One of the toughest things to learn in business is it doesn’t matter how good your services are, or how useful your product is, if customers can’t find what they’re looking for, it might as well not exist. Unfortunately, the same goes for your website. You may have the most modern, up-to-date site, that’s full of valuable and interesting content, but if there’s no traffic coming your way, it all goes to waste. Let’s face it, competition is tough, especially online, and your competition has never been more accessible to your potential customers! People don’t have to get in a car and drive around town, browse a phonebook, or rely on word of mouth – right at their fingertips they have access to nearly all that’s out there. That’s why it’s important to know how to increase website traffic to your site and encourage customers to stay awhile once they get there. Below of 14 tips for how to drive traffic to you!
1. Hone in on your target audience
Have you ever heard the phrase, if you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll appeal to no one? Well, when it comes to web design, there’s definitely some truth in that. Niching and appealing to your target audience is important because it helps drive traffic your way, and improves conversions. You want to make sure your website, your message, your brand, and your services are all aligned and specific to who you are trying to sell to. If you are touting being the best web design agency in Vancouver, then your website has to run flawlessly, be modern, and aesthetically pleasing. If you’re in the healthcare field you want your healthcare website to be welcoming but professional, clean but not too sterile. You see, there has to be a balance and within that balance, you must tailor your colour scheme, your messaging, and your layout to your target audience.
2. Increase website traffic by being active on all social media platforms
One of the best ways to increase traffic to your website is by utilizing social media. Social media is a great way to market your business, get exposure, interact with your community, solidify your brand, and reach your target audience. Here’s the secret though, you have to be active on all platforms, simply having a profile is not enough. Post on Instagram, comment on Facebook, tweet and retweet, update your LinkedIn, and upload to YouTube. Not only will this reinforce your business identity but it will ensure you attract people to your website. Think about it, if you only post to Instagram you only get Instagram users, who are great, but when you diversifying your social media platforms you gain access to all who use those platforms. Your target audience might be LinkedIn users, but that doesn’t mean loyal customers aren’t also on YouTube or Facebook.
3. Diversify your content and keep it coming
Just like how different social media platforms appeal to different people, so do different types of content, so spread it around a bit! Don’t focus too narrowly on just one form of media; take advantage of words, copy, and blogs, get creative with pictures, info-graphics, and design, as well as videos. You can even share news articles and other related content from other sites that you think your target audience will enjoy and benefit from. Perhaps some of your users prefer to listen to a video of you explaining your product, while others prefer to read about it, so give them the option! Lastly, make an effort to post frequently, promote those posts, and keep the content coming.
4. When it comes to content, think quantity AND quality
One way to help increase traffic to your website is by increasing the amount of copy on your webpage. Although a longstanding rule has been the more copy the better, the caveat here is that it has to be high quality to truly set you apart. This involves a balance between utilizing keywords and other SEO components, as well as providing those who land on your page with useful and accurate information. Is all your information up to date? Do you have a blog? Do you provide product descriptions? Thoughtful reviews and testimonials? Do you describe your services both accurately and succinctly? These are all things you have to consider. Although more copy may boost your SEO which drives traffic to you, once someone lands on your page they have to like what they’re reading, otherwise, they’ll leave.
5. Become an expert in Facebook groups
This one goes hand in hand with engaging with social media. Establish yourself as an expert on any platform you use, especially Facebook groups. Facebook groups are a great place to connect with your target audience and other industry members. If you frequent these groups and provide honest and useful contributions, those who use these groups will naturally gravitate to your website. This is a great way to increase website traffic and legitimize your business.
6. Get into email marketing
Use email marketing! Or firstly, compile an email list. Incentivize customers to subscribe to your site using their email. This way they can stay updated with sales, promotions, and exclusive content, and you have an easy and convenient way to drive traffic to your site through email marketing.
7. SEO helps increase website traffic
SEO, or search engine optimization, helps ensure your website will be found, meaning it will be more likely to get clicked on, and every click counts! Invest some time in learning about SEO and how you can improve it on your site. Some things you want to pay attention to are using keywords and peppering them organically throughout your content, titles, and links. Use long-tail keywords, link internally within your website, use alt tags, and post high-quality content regularly!
