Track your Traffic ... READ THIS

[drfrightner]

A few days ago, ummm maybe 7 or 10 days ago we installed Google onto our site to track traffic, although for some reason it is not 100% accurate it gives you some information your own server doesn't offer. I'm tracking my traffic through my server and a basic front page counter, and now google. All three give you interesting and very different looks at your traffic.

You really need to take the time to discover who's send you the traffic, what marketing is working and what isn't. If you buy google ads you'll pay up to 50 cents per click through sometimes higher. If you get traffic from any source that you buy web marketing from and you get anything less than 50 cents per click or even cheaper like 10 cents you are doing awsome.

But there is ONLY one way to know for sure...track your traffic. This infomation will serve you well next year. Here is my top five traffic sources right now...this could change as time goes on and I expect it to. I fully expect Yahoo to be my third best traffic source with google 2 and direct to Scarefest.com number one.

Here is MY TOP FIVE sources for traffic to the new scarefest right now...

(direct) ((none))

2,619 32.19% google (organic)

1,621 19.93% hauntworld.com (referral)

1,239 15.23% hauntedhouse.com (referral)

514 6.32% hauntedhouseonline.com (referral)

463 5.69%

I highly suggest you look into where your traffic comes from because you need to know this information as the future of marketing is the web.

As you can see DIRECT IS #1 as it should be, google is #2, and Hauntworld is #3 and HauntedHouse.com is #4 with HauntedHouseOnline.com #5.

Hauntworld and all of our sites are VERY valuable sources for traffic as is the HauntedHouse.com website. These two outfits are the only two we are buying space on in terms of haunted websites.

We are buying web traffic from local radio sites, newspaper sites, and other things... you should take the time to learn this information.

If you are still interested in buying a banner on Hauntworld.com ACT NOW!

Contact Patti at blacklightminigolf@sbcglobal.net

Talk to you soon!

Larry

[UndeadProd]

We've been using Google analytics since last year and, as Larry said, it's a vital part of our marketing and tracking. It's a fantastic (and free) way to track your website visitors -- how they find you, where they live, when they visit, etc.

Now that we've been using it for a year, we can also compare traffic from year to year to determine how we're doing.

It also shows a great summary of how people visit your site -- which pages are highlighly visited, and which ones are not.

And, at least last year, there was a direct correlation between internet traffic and box office business ... it's nice knowing what to expect (postive or negative) before you open the doors.

It can also provide great information for your sponsorship and marketing proposals.

[drfrightner]

Couple other things as food for thought...

The profiles we allow you to create on Hauntworld are awesome, they let you upload photos, videos, give directions and much more. The click through rate on these profiles to your website is HIGH by net standards at something like 20 to 30% of the time. However I can only assume that because so much information is provided for example DIRECTIONS, some people can make up their minds at attending your attraction without actually visiting your site.

This is WHY you must update your profile to the fullest extent because 70 plus percent will NOT click through so leave them with all the information you can!

Now with that being said ROUGHLY 50% of Hauntworld traffic clicked through to haunted houses website THROUGH THE BANNERS not the profiles. Over 900,000 click throughs last year to haunted house owners websites through the banners.

Yes the profiles ended up with MORE click throughs overall because there is over 2,500 profiles oppossed to less than 400 banners but it was about even.

The bottom line is you must upgrade your profile and add a banner if you want the max amount of traffic to your website. I don't really need someones $200.00 I'm only telling you this because the traffic we send are qualifed customers.

I care about YOU ALL making money!

So do what you can to promote your haunt through the web, here, there, everywhere when you find a low cost means to market jump on it!

Larry

[Patti Ludwinski]

When you buy HauntWorld ads, you get EIGHT sites!

When you purchase a 2008 HauntWorld ad campaign, your ad gets placed on ALL of these websites:
www.hauntworld.com
www.hauntedhouseonline.com
www.hauntedattractions.com *
www.findhauntedhouses.com *
www.hauntfinder.com *
www.halloweenhauntedhouse.com *
www.hauntedhouses.us *
It's the most comprehensive online ad campaign you can buy! (*All those with an asterisks are new for 2008.)

In most cases, you can 'steal' a lower position Banner Ad slot for as little as $325-$225 (or even $100 in a select few states). HURRY!...Valuable space slots are selling daily.

