5 Easy Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website
I had an interesting chat with a Realtor last night. She was expressing frustration about her two websites (one of her own, and the other one provided by her real estate company), telling me that she rarely gets any traffic, let alone, conversions from either one of them; even though she has invested time and money in professional design/development and SEO.
We all have heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and how complex, highly technical, and expensive it can get. While it is a very important part of anyone’s marketing strategy, SEO is only that: a “part” of the overall strategy.
When setting up a strategy, we have to look at the big picture and how everything you do is interrelated. Moreover, we need to remember that Websites have become the equivalent to little drops of water in a vast ocean of information called The Internet. Therefore, unless anyone gives rather specific directions to any browser and/or search engine, they are nearly impossible to find.
Do not dismay, however, there are plenty of, relatively low-tech, and cost-free, things you can do in order to bring more traffic to your site. I have put a small (and by no means, exhaustive) list here; which I believe can help anyone achieve this goal.
So, without further ado, and in no particular order…
1. Make sure your website address (URL) is displayed on all your marketing material
As obvious as this might sound, you’d be surprised about the amount of business cards, brochures, flyers, newspaper ads, TV commercials, and any [you name it] marketing material, I see on a daily basis, which have no mention of the company or individual’s website. In this day and age, a website address is equally, or even more important, than a phone number or an email address; therefore, I cannot stress how critical it is to have your website URL clearly displayed on every piece of marketing material you hand out or distribute directly or indirectly. Remember: Your WebsiteURL doesn’t have to be big or the most prominent piece of information, but it certainly needs to be there somewhere.
2. Use Social Media Regularly
Social media has proven time and time again its effectiveness as a (mostly) free marketing tool. Therefore, use it and use it often! While there are no set guidelines on how frequently you should be posting to your social media channels, a good rule of thumb is that you should be posting at least a couple of times a week to all your social media channels. On the other hand, make sure not to overwhelm your audience with more than one or two postings per day. Also, do not be afraid of repeating the same (or very similar) posting on different social media channels. Remember: each Social Media channel/platform has its own audience; therefore, your postings will be viewed by different people accordingly.
3. Include links back to your website on all your social media postings
Your audience is already accessing your social media posts on devices capable of visiting your website; why not give them a direct path back to it every chance you get? Whenever possible (kind of always, if you ask me), include a link to your website home page at the end of each of your postings. Or, if you are promoting a specific product or bit of information that can be found on a specific page in your site, include the link to that particular page instead.
4. Keep your blog up to date
Yeah, you can stop rolling your eyes and your moaning now. Keep in mind, “Blog” is nothing more than a made-up word that means “Web Log” – this refers to a collection or log of updates, news, insights, etc. Therefore, your business blog can house any type of pertinent update that might interest your peers, and more importantly, your customers. Whether you’re letting people know you will be attending or hosting an upcoming event, updates to your products or services, welcoming a new team member, or writing a more involved article with some useful industry insights, these are all good reasons to update your blog. A blog posting can be as short as a couple of sentences or as long as you need it to be (within reason! Please don’t publish a novel on your blog!). The important thing about keeping your blog up to date with new postings is that it is, by its very nature, adding new and fresh content to your site. This is not only good for search engine rankings, but also is a great way to keep your website visitors coming back to check periodically for this new content.
5. Post content to LinkedIn
In the last couple of years, LinkedIn has become the world’s largest professional social network and a proven publishing platform in its own right; which means you can use it as an alternative or a supportive platform to keep your audience up to date with your business and professional news. Like any other social media platform, LinkedIn offers different ways of posting and sharing your information. So it happens that my good friend and Online Marketing Expert Sofie Andreou, published an article and video explaining how to take full advantage of the LinkedIn offerings; take a look here ›“NEW! on LinkedIn – Blog Posts!”
So, there you have it, 5 easy ways to help you get more people visiting your website. Remember, consistence and patience are also key. If you have any other easy and low-tech tips for increasing website traffic, I’d love to hear them!
Oh! I almost forgot! Please visit our website! › www.creativeplanit.com
Creative PLANit is a full service Toronto design studio specializing in the design and development of websites, branding, and marketing material.