Congratulations. You finally have an adoption profile you can be proud of. You’re doing everything right: you’ve added some great photos, you’ve been blogging, maybe you’ve even posted a video. It’s taken hours and hours and it’s been hard work. But now what? Without an audience to view it, even a great profile is destined to fail.
What you may not know is that there are proven ways on Adoptimist to increase your profile visits, available to you right now. These are not gimmicks but tried and true methods (built right into our system) that will get you more clicks and increase your chances at connecting. Before you get too frustrated in your adoption search, we highly recommend that you try at least one of these methods during your time on Adoptimist.
1) Update your profile regularly.
If you are a Premium family, did you know that Adoptimist regularly promotes your profile updates? If you look often at the ‘Current Activity’ box on the Adoptimist homepage you’ll probably notice some familiar faces. It is no coincidence that these families are often appearing there. They know that updating a profile is the only way to appear on the homepage of our website. And more than likely, their profile stats are improving because of this. That is why regular profile updates are so important. The lesson is simple: Appearing on our homepage will bring your profile more visits. And the more visits your receive, the more opportunities you have to connect.
It isn’t always easy to do. We all lead busy lives. But it can be worth the effort and you don’t always have to make major updates. Adding the occasional blog entry or photo will get your family right on our homepage. Simpler profile edits, like adding a new photo, will get you there too. (Important: Families can only appear in the Current Activity box once at a time. Rapid-fire updates won’t display.) Some families will strive to post when there is little site activity (such as late at night) in order to maximize their exposure. Try to find a level of activity that is comfortable for you. But if you are highly motivated and looking for a way to improve your profile traffic, this method is definitely worth the effort.
And here’s the other piece of good news: updating your profile frequently will give your family a deeper, fresher, and more meaningful profile that will keep your visitors engaged longer. Remember, every minute your visitors spend on your profile is time not spent with other families. And even if your visitors don’t look at every single photo or blog entry you’ve posted, all the while they are learning valuable things about your family.
Note: The ‘Current Activity’ boxes can be found on the expectant mother membership signup page and on their main membership pages as well. These are high-traffic areas on the site. So appearing there will also help your profile get extra clicks.
2) Update Your ‘Our Families’ Entry.
Another way to get more clicks to your profile is to occasionally update your ‘Our Families’ entry. For Featured and Premium families, the entry consists of a lead photo and a short quote. If you didn’t already realize it, your ‘Our Families’ entry may be the single most important part of your profile. It is the first glimpse of your family that visitors see and it is what will inspire a click-thru to your profile. It is so important that Adoptimist staff always edits and maintains the ‘Our Families’ page. So if you wish to update your entry, you’ll need to get in touch with us first. We’ll have to make the change for you. But we’re happy to do it. Here are two suggestions to get the most out of your entry:
• Swap Your ‘Our Families’ Photo
Your ‘Our Families’ photo is arguably the most important one you have on the site. So a different look on occasion could be just what your family needs to inspire more clicks. Consider this an opportunity to rebrand yourselves or try a different look. Instead of just the two of you, for example, try a photo with your children. Or the family dog. Or something new just because it may be time. Watch out for blurry or dark photos or far-off shots because these may actually hurt your chances. Many Adoptimist families have reported a boost in clicks after swapping their lead photo. But this isn’t something you’ll want to be doing every single week. Ask us for advice. It may be you are already using the best shot you have. So it makes little sense to change it. On the other hand, consider being proactive and going outside on a nice day to capture a brand-new shot. You never know. It could end up making all the difference for your family.
• Rewrite Your ‘Our Families’ Quote
The quote beneath your ‘Our Families’ photo is important too. Although we add this text for you when you signup (pulled directly from your profile), we can edit or replace the quote for you. Again, you won’t want to be changing this text every week. But much can be said in one or two lines. And personalizing this text to fit who you are as a family can definitely pay dividends.
3) Paying For Clicks
Sometimes families will do everything right on the site and still fall short on traffic. This can really affect your chances for success. That’s why we’ve introduced pay-per-click advertising campaigns for Adoptimist profiles. This is the most surefire way to get more visits to your profile because you’ll be advertising and literally paying for your traffic.
We create, setup, build, and maintain an advertising campaign for families with the major search engines including Google, Bing, and Facebook. Yes, you will be spending extra money for your traffic. So you will need to proceed with caution. But some of our most successful families have connected in this very way. And consequently you will receive one of the top positions on the Adoptimist site. Here is a page that fully describes our adoption advertising service.
Final Thoughts
There are many other ways to increase your traffic on Adoptimist. If you are a Starter family, for example, you could try upgrading to one of our paid plans. Current paying families can try upgrading to a different plan or layering features to seek more traffic. Remember that each of our plans increases your visibility and the features you receive on the site. Whatever profile changes and updates you choose, be sure to follow your profile statistics and make educated decisions based upon them.