites that have relevant content and rich information related to the targeted keywords. One way of adding content to your website is by posting articles on it, either written by yourself or others. You could write your own blog (Google’s Blogger is excellent and easy to set up and use) and provide a link to it on your site. Another way of ensuring your site is constantly updated with new informative material is to add a plug-in article directory such as Article Dashboard.

One of the best ways to provide literally hundreds of backlinks to your website is to become an article submitter. If you don’t have the time (or inclination) to write your own articles, you can purchase Private Label Rights material relevant to your online business.

Once your article is ready add a “resource box” to the end of your article. The resource box is your opportunity to advertise your website, so in this box you need to include at least one URL to your site. Then submit your article to a number of high quality article directories.

Remember quality articles will drive the curious to find out more at your website.

Step # 4: Start an Email Campaign

A vital element of any home-based online business is setting up an Opt-in email campaign.

Opt-in email involves setting up an landing page where customers sign their name and email address in a prescribed box in exchange for information about a product or service they are interested in. This is done through the use squeeze page designed expressly for the purpose of harvesting email addresses of interested prospects.

An autoresponder is a program designed to send emails out automatically to these customers. It will send out a series of follow up emails that you have created, at pre-programmed intervals. Customers in your list are your lifeline to referrals and future sales since you will maintain an ongoing relationship with them via email.

To succeeed, all home-based online businesses need one thing: traffic. And that comes with hard work, coupled with expertise. Entrepreneurship and owning your own home based online business is not for the faint-hearted. However,if you are willing to use these techniques, preferrably focussing one at a time, you really can make your dreams come true.