8. Invest in paid ads
Hey, no shame in getting a little extra help. Investing in paid ads is a great way to extend your reach, and increase clicks to your website. The great thing about paid advertisements too, is you can hone in on your target audience, aka the people most likely to shop for your products and services. You do your customers a favour by becoming more accessible to them and you do yourself a favour by investing in your business to increase sales! Sometimes you’ve got to spend money to make money. Paying for ads doesn’t need to break the bank either, Facebook and Instagram have some very affordable paid advertising options for beginners, and for those who are ready to step their marketing game up, you can check out Google Ads, Hubspot Marketing Hub, and Mailchimp.
9. Optimize GMB
Google My Business, or GMB, is a free tool offered by Google to help you stand out and promote your business. Set up a business profile with all your relevant information and update it as you need. This business profile will be the first thing customers see when searching for your business. GMB compliments your website and enables users to find you easily online and Google ranks you higher when you have a complete, updated business profile. While we’re on the topic of Google, you may also want to look into Google Analytics, which helps you monitor and improve SEO and see where your site traffic is coming from.
10. Collaborate with others!
One of the best ways to increase traffic to your website is to lean on your community. No seriously, start reaching out to your fellow business owners, influencers, friends, and even your competition. Collaborating is an excellent way to get your name out there and leverage your platform. Offer to write a guest blog for another company or have someone else write one for you. Plan a social media takeover, guest star on a podcast, partner with other brands for contests and giveaways. You may need to offer a trade or work out some other deal, but at the end of the day if it drives traffic to you, increases sales, and helps grow your business, then it’s something worth investing in.
11. Word of mouth
Look, we know this suggestion may sound a little outdated, but word of mouth is still a great way to boost traffic to your website. However, today word of mouth looks a little bit different. Sure, you can still hear about great companies from friends, but most of us have come to rely on customer reviews and testimonials. This is the modern-day word of mouth, so make sure you have these features enabled on your site and monitor them. Respond to reviews and engage with your customers, especially if there is conflict. This acts as direct feedback you can use to improve your products and services, and it allows you to correct mistakes and publicly address confusion. Of course, in a perfect world, you’d have a 5-star rating all the time, but if that’s not possible, at the very least you want to show the public you are easy to work with and willing to work hard to ensure all issues get resolved. You can also opt to encourage referrals to increase traffic to your website. Referral traffic is traffic that comes to your site through links on other domains. You can incentivize current customers to pass your website information on or promote you on their platforms. Maybe offer referral discounts or contest draws! Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask your customers to leave a review and tell a friend about your business.
12. Focus on web design
Although we’re primarily focusing on how to get traffic to your website, you also want to consider what that traffic does once they reach you. Do they immediately leave your site or stay awhile? Good web design can make the difference between traffic that converts into paying customers and traffic that bounces. Invest in your design! Ensure your website is mobile responsive and easy to use on any size screen. Is your layout intuitive and are you helping guide customers to your paying services, or do visitors have to click through multiple pages to find the information they’re looking for? Outsourcing for the best web design is one area you may want to consider investing in. Think about it this way, would you try to build your in-person store yourself, or would you hire a professional? The same goes for web design! To keep traffic on your page once they reach you, you’ll want both your front and backend on point. Some other things to consider are appropriate loading times, eye-catching graphics, and the right catchphrase to hook people in.
13. Increase website traffic by staying up-to-date with the competition
One way to ensure that you and your website remain current is to check out the competition. Sure, this means browsing their sites, services, products, and promotions, but it also means staying up to date with the industry as a whole. At the end of the day, you want to establish yourself as an expert in your field, so make sure that you are one. Take courses, attend conferences and webinars, invest in yourself and your business! Not only will this help you network with like-minded businesses, but it allows you to learn through others. What are other companies doing to create buzz around their business and where are they falling short?
14. Create added value and promote it!
When all is said and done, you’re a business and you’re here to get paid, however, that doesn’t mean you can’t also give content away to boost sales later! An excellent way to drive traffic to your site, especially through social media, is by giving away free content. Don’t be afraid to host webinars or guest-spot on a podcast. Design free giveaways, workshops, and guides to help users immerse themselves in your business – if they like the free content, they’ll be more likely to invest in your paid services.
Remember increasing conversions on your website is twofold, first, you need to get your target audience to your site, then you need to keep them there! There’s not just one way to drive traffic to your website, but the more actions you check off this list, the better chance you have of being found, and converting browsing visitors into paying customers.
