Traffic. And lots of it. It's the dream of every netrepreneur. You lie in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, dreaming up new ways to lure your target market to your web site. Why? The answer is obvious: traffic equals sales. If nobody comes, nobody buys. It's a simple formula for success, right? Well, maybe not…

The problem is that your first time customer… even your first time visitor… is always of the highest cost to you. You've had to spend your hard earned advertising dollars to get them there. It's the repeat customers and visitors that are really worth the big money. If they're coming back to check out your site, your products, your services, or your information again, you have clearly developed a relationship with them. You have established credibility and trust. Once you've done this, the chance that these repeat visitors will buy from you increases exponentially!

So perhaps the question you really should be asking yourself is how you can turn those one time buyers and casual visitors into regular customers!

There are a number of ways that you can go about this. Backend products and newsletters are two of the key techniques, but I've discussed both extensively in my "Insider Secrets" Course. (Click here to learn more about these critical marketing strategies.)

Instead, today I would like to take a moment to discuss the value of turning your web site into a vertical portal… making your web site the online resource for your niche market.

Now I'm sure at this point many of you are feeling pretty confused. Vertical Portal? What's that?

Let me start by first explaining what a portal site is. A portal site is basically an entry page onto the Web. Yahoo! and Excite, for example, are both portal sites. They are designed to attract a large, general audience by offering a broad range of information including weather, stocks, news, and horoscopes, as well as services such as shopping, free e-mail, and entertainment updates. Referred to as "horizontal" portals, these sites are designed to draw repeat visitors from all walks of life.

On the other hand, "Vertical" portals, also referred to as "Niche" portals, are developed with a very specific market in mind. A vertical portal focuses on a small portion of the general audience, striving to meet their needs for information, products, and services by becoming the online resource for that segment.

So what does this mean for you? Well, imagine this for a moment…

Let's say that your web site is devoted to selling mountain bike adventure tours in Utah to middle-aged couples. Since you took your business online, you have devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to developing an effective marketing strategy and you have enjoyed an increase in clientele. Unfortunately, you're still not achieving the kind of sales that you had expected. After taking some time to survey your visitors and clientele, you conclude that the biggest hurdle you need to cross is the trust issue. Couples are leery to travel across the country -- or across the world -- to partake in an activity that is potentially dangerous with a guide whom they've never met before.

How can you establish your expertise and prove your credibility? Simple! Turn your web site into a vertical portal…

Become the online resource for travelers interested in mountain biking in Utah! Provide maps of the area and biking trails… include articles about the local terrain, safety issues, biking techniques and gear… list links to accommodations that cater to mountain bikers… provide links to bike dealers… and much more! Visitors to your site will easily recognize you as an industry expert, and will be far less apprehensive about purchasing your tour package.

You see, vertical portals are organized around a product type, an industry, or a topic area. They give you an advantage over a simple commerce site because they focus on providing quality information instead of just selling a product. I've said it before and I'll say it again… People come online in search of information, not to buy something! This is an important point that cannot be stressed enough.

Let me give you another example…

Instead of operating mountain bike tours in Utah, let's say that you have developed a site devoted to selling marine supplies to avid yachters. From compasses to rain gear to sails to inboard/outboard motors, you name it, your site sells it! Unfortunately, while your competitive prices and range of products appeal to the average yachter, there is nothing that really differentiates you from similar sites out there.

So how can you crush your competition? By turning your site into a vertical portal…

Become the online resource for yachters! Turn your site into a "sticky" community -- make visitors want to come back again and again -- by providing links to regatta schedules, a directory of yacht clubs, links to yachting magazines, weather information, maps and charts, travel information, news, an online forum or chat room, reviews of equipment… and the list goes on!

By providing your visitors with compelling information that speaks directly to their interests and needs, you develop a site to which people will return again and again. Be it to check out your review of a particular motor, or to fill out an entry form for a local regatta, visitors will return to your site and develop a relationship with you. You will have established your industry expertise! So who do you think they will go to the next time they need to purchase marine supplies? You, of course!

Turning your simple commerce site into a vertical portal is an exceptionally powerful marketing strategy. You not only create a sticky community to which visitors are drawn again and again, you also develop a powerful relationship with these people… a bond of trust that can easily translate into an explosion of sales!

Of course, there are a few pointers that you should keep in mind when making this transition…

1. Your timing must be impeccable. In other words, do it now! Next week, next month, next year… it may be too late! Get in and establish your dominance before your competitors beat you to the punch. You can easily capture your share of the market (and then some!) by taking the initiative and becoming the industry leader.
2. Don't just talk the talk… walk the walk! If you want to be taken seriously -- and trusted -- as an industry expert, then you need to be an industry expert! This means that you need to know your industry inside out. You need to read everything you can get your hands on… you need to communicate with other leaders in your industry… and you must be prepared to continue this learning process as long as you are maintaining your site.
3. Reduce costs by removing the middleman. People appreciate good value, and removing the middleman is a great way to provide your customers with competitive prices that keep them coming back for more. But this doesn't just apply to your products and services, this applies to all products and services promoted by your site.
4. Keep them coming back for more. Ensure that your site contains quality, compelling content that caters to the needs of your community. It is really important that you never lose site of this because a site that is unfocused is doomed to fail! Communicate with your customers and visitors through questionnaires, online forums and chat rooms. Add features, products, services, and information that directly correspond with their expressed interests.
5. Diversify your income. Vertical portals have fantastic income potential… if done correctly. Once you've captured the attention of your target market, you're in the perfect position to begin diversifying your streams of income by developing other products and services that focus on their needs and interests. Affiliate programs are also a fantastic and EASY way to diversify… just be sure that you remain focused on your market.

Remember: General portal sites such as Yahoo! are not capable of keeping up with every topic. Take advantage of this key weakness by bringing your targeted community together with the specific products, services, and information they need. By turning your site into the resource for your industry, you'll not only be establishing your expertise, you'll be developing relationships that will keep people coming back for more… more information, and more importantly, more product!