One of the BIGGEST risks (financially) in starting an online business... is the cost of ongoing PAID advertising to acquire leads.
... Specifically, paid traffic.
Contents
There are no guarantiees that an ad campaign will be a success, and it usually requires spending a few hundred dollars at least to even test if an ad is profitable or not.
That's why we encourage everyone to master at least one free traffic streategy, especially if you're just starting out.
Free traffic will not only offset the cost of running paid ads, but in the beginning can help save you costly mistakes, and prevent you from spending thousands before you even make your first sale.
WHY is it Important to Master Free Traffic?:
So what are the best free traffic getting strategies online?
Well, it really is subjective and dependant on niche market you're in and what you're selling.
But below in this post, we've put together a list of our top-5 favourites ways of getting free traffic (that actually work!)... with a bit of a breakdown of each one.
Share
#1
#1: YouTube

There's no doubt that video is the way of the future when it comes to creating content that engages with your audience. It's the best way by far to build rapport with your audience.
Also being a search engine, YouTube visitors will generally be higher quality leads, and will be more inclined to follow through on taking some sort of action... since they are actively "searching" for a solution or particular answer (rather than on social media, where they are being interrupted by your "call-to-actions").
The Steps: Read the Breakdown of YouTube
Building Your Channel
Creating Your Video Content
SEO Optimization - Getting Your Videos to Rank
Ongoing Content Marketing - (Content Plan)
Boosting your Videos and Channel
Why It Works:
YouTube sends probably some of the most targeted traffic you can get to your website or offers. This is because you can connect with your audience (building trust and rapport) more than any other platform before they ever click on any links.
And through your content, you have already pre-framed the person as to what they will expect to get on the next page.
When you have already explained how a product or service works... and walked a person through that process on the video... chances are they have already made most of their buying decisions up-front.
They won't be clicking on your link to find out what your offer is... because it's likely they will already know what your offer is about based on your content...
... so they will be clicking through to learn more about your particular offer, or to see what the price is and what are the finer details.
RECOMMENDED FOR:
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
High : Video requires higher technical skills (editing), and the ability to perform on camera (challenging).
UPSIDE:
CHALLENGES:
#2
#2: Facebook

Facebook is one of the greatest sources of free traffic, as it can be highly targeted, and is relatively fast compared to other forms of free traffic methods, in that you can get leads pretty quickly... even daily, from day #1.
The Steps: Free Facebook Marketing
Setting Up Your Page (BASICS)
Setting Up Your Page (ADVANCED)
Building Your Audience
Posting - (Your Content Marketing Strategy)
Networking for Sales
Why It Works:
While you are building your audience, any new person you connect with is likely going to check out who you are before they decide to accept your friend request. If you page is set up correctly (& professionally), people will instantly see your brand from viewing your Cover photo, your description... and your most recent timeline posts.
A number of these people, if they resonate with your message will likely even go on to check out your website or primary offer.
This means there's a chance you could be getting leads from day #1 (a lead being someone who has seen your primary offer).
Facebook is our Top #1 recommended Free Traffic Method for beginners because it's the fastest way to get leads with the lowest learning curve
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Easy-Medium : If you can post comments & photos, you can do this strategy.
The difficulty is just becoming familiar with posting the type of content that people resonate with.
RECOMMENDED FOR:
UPSIDE:
CHALLENGES:
Do You Want to Master Free Facebook Traffic?
Introducing......
THE ZERO PAID ADS FACEBOOK TRAFFIC STRATEGY
"Learn How to Get Targeted Leads For Your Business Daily, Without having to spend a PENNY on Paid Ads!"


#3
#3: Instagram

While Facebook has more users than Instagram... Instagram psots typically get higher engagement than facebook posts. A social media engagement study determined that Facebook posts had a average engagement rate of 0.09% over all industries, while instagram had 1.6%.
Instagram is mainly driven by uploading pictures... and might also be a better option if you specifically want to target a lower aged demographic.