Also, you could expand your reach by advertising in all neighboring states too. Afterall, this is THE MOST cost-effective advertising you can buy for your haunt.

(And as always, FREE Haunt Listings can be created too!...Or upgrade to Featured Haunt Status for only $89.95.)

Contact me today!

Patti
blacklightminigolf@sbcglobal.net

[Raycliff Manor]

Done! Thanks so much for your assistance Patti! And thanks for your patience in explaining the benefits of the Feature Listing and the Banner Ad! The price really is nominal for the benefits and, hell, I've benefited from HauntWorld for years so I only hope the fee will help to offset the costs associated with keeping HauntWorld going! See you in St. Louis for TW 2009!!!

Kel

[twohlgemuth]

Smoke Your Competition at the Box Office

If you are selling tickets online like you should have been doing unless your living under a rock, you can track if your Google Ad Word advertising is actually turning into a ticket purchase. I could go explain that step by step, but I got a haunt to finish for the season. LOL

At any rate, you should be selling hundreds of tickets already like I have since the first of August.

Maybe I should have a private room at St. Louis that will show how to do this and all the MySpace secrets that REALLY work and smoke your competition at the box office next year. LOL

Only one company per 200 mile radius allowed in. Sounds evil to me! How much would it be worth to learn how to make thousands of extra tickets sales next year?

[Spookyfinder]

I'd pay for that Tony, I'd pay about $250 for that! ... Unless of course your willing to share with all of us! I mean, what harm can we do here in Lexington, KY... your, IDK, almost 300 miles away! lol. -Tyler

[twohlgemuth]

Creative Advertising that Smokes your Competition

The reason you have not seen me as a speaker at any of the trade shows is I don't want my competition to take my years of figuring all this crap out and compete for the desposable income that is so limited of our demographic target audience.

Don't get me wrong I'm friends with all of the haunters, but how many $22.00 tickets can kids aford these days?

If we setup a private room, we could assure that the information being shared is not being used against you in your market as well. I took a big risk last season and did not advertise on radio, tv, billboards or traditional media, not even coupons. I only advertised on MySpace using the tricks I came up with, and guess what, my tickets sales were up over 2,000 tickets and I saved the $40,000 on billboards and radio in my pocket. Now this year I'm going back to billboards and a very creative charity campaign and MySpace.

Sound interesting to you? If so, let me know and we might just do it.

[drfrightner]

Tony,

I'm more than happy to work with you on this and Hauntworld can sponsor something like this and I know HauntedHouse.com wants to sponsor an event like this as well... we are interested in getting a room probably on FRIDAY NIGHT, a massive room, with free food the whole bit, and invite all haunters to attend and we would talk to everyone about how to market on the net, sponsored by our site and HH.com.

We've talked about this and will probably do it...

Would you be interested in helping?

Larry

[Barry]

We have done that!

Tony,
At MHC '06 we had a business pre-convention workshop that was limited by market. We set it up so that there could only be one haunt per market and none from the speaker's market. I would be glad to discuss doing this for you as well.

[Spookyfinder]

I can't wait... I support this idea 110%, I can't wait to see if this happens! -Tyler

[JamBam]

Midwest Haunters style at Transworld...It doesn't get any better does it?

Midwest Haunters style at Transworld...It doesn't get any better does it?

Unless, Tony is sharing his ideas in private !!!

And The Darkness tour ! any t-shirts?? haha

Tony, Count me in on the private session with payment in hand!!

[twohlgemuth]

Smoke your Competition

Brett,

Email me your contact information, address, phone, email, etc. I will put you on my list. I would like to keep this one haunt per market. If I can get enough haunters to sign up I will make it happen!

tony@spookywoods.com

[Jim Warfield]

I did That.

Quit almost all advertising, put their money in MY pocket.
I resisted that urge to smoke my competition, I'd hate to get hooked on that habit.
The smell of burning latex in the morning doesnot smell like "Victory" to me!
(Movie line abit modified)
Now the smell of burning bratwurst..that might be different, I like them burnt!
I will not be advising anyone to drop their ads because what works here, for me might not work at all for you.
21 years, same location, same name, open every night...see what I mean?