Ask a marketer or business owner what they’d like most in the world,
and they’ll probably tell you “more customers.” What often comes after
customers on a business’ wish list? More traffic to their site. There
are many ways you can increase traffic on your website, and in today’s
post, we’re going to look at some of them.
1. Advertise
This one is so obvious, we’re going to look at it first.
Paid search, social media advertising and display advertising are all excellent ways of attracting visitors,
building your brand and getting your site in front of people. Adjust
your paid strategies to suit your goals – do you just want more traffic,
or are you looking to increase conversions, too? Each paid channel has
its pros and cons, so think carefully about your objectives before you
reach for your credit card.
If you’re hoping that more traffic to your site will also result in more sales, you’ll need to target high
commercial intent keywords
as part of your paid search strategies. Yes, competition for these
search terms can be fierce (and expensive), but the payoffs can be worth
it.
2. Get Social
It’s not enough to produce great
content and hope that people find it – you have to be proactive. One of
the best ways to increase traffic to your website is to
use social media channels to promote your content.
Twitter is ideal for short, snappy (and tempting) links, whereas
Google+ promotion can help your site show up in personalized search
results and seems especially effective in B2B niches. If you’re a B2C
product company, you might find great traction with image-heavy social
sites like Pinterest and Instagram.
3. Mix It Up
There is no magic formula for content marketing success, despite what some would have you believe. For this reason,
vary the length and format of your content to make it as appealing as possible to different kinds of readers. Intersperse shorter, news-based blog posts with
long-form content as well as video, infographics and data-driven pieces for maximum impact. (Find more on mixing up your content types in this
huge collection of blogging tips.)
4. Write Irresistible Headlines
Headlines are one of the most important parts of your content.
Without a compelling headline, even the most comprehensive blog post will go unread. Master the art of
headline writing.
For example, the writers at BuzzFeed and Upworthy often write upward of
twenty different headlines before finally settling on the one that will
drive the most traffic, so think carefully about your headline before
you hit “publish.”
5. Pay Attention to On-Page SEO
Think SEO is dead? Think again.
Optimizing your content for search engines
is still a valuable and worthwhile practice. Are you making the most of
image alt text? Are you creating internal links to new content? What
about meta descriptions? Optimizing for
on-page SEO doesn’t have to take ages, and it could help boost your organic traffic.
6. Target Long-Tail Keywords
Got your high commercial intent keyword bases covered? Then it’s time to target
long-tail keywords,
too. Long-tail keywords account for a majority of web searches, meaning
that if you’re not targeting them as part of your paid search or SEO
efforts, you’re missing out.
7. Start Guest Blogging
Before you say it – no, true
guest blogging isn’t dead, despite what you may have heard. Securing a guest post on a reputable site can increase traffic to your website
and
help build your brand into the bargain. Be warned, though – standards
for guest blogging have changed radically during the past eighteen
months, and spammy tactics could result in stiff penalties. Proceed with
caution.
8. Invite Others to Guest Blog on Your Site
Guest blogging is a two-way street. In addition to posting content to other blogs,
invite people in your niche to blog on your own site.
They’re likely to share and link to their guest article, which could
bring new readers to your site. Just be sure that you only post
high-quality, original content without spammy links, because Google is
cracking way down on low-quality guest blogging.
9. Go After Referral Traffic
Rather
than trying to persuade other sites to link back to you (a tedious and
time-intensive process), create content that just begs to be linked to.
When Larry wrote about
the kick in the proverbial teeth that eBay took from Google’s Panda update,
we managed to secure a link from Ars Technica in the Editor’s Pick
section alongside links to The New York Times and National Geographic.
Not too shabby – and neither was the resulting spike in referral
traffic. Learn what types of links send lots of referral traffic, and
how to get them,
in this post.
10. Post Content to LinkedIn
LinkedIn
has become much more than a means of finding another job. The world’s
largest professional social network is now a valuable publishing
platform in its own right, which means
you should be posting content to LinkedIn
on a regular basis. Doing so can boost traffic to your site, as well as
increase your profile within your industry – especially if you have a
moderate to large following.
11. Implement Schema Microdata
Implementing schema (or another microdata format) won’t necessarily increase traffic to your website on its own, but
it will make it easier for search engine bots to find and index your pages. Another benefit of using
schema for SEO is that it can result in better rich site snippets, which can improve click-through rates.
12. Link Internally
The strength of your link profile isn’t solely determined by how many sites link back to you –
it can also be affected by your internal linking structure.
When creating and publishing content, be sure to keep an eye out for
opportunities for internal links. This not only helps with SEO, but also
results in a better, more useful experience for the user – the
cornerstone of increasing traffic to your website.
13. Interview Industry Thought Leaders
Think
interviews are only for the big leaguers? You’d be amazed how many
people will be willing to talk to you if you just ask them. Send out
emails requesting an interview to thought leaders in your industry, and
publish the interviews on your blog.
