If you build a website for your business, people don’t just come. You must work hard to get people to visit your site. That’s commonly called website “traffic,” and this article offers a few strategies to get more people to your web properties.
Why do you want more traffic to your website?
The more people that come to your website, the better your chances are to turn them into customers. It’s like foot traffic at a brick-and-mortar establishment. Unlike foot traffic, you can’t just place your website near a busy street. But, you can take a few steps to ensure it draws more traffic.
SEO can grow your traffic
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website for high-ranking results by search engines. SEO for small business owners can be a critical tool for driving more people to your website. For example, if you offer catering in a particular city, being the top search result for “catering in city-name” will get more traffic to your website.
Start by ensuring honing the technical side of the operation. Think about the following details:
- Having a fast website that works well on mobile
- An appropriate URL structure and hierarchy
- Properly labeled title tags and meta descriptions for each website page
- A user experience that leads to a positive interaction for your customer
There are many other technical aspects to SEO that your website provider may help with. You can also hire an expert to make sure it is optimized site on the technical side.
You must also audit the content and written words on your website SEO optimization. The material on your site should be rooted in the services and products you offer.
Social media can increase traffic to your website
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media sites collectively have billions of users. These users often click on links that can lead to websites like yours. Here are some in-depth tips for using social media for small business.
The main advantages of social media for your business are that it can allow you to connect with people who could be your ideal customers. For example, if you sell pet clothing, there are multiple groups on social media dedicated to finding the best pet clothing.
Using social media organically means finding a delicate balance between engaging with people authentically and using it to sell products and services. If you want to use social media for paid ads, it can be effective for that, too.
Paid advertising can boost website traffic
One of the easiest ways to get more traffic is to pay for it through advertising. Avenues available online include social media advertising, search engine marketing, email marketing blasts, directory listings, banner ads and more.
Whenever you’re paying for traffic to your website, it’s essential to know two major metrics: how much does it cost to bring a person to your website and what each visitor to your website is worth. There are various sub-metrics that ladder up to those key metrics.
If you’re not familiar with paid web advertising, you can always hire a marketing agency. Just be sure they fit into your budget and can demonstrate a clear return on investment. If that’s out of your budget or comfort zone, you can always start small and do it yourself. Many social media and search platforms make it simple to create ads that drive traffic.
Building your brand can improve website traffic
Your brand is more than just a logo and a tagline. Your brand is the promise you’re making with your customers through your website, products, services, marketing, support and more. A better brand creates organic demand from customers who will seek out your website.
Some tips for building your brand include:
- Have great products, services and support: the best brands have good products and if something goes wrong, their support will leave the customer with a positive association.
- Lean into your community: listening to your existing customers can provide insights into what your brand is doing well and how it can improve.
- Work on your logo and branding: your logo and tagline can convey a lot of things to potential customers in a short amount of time. Spend some time on making sure this is projecting what you want to say about your business.
There’s no one right way to get more traffic
Remember, these strategies can build on each other. For example, building a successful brand can grow the number of people who want to search for your brand name. Your SEO efforts can then capture that demand better to drive them to your website. Their positive experiences can lead to them posting on social media, which can then drive even more traffic.
