10 Tips To Drive Traffic To Your Website
Is your small biz website sitting there with cobwebs? Getting nothing but crickets? Are you scratching your head wondering why people aren’t visiting in droves? I mean you spent all that time creating an amazing website, so they should be there, right?!
Simply having a website is not enough. You need to drive traffic to it.
So how do you do this?
Follow these 10 super easy tips to see a boost in your website visitors!
Give them a reason, and they will come.
There are so many ways to promote your website, but underpinning it all should be the VALUE you are providing for your target audience.
What are they getting out of visiting your website? What value, services and information do you give them?
1. Blog away.
One of the most effective ways to increase traffic to your website is to regularly blog.
It provides information and VALUE for your audience. Not to mention that interesting and relatable blog posts will keep them browsing your site for longer.
Search engines love fresh content, and blogging regularly helps this.
Using your blog as a means of communication you can answer questions, provide “how to” posts and guides, tutorials and so much more!
2. Consistently create quality content.
Whilst I am a big believer in posting on your site regularly, you must maintain quality.
If you are running out of ideas, or find that the quality of your posts are declining as you don’t have time to write, then you should post less.
Quality over quantity….every time.
You need to find a schedule that suits you and your small biz to create compelling and consistent content.
3. Use internal links.
Using internal links on your posts can keep your readers clicking through to more relevant content; therefore keep them on your site for longer.
Like this link below to an index of all my stories on freelance writing and working-from -home! 😉
These tactics help boost your search rankings and show search engines that you are an authority in your niche. This can place you on the first page of Google! Which means, you guessed it…more traffic!
4. Optimise your page and posts.
The Meta title, URL and description form three key ingredients to optimise your page and blog post. On WordPress (the website builder I use) this information can be found below your blog post.
I also use the YOAST SEO plugin to help me optimise my site and each blog post. It is simple, yet effective.
Here on Medium, you can click the three dots at the top, go to more settings and alter the SEO title and description.
5. Audience engagement.
It is not enough to simply publish a blog post and walk away, hoping that it will attract readers. You need to engage with your audience:
- post a link to your blog post on Social Media with a brief synopsis, or a hook that entices them to click through and read.
- create Pins and share on Pinterest.
- use Instagram stories, reels, lives or posts to draw attention to your blog post.
- Tweet about it!
- share it with your email subscribers.
If a reader comments on it, no matter where it is posted (Facebook, Instagram, twitter etcetera) make sure you respond to them as soon as you can.
By responding to each comment (and yes I know this can be time consuming), you are actively engaging your audience. You are being personable and relatable which helps build report with your readers and will keep them coming back for more. Which means more visitors!
6. Encourage incoming links.
Google is more likely to rank your page higher on searches and class it as a trustworthy site if you have many incoming links (aka backlinks). The more incoming links that you have, the higher your site will rank. The higher your site ranks, the more visitors to your website!
But how do you gain incoming links?
Easy! Encourage your clients, friends, family members, suppliers, fellow bloggers and your next-door neighbor to link to your site.
Ask them to write reviews, blog posts or social media posts that link back to your site.
Bonus tip: as you build valuable and compelling content on your blog you will find people link to it.
7. Guest Blog.
Find websites that are relevant to your niche and see if they accept guest posts. Yes, I know you don’t generally get paid for guest posts. But I promise it is not a waste of time. It is a fantastic way to increase your exposure and nurture relationships with other small biz owners.
Most sites will attach a short author bio (like the one below this story 😜) with your post, with links to your website and social media. The aim being people will read your post, love it, and follow the links to your site to learn more about you.
Plus this helps build up backlinks to your site, and what do we know about that?! Shows authority and that your site knows their stuff…which ultimately moves you up search rankings…..which ultimately leads to more traffic!
8. Blog commenting.
Another fantastic way to increase your level of exposure is to comment on blog posts others have written that are relevant to your niche. Usually you can include a website link on a comment so people can click through to your site.
It is a great way to promote yourself, as well as network with like-minded people and find inspiration from other posts.
This is more relevant to places such as Medium. Blog commenting in general is no longer the powerhouse it used to be! But if its traffic to your Medium profile you want? Comment on others stories!
9. Newsletter.
A regular newsletter or email campaign is another great way to build report with your readers and actively engage them. It can attract new and frequent visitors by providing good tips, information, news and freebies.
Don’t underestimate the value of a good freebie!
Make sure what ever you offer for free is targeted at your niche, at those people you want to attract to your website. There is no point putting all your time and effort into creating an eBook on puppy training, if your website is aimed at natural therapies.
Create social media posts, videos, Pins, tweets and more about your freebie and send it out into the world! See how this is providing value, which we know attracts more people!
10. Social networking.
Everyone is connected to some form of social media these days. By building a solid social media presence you can draw your followers across to your website and generate traffic.
Social media is a powerful tool to promote and grow your business. However, my advice is to pick one at a time to grow before moving onto the next one. If you attempt to tackle to many at once it can be overwhelming and ineffective. Find where your tribe is hanging, and focus your efforts there.
Be sure to include share buttons to your social media profiles on all your website pages and every blog post. This makes it easier for your readers to share your content and therefore reach even more viewers.
10 tips to drive traffic to your website
- Create a blog
- Create compelling content consistently
- Use internal linking
- Optimise your page and blog posts
- Engage with your audience
- Encourage incoming links (backlinks)
- Guest Blog
- Comment on other blogs/stories
- Create a newsletter
- Social networking
I would love to hear how these tips help YOU and your website be seen, heard and loved by your target audience.
Rachel Maree is a writer, mum and registered nurse. Bringing you the real truth to parenting, nursing and writing (even when it is downright ugly). You can learn more or hire her to write amazing content for you — Rachel Maree.
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