THE STEPS - HOW FREE INSTAGRAM TRAFFIC WORKS
Setting Up Your Instagram Page & Account
Place Your Affiliate Link
Content Marketing Strategy
More Advanced Strategies
DIFFICULTY:
Easy-Medium : All you need to do is post images, add descriptions and comment, like posts and follow other pages. Editing your images to make them look good & consistent is the hardest thing you really have to do.
Why It Works:
You will have your affiliate link in your Instagram Bio.
People who follow your content (Or who you engage with you on Instagram) will likely go to check out your instagram page to see what you're all about.
A portion of these people will click the link in your bio.
RECOMMENDED FOR:
UPSIDE:
CHALLENGES:
#4: Pinterest
#4

Unlike most social media, Pinterest is more like the Google or YouTube platform, in that it is a "Search Engine".
Meaning users are on Pinterest to actively search for things that are of interest to them (not just browsing through recommended content).
The Steps:
Here are some tips from Create&Go on Running Pinterest for traffic. These guys run a few Pinterest accounts, withtheir main health & fitness one having over 80,000 followers, which generates half a million monthly visitors to their health and fitness blog (as of Jan 2017).
For references, visit:
- createandgo.com - Pinterest Traffic for Bloggers
- createandgo.com - How to Get More Follower on Pinterest
1. Create a Pinterest Account and Optimize it for SEO: Create a new account and fully complete your Profile. In the 'about you' section, write what your website is about, and also include the main keywords that you will be posting content around.
You can also add this kind of keyword rich descritptions to your individual boards.
2. Claim your Website: Unlike most social media, Pinterest is more like the Google or YouTube platform, in that it is a "Search Engine".
Meaning users are using Pinterest to actively search for things that are of interest to them (not just browsing through recommended content).
3. Create Pins and Have them Keyword Optimized: Creating pins is just uploading a photo to your account. You want to create new and fresh content and upload (pin) regularly.
There are many image creating tools you can use for this, including Canva.
Since people are "searching" for things on Pinterest, you want to make sure the the post title's and descriptions of your pins are keyword optimzed.
4. Create Boards / Communities: You can create boards to pin your photos onto. Boards, are just like "categories". If you're a gym, you might have a board for Yoga, for male fitness, for cardio etc. You create a board for a particular category (say, 'yoga', and pin all your similar 'yoga' content there.
Group boards are just boards where you can pin your photos up, along with several other pinners (users) on a particular topic. Generally speaking you would want to stick to boards that are relevant to the topic of your website. To join Group Boards you would search for boards that have a high re-pin rate, and network with them, ask if you can join their group board.
5. Engage with your Audience: Just engage with people who are commenting on your pins.
Why It Works:
Pinterest is FREE, and there is huge potential for posts to go viral.
The user demographic is higher-income earning individuals (compared to the average user of other platforms).
Pinterest is a search engine, meaning you can get your content to rank for search queries, and get consistent ongoing traffic to your site (unlike other social media where the post disappears over time).
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Medium : Unlike other social media, given that Pinterest is a search engine, it takes some work to get your content to rank. Otherwise most of the works you have to do is really in editing and uploading photos.
It also (typically) requires a person to have a fully functioning website or blog to send the traffic to, which can take a long time to set up (and is a whole other ball game).
RECOMMENDED FOR:
UPSIDE:
CHALLENGES:
#5
#5: Forum Marketing

