How to Get Traffic to Your Website

Getting traffic to your website can seem daunting. However, with some focus and persistence you can grow traffic to your website. Here are some resources.

There are several general strategies you can use to increase your website traffic. Here are eight of them, along with some more specific tips for taking advantage of those strategies.

Engage in the Community

  • Write guest blog articles to get published on other sites
  • Speak at local gatherings; leave branded swag
  • Give supplier spotlights and testimonials
  • Participate in online forums and Facebook/LinkedIn groups
  • Host customer appreciation event
  • Support community charities, schools, causes

Be Social

  • Have a company presence on major social media sites
  • Share your own content
  • Share others’ content
  • Engage: hit that like, retweet, pin or share button
  • Participate in social media events such as Twitter chats and Facebook Live events
  • Do social media advertising and promoted articles:
    • Increase engagement in your existing circle
    • Reach out to new people — target precisely

Become a Thought Leader

  • Offer interviews on media, news blogs, podcasts
  • Pursue speaking engagements
  • Curate industry/topical content on social media sites
  • Create “how to” and advice videos
  • Guest blog on other sites
  • Participate in industry committees and boards
  • Self publish ebooks (on your site or on Amazon)
  • Post presentations online (Slideshare)

Make Your Biz Newsworthy

  • Enter awards and contests
  • Publish press releases to announce news, such as:
    • New product and service launches
    • Major staff additions
    • Support of local causes or charities
    • Winning (or giving) an award
    • Company milestones (anniversaries, ribbon cuttings)
  • Put job openings online
  • Put enticing pictures/videos on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and your website:
    • “Team in action” photos
    • Product launches
    • Customer appreciation days
    • “Backstory” images

Get Listed

  • Business directory sites such as NFIB and BBB
  • Marketplace / lead gen sites
  • Local listing sites
  • Claim your “Google My Business” listing; flesh it out
  • Supplier sites
  • Industry associations

Get Found in Search Engines

  • Optimize site pages for customer search terms
  • Publish a blog! (But keep it relevant to customers)
  • Make and post videos
  • Master the use of keywords
  • Optimize for mobile / map search
  • Share ALL your content on social media

Encourage Existing Customers

  • Start a referral program
  • Encourage online reviews!
  • Highlight customers on your site / newsletter
  • Put “forward to a friend” button on newsletters
  • Put URL address on branded promotional swag – pens, notepads, fridge magnets, more.
  • Put URL address on vehicles and signage

Buy Advertising or Paid Options

  • Buy ads:
    • Radio or cable TV ads
    • Online display ads
    • Search ads
    • Content ads (e.g. Taboola)
    • Social media ads
  • Billboards and digital signage at special events
  • Sponsor charities or causes (e.g. sponsor middle / high school sports teams, support a charity walk)
  • Sponsor conferences or exhibit at tradeshows. Use QR code or SMS text “show special” or content magnet
  • Learn “retargeting” relating to ads and search

 

How to Get Traffic – More Reading

For more on how to get traffic to your website, see these articles on our site here at Small Business Trends:

How to Use Google Analytics to Tell Where Your Website Traffic Comes From  – If you want to increase your traffic, you first need to know what strategies have worked for you and which ones haven’t. This article gives an overview of Google Analytics and how it can help you increase website traffic.

Boost Your Web Traffic with These 5 Proven Tips  – Some traffic increasing methods have really stood the test of time. This article includes five of them.

How This Entrepreneur Super Charged Web Traffic with PPC Campaigns  – Pay per click (PPC) campaigns offer one option for increasing online traffic. Here, you can read about how one entrepreneur was able to achieve positive results with this method.

Six Unique Ways to Boost Web Traffic Without Marketing – Marketing can be a big part of increasing your web traffic. But there are other strategies to consider as well, like the ones in this article.

Use This Publishing To-Do List to Boost Website Traffic – Before publishing your next piece of online content, check out this to-do list to help you boost traffic to your website.

Web Design Tips for Beginners to Drive Traffic to Your Website – Your website design can also have a major impact on your website traffic. These web design tips can help.
Small Businesses Get Nearly Half of Traffic from Social Media – If you’re trying to increase website traffic without using social media, you could be missing out. As this article points out, small businesses get nearly half of their traffic from social media.
5 Tips That Will Make It Easier to Drive Traffic to Your Blog – Blogging can be another powerful strategy. This article includes tips for increasing that traffic.
Proven Ways to Increase Targeted Traffic to Your eCommerce Store – If you have an ecommerce store, getting website traffic is often about finding the right people to market to, as this article discusses.
Shhhh! Use These 5 WordPress SEO Secrets to Drive Insane Traffic – For websites that use WordPress, the SEO secrets discussed in this article can also help increase website traffic dramatically.

Cars, MeetingSearchGoogle AnalyticsTraffic Photos via Shutterstock