Are you tired of your website attracting meager amounts of traffic?
Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to help create more buzz online and attract more visitors to your site.
No matter your industry or experience, you can get active on social media, create more relevant content, dip your toes into the advertising waters, and get to know your audience better.
Nobody likes a traffic jam -- unless you're a business owner looking for more web traffic. 
Businesses love high volumes of web traffic. However, it’s not always easy to attract endless crowds of visitors to a website. In an increasingly saturated internet sphere, how do you get eyes on your pages instead of everyone else's? This guide will cover some of our best ideas for building awareness of your site and driving more traffic to it:
Organic web traffic can prove more valuable than any other, but search engines can't find you if your website lacks effective search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Some companies optimize their home pages and neglect everything else -- this is a mistake. A consumer who has never heard of your company won't search for your brand name specifically, so you want your other content to rank highly in Google.
For instance, if your company is ABC Plumbing, you'll generate more web traffic for content like "How to Fix a Leaky Toilet" or "Unclogging the Kitchen Sink" than you will from "ABC Plumbing." Therefore, you must optimize every page of your content so the search engines can find it. Make sure each page has an accurate meta description and the content reflects the page’s title so users get what they expect when they click on the page.
In order to create the engaging content that will strengthen your SEO, be sure to conduct keyword research to find out what your audience is searching for online, then build your blog articles or eBooks around the topics that are of interest to them.
The best SEO strategies will also look to build links on other websites. Research other websites that would be a good fit for your content, then reach out to the webmaster to see if the site would be interested in publishing your material along with a link back to the original source (your website).
There's no "right" social media platform for every business. If you run a B2B website or you're looking for employees, you should generally put a pretty heavy focus on LinkedIn. Twitter can also be valuable tool for sharing B2B information and your own content with industry influencers. And Facebook still boasts a significant user base and many opportunities for in-depth interactions with your audience.
The most important thing is to consider your audience, your niche, and your products and services to figure out which social media platform(s) will perform best for your business
Stick to posting on one or two social media platforms initially. Share useful, engaging content that doesn't just promote your business, and consider participating in Twitter Chats, Google Hangouts, and other side services that the various platforms offer.
Research your audience's habits to understand which social media platforms will be the
most effective in delivering your messages.
Most people don't give away their names and contact information unless you offer some sort of incentive. It could be an informative white paper, an illuminating video, or a compelling e-book. Whatever the case, use words like "free" and "complimentary" when describing your free download or gift and advertise it on social media.
When you have an active email list, your subscribers will click on the content you share via email -- assuming it's compelling enough. Focus on quality rather than quantity when designing each email burst so you don't irritate your audience and get a flood of unsubscribers.
Write a paragraph describing a hamburger. Paint a word picture about its juicy patty, crisp lettuce, rich condiments, and sweet tomatoes.
Now pull up a picture of a hamburger on the internet. Which makes you hungrier?
Human beings respond well to visual imagery. It creates an immediate connection in our minds, so use that bit of psychology to your advantage. Writing great content will attract web traffic, but don't forget to throw in a little eye candy, whether it's a photograph, video, or infographic.
Conversations about your business and industry are occurring every day all over the internet. You just have to seek them out. From forums and message boards to blog posts and question-and-answer sites like Quora, you'll have to wade through a sea of opportunities.
If you join conversations away from your website, you might generate interest among your correspondents. Include a link to your home page or your best piece of content in your profile or signature so people can find you. Plus, those conversations get indexed, so other people can find them and become interested in your brand.
By injecting yourself into conversations your audience is having,
you'll be able to grow awareness of your brand.
Very few people can resist an engaging question. That's why quizzes and polls have become so popular on social media. Do you want to know which Hogwarts house the sorting hat would have put you in? Of course you do!
No, you don't have to brush up on pop culture. Instead, if you are interested in increasing web traffic, just ask for your audience's opinion. People love to sound off about what they think and how they feel, and you can use the data you collect to inform your content marketing strategy and your advertising approach.
You can create polls and quizzes on social media or on your own website. Invite people to participate by offering a free download or another freebie for those who take the time, especially if you're asking participants to fill in a long survey.
Whether you're designing an advertisement for a Facebook retargeting campaign or building a better B2B website, start with an irresistible hook that will draw in your audience and refuse to let them go. Ask a question, pose an interesting theory, or make a shocking claim. This hook can be placed on your home page, in an ad, or a blog post.
Generally, your headline serves as your only opportunity to snare a potential customer. If the headline doesn't intrigue your audience, they'll find something else that does. Take some time to brainstorm ideas, making a list of 20 or so potential headlines. Some of these headlines might be terrible, but that’s OK. From this list, you should have at least a couple headlines that will work for your piece of content.
>> See how building an inbound marketing plan can support your website and help attract more visitors: Get your free copy of our B2B Guide to Inbound Marketing.
Online conversations no longer happen exclusively via text. Consumers love to listen to real human beings speak -- it creates an intimate connection that might convert a prospect into a lead or even a customer.
You might start your own podcast, for instance, or launch a webinar. If you want to get even more personal, create videos for YouTube and other video-sharing sites as well as your own blog. Word of mouth can spread quickly when you're talking directly to your audience.
While organic search offers the least expensive option for generating web traffic, sometimes an advertising campaign can prove extremely valuable. This is particularly true for social media and search engine advertising.
Create buyer personas so you know how to target your ideal customer in every ad you run. Conduct A/B testing over and over so you know which ads perform the best -- and on which platforms. It may take some time for your website to compete in search rankings with larger, more established sites. Therefore, advertising can be a great way to get your offer to the top of search results if you can't rank organically.
