We’ve been on the web since before Al Gore invented it. That being said, we know a bit about getting traffic on the web. In general, traffic ‘builds up’ over time. So, initially you may have 30 visitors in a month then the next month you may have 50, and the third month you might have 150 as the word spreads about your products and services. Now, unless you have something viral (like the Million Dollar Website or classic pics of J-Lo giving birth), are doing MAJOR advertising, or have a niche that people have been waiting for since the birth of the web, then you’re more than likely going to follow the pattern we described above.

The follow shows the traffic patterns for our ‘fun’ sites, NotesFor.com

We call NotesFor.com ‘fun’ because we don’t do a whole lot with it. Google indexed it pretty early on, and it’s great for people looking for notes for almost anything and we add content…whenever. No porn, no viral product, just a regular site with original content like most sites you’ll find on sale. Notice how the traffic progresses (less than 100 in its first month, and then new visitors monthly). Now, if you’re doing more with a site you can of course expect a better return.

Now let’s look at fake traffic, like the ones in the following sales that are currently on DigitalPoint forums. Below is a screenshot of fake traffic.

Hopefully the difference is crystal clear. In the first case, the traffic grows progressing from a few clicks, to a few more and so forth. In the second, the traffic just appears. In most cases, the seller has bought traffic (you can easily get 10,000 *visits* a month for less than $10) to enhance the ad by appearing to have a thriving website.

Now, don’t get us wrong, some websites that are doing special campaigns like online advertising, radio commercials, etc., might be able to pull off traffic landing in their laps out of nowhere. Keep in mind that these sites are typically not for sale (I mean, would you sell an automated cash cow?!!)

Before purchasing a domain based on an abundance of traffic, be sure that the traffic being sent is legitimate. Force the seller to add Google Analytics for a day or two, since Google has a tendency to weed out bots. The seller will probably give you one of those “For sale today only” responses, or “I have a ton of other buyers lined up” deals. At which point, kindly let them choose another chump.