Website traffic is one of the keys to improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and search engine rankings. So, it should be no surprise that one of the questions my clients ask is how to drive more traffic to their websites. There are a variety of ways to do this, but I’d like to focus on three that are particularly helpful and – as an added bonus – lower cost than a Pay-per-Click (PPC) or display advertising campaign.
I have nothing at all against paid digital marketing (also called Search Engine Marketing or SEM), but many companies cannot afford to run multiple campaigns or expensive ones that are only designed to yield additional website traffic. I typically recommend that paid SEM be used to attract targeted traffic that converts. The ultimate goal of driving traffic to your website is (or should be) to get your phone to ring with prospects and customers.
So, how do you drive more traffic to your website? Here are three ideas:
- Provide great content
Before you roll up your sleeves and put in a lot of effort to drive more traffic to your website, make sure your content is worth the visit. Provide content that offers value as well as allows the target audience to see your expertise and knowledge. That will help them to see the value you provide and how you think – both critical for converting visitors into prospects.
But don’t just write off the cuff. Be intentional and plan what you need to provide to demonstrate your knowledge and skills. Use a content calendar to time content to critical events in your business cycle, and even consider using customized content for each visitor based on their unique interests. Focus on quality not quantity, but remember that long content tends to perform better and gets shared more often than short content. And curate the content to propagate it and get it in front of as many prospects as you can.
- Email Marketing
Email is a great way to stay in front of prospects and referral partners alike, especially for B2B companies. Email “blasts” are not what I’m talking about here. Those work for awareness, but don’t always drive much traffic. I mean send emails that have customized content, and customize it based on the recipients’ interests. In other words, tell them what they want to hear, not just what you want to say.
Build your list early and keep building it. Use automation platforms that will help you segment your audience into interest groups, not just categories like customer, prospect, or referral partner. The serve content that is customized to the recipients’ interests. There are a variety of ways for you to segment the target audience, and you should have a plan for segmenting them before you invest in the email platform, because different tools will allow for different amount of automated segmentation.
Automation is key if you don’t want to spend all of your time segmenting recipients and sending emails. Not sure which automation platform to use? This blog on choosing the right platform may help. If not, book a complimentary conversation with me on my online calendar, which can be accessed here.
- Social Media
If you are using the right platform, social media can be a great way to learn more about your audience as well as drive traffic to your website – now that you have great content on it – and form alliances with people who will share your content and engage with it.
Don’t post the same content on the social media platform that you have on your site, or you defeat the purpose of the website visits from social media posts, not to mention you could actually cause a drop in website traffic. Instead, offer related content, and give people a reason to interact with your posts as well as click over to your website.
Match the social media platform you are using to both the audience you wish to target and the reason you are targeting them. If your content aligns with the audience and their intention(s) for using that platform, you will get better engagement. Growing your social media presence is good for your SEO too, not just increasing website traffic.
There are, of course, other ways to drive traffic to your website, but these three are a good starting point. And, remember, the ultimate goal is not just website traffic increases, but phone calls and inquiries about your products and services.