And lastly, Forum Marketing is just where you share your knowledge and expertese on Forums on the web. People ask questions about certain topics, and you are able to answer these questions, and take part inthread discussinos on your topic, positinioning yourself as an expert or authority in your niche.
You will have an affiliate link in your signiture line, that people can check out after they read your contributions.
The Steps:
1. Find Forums in your Niche Market: Not all forums are worth your time. Think about what discussions people are having around your niche topic topic. Also think about what are the common problems or questions people have in your market.
You could search based on topic, for example "golf forum". Or you could search based on common questions in your topic "how to improve my gold swing forum"
2. Create your forum account: Create an account with your chosen forum. Tips;
- Pick forums with at least 1,000 members and 10,000 posts
- Make sure the forum gets at least 10-15 new posts on a daily basis
- Ignore forums that are overrun by spam
3. Check the community guidelines: Make sure to read the forum's user agreement and posting guidelines. Read these rules and guidelines carefully. If you break these rules you may get on the wrong side of the community embers very quickly, and this may jeopardize any good standing relationships or credibility you build.
4. Set your Avatar and Username: You want to pick an interesting Avatar (profile image) and name so that you are memorable, and positions you as an expert in your field. A good idea is to go with a picture of yourself. If you want to build customers, transparency is key, and will help people build trust and ocnfidence in you.
5. Create a compelling user profile: Create a clear description about who you are and what you offer. What are your services and what is your expertese. Also write a little about yourself so people cans see who you are, but avoid writing about controversial topics like religion or politics. Remember to link to your primary offer, or any other social media profiles you wish to share (if this option is available).
6. Put your website URL in your signiture line: You want to place a link to your main website, or your primary offer in your signiture file. This will allow your offer to be available when you post in the forum, and easy for people to visit.
7. Make valuable and useful contributions to the forum: Think about adding value to the community. You want to participate in forum discussions by providing useful information and answers that will help the readers. Avoid being salesy or pitchy... if you are genuinelly helpfull and seen as an expert & trusted source of advice, people will naturally become curious about who you are and will chedck the link in your signiture.
Why It Works:
You will have an affiliate link in your signiture line, that people can check out after they read your contributions.
When you add value to the community, by adding useful answers and helping to solve problems... people will naturally become curious about who you are, and click on your link to see more.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL:
Easy : All you are really doing is spending time engaing and answering questions in forums.
RECOMMENDED FOR:
UPSIDE:
DOWNSIDE:
#6
#6: Final Verdict
And the winner is.....
Traffic Method | Reason |
---|---|
#1 - FACEBOOK | Quickest way to get leads and make high ticket sales for beginners (if done right) This exact strategy is taught in BlackOps Underground Marketing |
#2 - YouTube | Highest quality leads... but takes longer to get traction and requires a higher level of technical learning. |
#3 - Instagram | Great engagmement on content. Best suited for online stores & personal brands. |
#4 - Pinterest | Best suited for people who specifically want to drive traffic to a Blog / Website. |
#5 - Forums | Best suited for people who like to hang out in forums and community settings, writing answers to questions. Difficult to scale. Harder to build an audience / following |
The reason we give first place to Facebook... is that it's the quickest & most effective way to communicate and network with people, and get leads to your business then any other free method (relatively speaking).
You can literally go out and make new friends on facebook... who are the exact demographic for your business... and have people checking out your offer from day #1.
YouTube is close second... and was almost considered forst place for the quality of leads it brings... however it requires a more technical skillset than facebook, and it requires more time in order to see traction on your channel.
just to give you an idea what I mean... I have personally started a new channel from scratch, and my 4th video ended up with approx. 2,500 likes and some affilaite sales, but this was about 2-3 months after this 4th video was posted.
The real benefit of Facebook over YouTube is you can simply go and "get" an audience from day one, and people will add you if they like what they see on your wall.
HONORABLE MENTION:
Email Marketing : Email marketing is an extrememly effetive way of getting free traffic to your affiliate links / promotion, and we recommend email marketing as a must for all online business strategies.
The only reason email marketing is not included here... is because it is a secondary traffic method...
Meaning you can only implement email marketing after you have built a list of leads, which you generate from one of the traffic method mentioned above.
BONUS OFFER
#7

JOIN BLACK OPS UNDERGROUND
+
RECEIVE BONUS TRAFFIC COURSE FREE

Free Bonus: Internet Traffic Formula
Course: $997 Value
"Learn to scale your business with advanced traffic strategies"
After you know that you can make sales with FREE traffic methods...
... the next step is to supercharge your business with paid ads.
That's why we are offering this bonus traffic course for people who join Black Ops Undergroun Marketing, to help people scale their business with paid ads, once they've mastered free traffic. Learn how to qualify for the Bonus here.