Saturday, March 26, 2011

Traffic Dashboard Review: structured guide to traffic generation



Marlon Sanders has just released his Traffic Dashboard
which gives you 16 ways to generate traffic to your
website, blog or Squidoo lens.

The rows in the Dashboard represent 6 broad traffic
sources:
  • article marketing
  • search engine optimization
  • social media marketing
  • banner ad marketing
  • email marketing (incl. solo ads)
  • affiliate marketing (for your own product)
I purchased the system after very strong support
for the product in the Warrior's Forum.

The whole system is designed as a point-and-click
access point with each icon representing a source
of traffic or another step in an already introduced
traffic source.

For example, the first row of the dashboard discusses
article marketing. Each of the icons in this row
provide a stage in the process in the form of
detailed step-by-step instructions. Icons cover
keyword research, writing the article, the resource
box, landing page, submission and editing and
outsourcing. Each stage is illustrated with
screen shots and examples.

The social media row of Traffic Dashboard is
different in terms of the level of detail provided.
This row, for example, covers Facebook Ads,
YouTube, Video Sites, Squidoo Lenses,
The Epiphany and Images. ["The Epiphany"
is Marlon's personal insight into how to really
generate traffic.]

Thus the level of detail for social networking
in the social media row is a long way from the depth
and comprehensiveness of my SquidooRoo Program.

However, Marlon does provide an easy entry point
for someone who is not used to using some of these
aspects.

There is something in Traffic Dashboard for both the
newbie and the advanced.  I know I certainly learned
some things on my first run through.

Strengths of Traffic Dashboard
  • range of areas covered
  • step-by-step process
  • very well illustrated
  • motivational (encourages you to "have a go")
  • builds confidence as you master each step
  • strong support for newbies
  • introduces some new approaches to generating traffic
  • "The Epiphany" - worth the cost of the product.
 Weaknesses of Traffic Dashboard
  • product tries to cover both newbies and advanced
  • some areas (such as social media) are not comprehensive
  • the depth across topics varies considerably
  • the Squidoo instructions are inadequate
I mention the last point specifically in the light of the
Google Algorith Change and Squidoo's response.
Squidoo is now putting a lot more emphasis on
original content and lenses that lack original content
(that were tolerated before) will now be locked.
Traffic Dashboard does not make this point
clear.

Despite some of it's limitations, Traffic Dashboard has
some real merits.  If you are a relative newbie, or at the
intermediate level of Internet marketing, it has a lot
to offer through its systematic approach and
step-by-step instructions.  More advanced Internet
marketers may find that they are already doing
60% of what is covered (and more besides).
However, there is very real value in "The
Epithany" which shows you how to leverage your
content creation.

Check out this product - it may be just what you
need to introduce some system and discipline to
your marketing efforts:
Traffic Dashboard

*****************************************
Ron Passfield, PhD, is the creator of SquidooRoo.com,
a 24 weeks (6 months) training program in
social media marketing which covers content creation,
promotion and social networking including Facebook,
Twitter, Squidoo, Flickr, LinkedIn, YouTube, and
RedGage.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for this great review, Ron. Most of us do lack structure in our online endeavors, and this dashboard could be very helpful for that.

Maryland online dating said...

"Waw", Very nice to know that we have something by which we can get traffic information easily on websites.

jeff pearson said...

Hi Ron
Forgive my ignorance here, but is this software?
I use Legacy (non windows/Intel) Macs, and because of this I am precluded from lots of IM software out there, web based stuff is fine, but try as I might I can't find a description anywhere of just what this product is.
Hope you, or someone else here, can help.
Jeff P
Squidooroo pupil

Ron Passfield said...

Hi Jeff - it's not software although at different times along the way Marlon recommends different bits of software to speed up your traffic generation.

Basically it is just a visual way to organize instructions on how to generate traffic. So the dashboard is like the display on an iPhone. When you click on an icon, you get access to the instructions on how to generate traffic via the method indicated, e.g. Facebook ads. What is distinctive about it is the visual and organized way the information is presented and the fact that Marlon shares his insights into what works and does not work - so it's guidance based on practice.

You still have to do the work to get the traffic but you can do it in an informed and structured way.