Having a website is one thing, getting people to visit it is quite another. The reality is that it doesn’t matter how good the content on the website is, how original and compelling it may be if people don’t know that it exists then they will never get to see the good things that you are saying.
So how do you drive traffic to your site? Traffic is the lifeblood of any site, the most basic way in which its success is measured, so getting people there is critical. Here are a few simple tips to help you grow your audience and to drive traffic.
Optimize for search
This is a critical element to your site and one that needs to be thought through from the very outset of planning and strategizing your site build. It is an area that in many ways is mysterious and hard to fathom which is why it is a good idea to work with a locally-based expert. For example, if you are based in Hobart, SEO companies that are also based there should be a logical starting point for a discussion.
You want a local partner because you need to work closely together to make sure that when people type relevant phrases into Google that your site is returned as one of the top answerers. Search traffic is a huge component of web traffic – especially when you are starting out. Repeat visitors or direct traffic numbers will grow as the site becomes more known, but to start with the bulk of the traffic will come from search.
Social Media
Twitter and Facebook are great places to generate traffic, especially if your site offers content that is shareable, or which has viral potential. Make sure that whatever it is that you post on Social Media drives traffic to the site and that it doesn’t give so much away that there is no need for the user to come to the site at all. In other words, social media should tantalize, it should never be enough to satisfy a potential user’s desires completely.
Word of mouth
It may be old fashioned, but it still works. Get people talking about you, your company and your website and traffic will grow. Make sure that your website URL is part of all internal and external communications. This includes business cards and email signatures. Drop the URL details into meetings and in online posts. The more people there are who hear the name of the site, the greater will be the conversion rate.
Databases
Collect names and email addresses and communicate with them regularly. This can be done through the creation of newsletters or using inbound marketing programmes like SalesForce or others. In short, collect as much information as you can about people who have been to your site and then reach out to them regularly with different calls to action. The conversion rate will climb quickly if you are hitting your audience with the right type of message. And remember, if you are going to send newsletters, the best results are from campaigns that go out on Thursdays.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