Not only will the name recognition boost your credibility and increase
traffic to your website, the interviewee will probably share the content
too, further expanding its reach.
14. Don’t Neglect Email Marketing
So
many businesses are focused on attracting new customers through content
marketing that they forget about more traditional methods. Email
marketing can be a powerful tool, and even a moderately successful email
blast can result in a significant uptick in traffic. Just be careful
not to bombard people with relentless emails about every single update
in your business. Also, don’t overlook the power of
word-of-mouth marketing,
especially from people who are already enjoying your products or
services. A friendly email reminder about a new service or product can
help you boost your traffic, too.
15. Make Sure Your Site is Responsive
The
days when internet browsing was done exclusively on desktop PCs are
long gone. Today, more people than ever before are using mobile devices
to access the web, and if you force your visitors to pinch and scroll
their way around your site, you’re basically telling them to go
elsewhere.
Ensure that your website is accessible and comfortably viewable across a range of devices, including smaller smartphones.
16. Make Sure Your Site is Fast
Ever
found yourself waiting thirty seconds for a webpage to load? Me
neither. If your site takes forever to load, your bounce rate will be
sky high.
Make sure that your pages are as technically optimized as possible,
including image file sizes, page structure and the functionality of
third-party plugins. The faster your site loads, the better.
17. Foster a Sense of Community
People want to speak their minds and weigh in on subjects they feel passionately about, so
building a community into your site is a great way to start a conversation
and increase traffic to your website. Implement a robust commenting
system through third-party solutions such as Facebook comments or
Disqus, or create a dedicated forum where visitors can ask questions.
Don’t forget to
manage your community to ensure that minimum standards of decorum are met, however.
18. Make Yourself Heard in Comment Sections
You
probably visit at least a few sites that are relevant to your business
on a regular basis, so why not join the conversation? Commenting doesn’t
necessarily provide an immediate boost to referral traffic right away,
but
making a name for yourself by providing insightful,
thought-provoking comments on industry blogs and sites is a great way to
get your name out there – which can subsequently result in
driving more traffic to your own site. Just remember that, as with guest
posting, quality and relevance are key – you should be engaging with
other people in your niche, not dropping spam links on unrelated
websites.
19. Examine Your Analytics Data
Google Analytics
is an invaluable source of data on just about every conceivable aspect
of your site, from your most popular pages to visitor demographics.
Keep a close eye on your Analytics data,
and use this information to inform your promotional and content
strategies. Pay attention to what posts and pages are proving the most
popular. Inspect visitor data to see how, where and when your site
traffic is coming from.
20. Get Active on Social Media
It’s
not enough to just share content through social channels – you need to
actively participate in the community, too. Got a Twitter account? Then
join in group discussions with relevant hashtags. Is your audience
leaving comments on your Facebook posts? Answer questions and engage
with your readers. Nothing turns people off quicker than using social
media as a broadcast channel – use social media as it was intended and
actually interact with your fans.
21. Submit Your Content to Aggregator Sites
Firstly,
a disclaimer – don’t spam Reddit and other similar sites hoping to “hit
the jackpot” of referral traffic, because it’s not going to happen.
Members of communities like Reddit are extraordinarily savvy to spam
disguised as legitimate links, but every now and again, it doesn’t hurt
to submit links that these audiences will find genuinely useful. Choose a
relevant subreddit, submit your content, then watch the traffic pour
in.
22. Incorporate Video into Your Content Strategy
Text-based
content is all well and good, but video can be a valuable asset in both
attracting new visitors and making your site more engaging. Data shows
that
information retention is significantly higher for visual material than it is for text, meaning that video is an excellent way to grab – and hold – your audience’s attention,
and boost traffic to your website at the same time.
23. Research the Competition
If
you haven’t used software like BuzzSumo to check out what your
competitors are up to, you’re at a huge disadvantage. These services
aggregate the social performance of specific sites and content to
provide you with an at-a-glance view of what topics are resonating with
readers and, most importantly, making the rounds on social media. Find
out what people are reading (and talking about), and emulate that kind
of content to bring traffic to your website.
24. Host Webinars
People
love to learn, and webinars are an excellent way to impart your wisdom
to your eagerly waiting audience. Combined with an effective social
promotion campaign, webinars are a great way to increase traffic to your
website. Send out an email a week or so ahead of time, as well as a
“last chance to register” reminder the day before the webinar. Make sure
to archive the presentation for later viewing, and promote your
webinars widely through social media. If you're wondering
how to do a webinar, click the link for some tips.
25. Attend Conferences
Whatever
industry you’re in, chances are there are at least one or two major
conventions and conferences that are relevant to your business.
Attending these events is a good idea – speaking at them is even better.
Even a halfway decent speaking engagement is an excellent way to
establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry and gain
significant exposure for your site.
Well, that just about does it
for today’s post. If you’ve got your own tips for increasing traffic to
your website, I’d love to hear them
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