Websites are like cars to people, in that most of us might have one. But what’s the point in having them? Like cars, they can be a vehicle to get us where we need to be in business.
A good website is like having and extra department of employees working for you. A department that works around the clock and can be the face of your company, give information, answer queries and even make sales. But what good does that do you if you don’t get website traffic to your site?
Related: ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
In this article we’re going to unpack How to Drive Traffic to Your Website, without spending a dollar more than what you’re already spending (if any).
How important is website traffic?
Website traffic can help you in two ways. It is both an important indicator and driver of business growth. When you get more traffic to your website you can:
- tell how well your marketing is working
- gather insights about your audience to make better decisions
- improve your SEO and search engine credibility
- generate more leads, increase conversions, and get more customers
There’s a lot of competition out there on the world wide web. But keep in mind that you’re not trying to attract all internet users, only the people in your specific target audience. Below are some simple ways on How to Drive Traffic to Your Website.
1. Perform On-Page SEO
There are many tactics you can perform on each of your website pages to increase their rank and get more visitors. This includes producing high quality content that your audience is searching for, and writing concise meta descriptions for your pages. If you don’t know what meta descriptions are, that is the little blurb that appears below your URL in search results.
Good meta descriptions allows the visitor to see what a page is about. This makes users much more likely to click on the link and visit your site.
2. Get Listed
Another way on how to drive traffic to your website is to get listed in online directories and review sites. For most of these sites, your profile will have a link to your website, so actively updating these listings and getting positive reviews is likely to result in more website traffic.
Check out this video on the importance of listing your business on Google My Business.
3. Post to Social Media using Hashtags
Use social media to promote blog posts and other useful content on your website. This way you can get your social media followers to your site, as well as users in your followers’ networks who share your content.
By using hashtags that promote your website pages, you can extend your reach beyond your network and get discovered by users searching for your products and services.
4. Use Landing Pages
Another strategy on how to drive traffic to your website, is Creating specific landing pages for your offers, such as for redeeming special offers, downloading a free e-book or guide, or starting a free trial. Landing pages are another source of traffic to your website. Plus, they contain the details users need to move forward and convert.
5. Long-Tail Keywords
While short-tail keywords are often searched more frequently, it is more difficult to rank for them on search engines. Targeting long-tail keywords, on the other hand, gives you a better chance of ranking higher (even on the first page) for queries specific to your products and services—and higher ranking means more traffic. Plus, as search engines and voice-to-text capabilities advance, people are using more specific phrases to search online.
6. Start Email Marketing
Sending out regular newsletters and promoting offers through email is a great way to get more traffic to your website. Provide useful information and links to pages on your website where they can learn more, such as through blog posts and offer landing pages. Just make sure that you have the proper permissions to send them these communications, and don`t continually bombard your readers with emails they might disengage with, delete, or unsubscribe from your email list.
RELATED: MASTERING EMAIL MARKETING
Also, put careful thought into your subject lines. It heavily influences whether or not a user opens your email. If your emails never get opened, they can’t drive traffic to your site!
Watch a video here about mastering and delivering customised, personalised content.
7. Advertise Online
Another way to increase your website traffic is by Online advertising. Advertising is perhaps the most basic way to get more people to visit your site. Social media, paid search, and display advertising are all excellent channels for PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising to boost website traffic.
8. Guest Blog
Having a micro-influencer publish a blog post on your site can help to increase your web traffic, as they are likely to share the post with their large audience. It can also help to add more variety to your content and show your visitors that you are active in your field. Alternatively, you could ask the influencer to mention your business in their own review or round-up post, or you could turn an interview with the influencer into a blog post that is likely to get traffic.
You can also be a guest blogger. Identify complementary businesses in your area whose audience is relevant to your business. See if you can contribute a post to their blog with a link back to your website. Make sure your content is relevant and useful to their audience, so that it’s more of an even exchange.
9. Online Engagement
Another way on how to drive traffic to your website is being active in online groups and on websites that are relevant to your business and community. Comment on blogs and social media posts, answer questions people are posting, and participate in conversations about your industry. The more you engage with your community, the more exposure and profile visits you get. If your social media profiles contain a link to your website, then you’ve turned your engagement into another channel for website traffic. Just be sure to engage moderately and in a sincere way, and avoid including links to your website in your comments.
10. Learn from Your Analytics
Use tracked links for your marketing campaigns and regularly check your website analytics. This will enable you to identify which strategies and types of content work, which ones need improvement, and which ones you should not waste your time on.
These are only some of the many strategies you can use on how to drive traffic to your website. Getting more website visitors does not happen overnight. It takes hard work and dedication, but we’ve eliminated the hard part for you: knowing what to do in the first place. Implement a mix of these strategies and you’ll start seeing improvements in your website traffic.
SEE ALSO: HOW TO CONSISTENTLY ATTRACT YOUR CHOSEN CLIENTS
Download our Online Strategy to help you gain an understanding of the complex ecosystem of digital techniques such as content marketing, social media, websites, SEO and more that can help your business achieve greater visibility and credibility.
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Sue Mills is a marketing, sales and digital specialist to the financial and professional service sector, and the owner of Sassy Marketing & Communications. With over 20 years of experience working for and with financial planners, accountants, brokers and advisors she shows her clients how to step up and out to be sustainable and thrive in their practices through adopting smart and valuable marketing strategies. Call Sue on 0477 468 888 for a confidential discussion or visit www.sassy.marketing.
