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8 Ways to Increase Traffic

For many small business owners, a website is an extension of their business itself, and for some (online stores), it is the actual business. After you’ve achieved a pixel-perfect website, it’s time to get to work and drive some traffic to it.

Increased web traffic

“Drive traffic” is a term you’ve more than likely heard several times if you’ve done even a little research about websites or read our blog at all. If you’re new to this world, the wealth of options may seem dizzying and it might look as though only the preternaturally talented can achieve genuine results. However, this is simply not true.

Successfully generating traffic to your website takes time and effort. By taking advantage of things like SEO, social media, blogging and more, we’re going to show you eight great ways to drive traffic to your website.

01. Newsletters: ShoutOut, let it all out

A natural step within the process of bringing in traffic to your website is email marketing. While you may have a love/hate relationship with the number of newsletters you are subscribed to, it can be an indispensable tool for a business. In its simplest form, email-marketing is a great way to show off your latest blog post or inform customers of a sale that you’ll be holding for your online store. However, sometimes a small “hey” is in order to remind your customer that you’re still around and still have more to offer.

With email marketing you can craft the perfect newsletter for a sale, your new items, or a blog post and share it with your subscribers instantly.

Here are some crucial tips to keep in mind:

  • Craft pithy subject lines: If your newsletter is the gift, your subject is like the wrapping paper and bow holding it all together, so make it grab attention.
  • Cut the fat: be direct: Newsletters aren’t a “dear diary” platform. They’re the “hey, this is the link to my latest ‘dear diary’ blog, so check it out!” Get to your point quickly before your reader loses interest.
  • CTA: Going hand in with the previous rule, make sure that once you make the point of your newsletter known that your CTA (call to action) follows shortly afterwards. Location is key. Place it strategically so that your reader doesn’t have to think twice about what to do.

newsletter

02. SEO: Start with the core website basics

SEO, Search Engine Optimisation is defined as, “the process of maximising the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.” For the most part, this is true. (In a nutshell, but using a combination of tools from keywords, content, and other factors that can help you rank well on search engines) For the regular Joe out there, SEO is the process that can help you “get found on Google.”

Any good party planner knows that before the guests arrive, it’s essential to have an event space that is fully prepared. That means having the punch bowl filled, the balloons ready to fall from the ceiling, the snack table is setup according to all dietary restrictions, etc. You know at the end of the night, it will be scraped clean, but that means you did a good job setting up your party. In the case of SEO, you are the party planner, your website is the event space and search engines are your guests. So, before you start looking to pull traffic, make sure your website’s SEO is in order so it’s ready for search engines.

A great SEO setup out of the gate is like studying for a test you already knew you were going to ace. You’ll look good either way. Just remember that, like Rome, your website’s ranking won’t be built in a day. Although the tips are 100% sure, it takes time to apply and consistency in your efforts, by regularly uploading fresh and quality content to your site. Patience is the (key)word here. We can help if it’s still confusing for you.

03. Get social!

We’re living in 2018, so it’s almost impossible to avoid social networks. However, there are still several businesses out there that haven’t utilised the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other networks as the tools they can really be.

No matter who your target audience is, they will be on a social network, somewhere. While there are ways you can find them through paid services, creating content surrounding your industry or your products and services will draw followers in. Even if your market is niche, you will find a following with consistency and unique, quality content. Customer service and engagement can all be done from social media, and this does nothing but help cultivate your community. Grow and groom it, and they’ll give you some love and loyalty in return.

If you think of your social networks as extensions of your own brand (which they are), they should be closely tied together. Anytime you have a new blog post on your website, share it on your social networks to get people heading to your website. Have a link to your website in your social network profiles and vice versa: use the social bar on your website to make your social networks are easily and directly accessible.  Using tools such as Buffer can help you manage your social postings and give you some of the time it takes to post, back.

social media

04. Blog about your industry

We’re almost certain that you’ve heard that adding a blog is good for SEO and driving traffic to your website, and that’s because it most certainly is according to research. Search engine “bots” are constantly scouring the Internet to index new information. By updating your blog regularly, these search “bots” know to come to your website more often. The more often these bots index new information, the better chances you have of your search engine rank improving. This can be a vastly different story for those who post everyone once in a while.