Using platforms like Google AdWords for search engine advertising can help
boost your website's traffic if you're struggling to rank organically.
Shopify offers several tips for business owners who want to speed up their growth and generate web traffic through giveaways. Create a giveaway with a special prize that everyone in your target market will want, such as a full suite of your products. Invite people to gain entries by sharing your posts on social media, joining your email list, and commenting on your blog.
It's expensive to hold giveaways often, so make a big splash when you decide to hold one. Market your giveaway for at least two weeks in advance so people know what to expect. Keep posting about it on social media so none of your followers miss it.
Networking organizations, professional associations, and other communities can help you gain web traffic. If you participate in online groups, for instance, and have a profile or signature with that organization, you'll get inbound links and exposure. Plus, you'll claim your rightful place as an authority in your industry.
If you join such an industry, dedicate time to it. If you're inactive, you won't reap nearly as many rewards. LinkedIn offers many industry-specific opportunities for professionals to interact with thought leaders in their field. Connect with other people in your industry -- particularly not direct competitors -- and expand your network. Invite everyone to follow you on social media (and don't forget to follow back).
We talked about optimizing blog posts for SEO, but you can also optimize them for social media. Include sharing buttons for all social media platforms, even if you rarely use them. When people share your content, you gain access to their networks and are able to spread your content to an even wider audience.
Many sharing buttons display the number of times a piece of content has been shared. Think of this as internet peer pressure. If someone sees that many people have shared your content, they'll be more likely to follow in their peers' footsteps.
While short, pithy content might work well on social media, it doesn't perform nearly as well on your blog. The internet is saturated with content -- much of it short -- so you need longer, more in-depth pieces to generate web traffic. Google considers content length when positioning it in the search results, and the engines favor longer pieces because they're believed to have more valuable information.
Shoot for blog posts that range from 800 to 2,500 words. Pack as much information into each piece as you can. If you fill it with unnecessary verbiage, you'll alienate the reader. Break up the content into small sections so your audience can scan it quickly, and use bulleted and numbered lists when they fit.
It might sound old-fashioned, but press releases still exist. Now, instead of just attracting notice in local papers, they're searchable on the internet. This means even more exposure if you can write a press release that's compelling enough for news sources to pick it up.
Only write a press release if you have newsworthy information. For instance, maybe you're launching a new product line, or perhaps your product has just achieved recognition by a government or industry organization. As long as you keep it short and information-packed, you stand a good chance of spreading it far and wide.
Want to increase web traffic? Speak at an event. The exposure and personal connection
you make with the audience can help drive interest in your brand.
Believe it or not, your personal presence can drive web traffic. For instance, if you speak at a conference in front of 1,000 people, most of those audience members will later look up your business -- if only out of curiosity. You can also post videos of your public speaking on your own site and on YouTube to drive traffic.
Many conventions and conferences now help speakers by putting their web addresses and social media handles on the projection screen. That way, anyone can access your online accounts and follow your content.
If you're not comfortable speaking in public, find someone who is. Hand the torch to someone else in your organization with oratory skills and the time to travel for speaking engagements.
Make yourself available to the local and national media when a newsworthy event impacts your industry. You might only get 20 seconds of airtime, but you'll achieve mass distribution in terms of your name and business. If the media turns to you for a quote or opinion, they're expressing their faith in your authority, which helps you build credibility.
Inbound links can increase your search engine rankings and improve external web traffic. However, it's sometimes difficult to do, especially if you don't publish the right content. Statistics prove valuable because other organizations will want to use them for their own content. If they're ethical, they'll link to your website as the source.
This is a great way to get high-quality inbound links. For instance, students and professors who create content for their universities' websites often link to interesting statistics. You can mine the data from sites like Statista, then weave it into your content.
When increasing web traffic, you sometimes need a little boost. Influencers offer the perfect solution because they have significant sway over their followers. It's a form of social proof that can also make a single blog post or product page go viral in a matter of minutes.
You can compensate influencers for their efforts or find influencers who are already fans of your brand. Either way, the influencer might review your product or service or simply mention it on his or her website and social media accounts.
Speaking of reviews, don't let influencers have all the fun. You can also write reviews of other companies and their products and services to generate website traffic. When people search for those companies, your page will likely come up in the search engines. Plus, if you review a company favorably, that organization might link to your page to demonstrate its quality.
Just make sure the companies you review relate to your industry. You can choose direct and non-direct competitors and companies with which you might partner in the future. Give your honest opinion and a link to that company.
Everyone makes mistakes occasionally. However, you'll want to avoid a few doozies that can hurt your ability to draw more traffic to your website.
First, avoid duplicate posts on social media. If you share a thought on Facebook, don't copy and paste it for Twitter. Instead, find a new way to deliver the same information -- or, even better, say something different altogether. For instance, you might find another direct quote from the blog post to which you're linking.
Redundant content is also a no-no if you want more traffic. Instead of writing a post on something that has been covered hundreds of times already, choose a topic that hasn't gotten as much attention. If you publish unique content, you might appeal to a smaller group of people, but you'll become far easier to find in the search engine results.
Shoddy web design can kill your chances of increasing website traffic, especially if the back end needs work. Building a better B2B website, for instance, can dramatically improve your SEO efforts and your site's appeal. You don't want to neglect analytics because you'll miss out on opportunities to improve your content and web design.
A successful inbound marketing plan can greatly increase your website's ability to attract more traffic. Get your free copy of our B2B Guide to Inbound Marketing to learn more about developing your own inbound marketing strategies.
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