So, you’re looking to start a blog, but don’t know where to begin? By now, you should be convinced as to why you need a blog. And it’s just your lucky day since we have 21 smart content ideas for your future blog. Plus, a few quick tips when it comes to blogging:

  • Connect your blog to your website: One of the first steps to ensure there’s cohesiveness between your website and your blog is to make sure they are connected.
  • Consistency is key: If you want to see the greatest SEO benefits from your blog, you must commit to making it work. Stay consistent with your posting schedule and don’t go two two months without posting on your blog and question why it’s seemingly landed you nowhere. Just like all SEO benefits, blogging takes time and effort.
  • Make it easy to dive deep into your site: As an expert in your industry, you should share your knowledge and insight with others. Not only is this valuable for your readers, but it provides a great opportunity for you to advertise your business within a blog. Make sure the process for a reader to access your website from your blog is effortless. Add links to other pages (your store page, for example) within your article to keep the reader on your website.
  • Stay relevant (always) with evergreen content: If you’re trying to explore the different types of content that you can create for your blog, consider trying out “evergreen.” type content. This type of material will always remain relevant and will not need to be updated or be repurposed. Why? Because it will still be relevant later down the road. Examples include: “a history of (your industry)”, or ‘how-to’s’.
  • Repurpose your old posts: Have a ton of older blog posts that aren’t bringing in much traffic? Well, it’s time to dust them off an repurpose them. If the post is a tutorial of sorts, republish with more relevant and updated instructions.

05. Try guest blogging

Maybe you’re looking to spice up your blog up with some different content for your readers. Instead of doing all the research and reporting back on your findings, you may want to look into having a guest blogger. Why, you ask? Having a guest blogger can be helpful in multiple ways, as you allow others to add content to your website. Your readers will be able to receive fresh content from a different perspective, and your guest may carry an expertise in a subject that you don’t have. Another benefit to getting some fresh blood in your blog is that your guest’s followers will likely head to your website when the post is published. It’s a win-win for the both of you.

Finding your guest bloggers may sound like quite the task, but it doesn’t have to be. One place you can head to is social networks, like a Facebook Group for bloggers. You’ll more than likely find several willing participants. Another place worth checking out is dedicated websites like, Blogger Link Up to take on the task. How you approach your guest blogger is important. Don’t reach out with a vague email. Be direct, let them know about your existing blog’s content and that you think they would make a great contributor to the blog. Be pre-emptive and anticipate questions they may have by being as informative as you can without writing a blog yourself within the email.

06. Outreach techniques

As with life and love, if you want your business to get attention, you’ll need to “put yourself out there.” Also like life and love, you may have to make the first move before things start moving, which is where outreach marketing can come in handy. Simply put, outreach marketing is connecting with bloggers and other influencers in your industry, in order to increase exposure for your website and promote your products or services. The process will primarily consist of gathering your targets, (websites, bloggers, industry folk) and approach them via email to gauge their interest in a potential partnership and following up when necessary to create a lasting relationship. To learn more, contact us.

reach out

07. Submit your website to online directories and forums

Online directories: they may seem like they’ve become a useless outlet for outdated websites, but they can still prove to be beneficial. When it boils down to it, submitting your website to these directories and review sites is usually free, so it certainly won’t hurt. The process to submit your site to online directories is fairly straightforward. Submit your website’s URL and any other information you’d like to provide about your business. This will be added to the relevant directory database, allowing your information to appear when someone is searching within your content categories. The other benefit to this is that you’ll have another link to your website online, which could, even if insignificantly, improve your SEO.

Forums: If your business specialises in a specific area, you may want to find out if there are online forums dedicated to your industry of practice. Not only will this give you a place to engage in conversation with other interested parties, it’s great place to drop a link to your website. You’ll want to do this with relevancy and tact, otherwise you will come off as a spammer, but you get the idea. Speaking of forums, we can easily add one to your website to move things along.

08. Give PPC a go

Everything mentioned above can be accomplished for free. Monetarily free, at least, as they all can cost you time. However, if you’d like to dabble into the world of paid advertising, read on. The most common form of paid advertising is PPC (Pay Per Click). It can sometimes be referred to as CPC (Cost Per Click) but the two names describe the same method. In a nutshell, every time someone clicks on one of your ads, you pay some money for it.

Search engine advertising (Google Adwords, Bing Ads): When you hear PPC, there’s a decent chance that it’s referring to search engine marketing. The process is similar to others, in that you bid for a specific phrase so that your website will appear in the results when they search the phrase. When they click on your ad, you pay the bid price that you set when you first created the ad.

Social advertising: Looking to go social with your ads? This type of advertising can do wonders for your business, given that it can really hone in on and display ads to a specific audience.

  • Facebook ads: lets you set highly-specific parameters to your target audience, like demographics, location, behaviour, and interests. Get attention from your core audience, a custom one, or a ‘lookalike’ audiences that are like your existing customers. Targeting your ad doesn’t get much easier than this. Facebook ads may seem intimidating initially, but with the right insight, it doesn’t have to be. Luckily we can do this for you if you are time-poor or just don’t understand it!
  • Twitter ads: Twitter’s advertising model allows you to set a specific goal, like grow your followers and of course, drive traffic to your website. For the latter, you will only pay when someone clicks through to your website. All other impressions and engagements gained from your promoted Tweet are free.

Ready to drive traffic to your website? Let us create your website and grow you business today!

(Acknowledgement to Blake Stimac)