Bringing your business online is the best growth decision you can make. That is, if you can get found with the millions of successful websites operating today. The key is to be able to drive a significant amount of traffic to your website.
There are thousands of articles and video tutorials out there all about just how to do this. But you can’t realistically just start testing each one until you find something that actually works.
That would just be a huge waste of your time and resources.
What your business needs is a strategy that has been tried and tested to drive traffic to your website so you can get a bigger slice of the pie.
So here we give you 9 sure-fire ways that you can use to drive traffic to your website:
(1) Get on Podcasts
Appearing on popular business-related podcasts is a great way to get your brand in front of targeted audiences.
Research popular podcasts that are related to your business. Think about who their audience is and what you can offer them.
Reach out to podcast hosts to express your interest in doing an interview. Pitch the value that you can share and offer a partnership opportunity to sweeten the deal.
(2) Maintain a Referral Program
Everyone loves being special, and everyone loves getting freebies.
Along with your relationships, develop a referral program that gives people exclusive access to things like high-level content, bonus features and pricing deals. The more people get out of it, the more they will refer others to visit your website and sign up so they can start referring, too.
(3) Develop Influencer Partnerships
There are a ton of influencers out there that you can reach out to. The key is to develop long-term mutually beneficial relationships with them.
Look into influencers connected with your business niche. Learn about them and what they do, then reach out with a value pitch. Make sure that you are not just asking them for help but have something that they will likely be interested in as well.
Cultivate a relationship that’s not just about exchanging something. Approach it in the same way that you would nurture a customer base to develop loyalty. You want these partnerships to be unincentivized and genuine so they will generate a strong and continuous stream of traffic to your website.
(4) Engage in Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are great places to meet your target customers and learn about them. Being a social sphere, users are more relaxed and open. They share concerns and opinions, which are two very important things to know if you are aiming for growth.
Look for relevant groups that you can join. Make sure that you can provide valuable and relevant content to the group members without violating their terms. Focus on being helpful rather than marketing.
Develop a rapport with members and build your reputation with them. This sincere engagement will build trust that can generate a ton of organic traffic to your website, both from within the groups and from their connections as well. Then you can also take note of their questions and complaints about products similar to what you offer so you can improve your offering, and when the time is right, suggest relevant items to them.
Image by kaboompics
(5) Optimize Blogging
Blogging isn’t just for attention seekers who need a platform to post their journal entries in the hopes of generating some interest. A blog can be a powerful magnet for the right kind prospects.
Recommended for You
Webcast, September 27th: Stand Out in the Crowd: Top D.I.Y. PR Tactics for Growing Your Business
We all know a little bit about SEO, but a successful blog strategy involves a lot of research, planning, and follow-up.
Start with keywords that are relevant to your niche and appeal to your target audience (highly-searched terms). From that list, build out a regular content plan with topics that will give your targets the information that they are looking for.
Create quality content that speaks to them and provides real value. Provide avenues for them to reach out to you in the most convenient ways and strike up a conversation.
(6) Actively Guest Post
Aside from posting great content on your own blog, you need to be posting outstanding articles on other blogs.
This showcases your quality to a much wider audience to introduce them to what you have to offer and build trust in your brand. Optimized article writing takes a lot of skill and effort, so most blogs will appreciate a free, well-written article that provides value to their audiences. This is an enormous opportunity to share information and get a link back to your site.
Research different blogs that have a connection to what your business is about. Check their online reputation to make sure that a link from them will improve your SEO.
Look at the type of content that they post and outline a few topics. Reach out to ask if they’d be interested in a guest post, and make sure that you ask about any guidelines that they have.
When a post publishes, tell them how you’ve shared it out and if they might be interested in additional partnership opportunities like a guest post for your blog or a feature in your newsletter.
(7) Leverage Google
Google is another huge pool of users. Apart from optimized blogging, you need a few paid search campaigns to get your website noticed.
Make sure that you follow the same principles as above when you choose your keywords and run your campaigns.
(8) Run Facebook Ads
Like joining groups, Facebook advertising is a great way to target specific audiences. Facebook is a pool of billions of potential customers.
Research your audience on Facebook and outline a campaign strategy. Prepare any materials you might need to support your ads. Set up Pixel and start running campaigns.
Make sure you test and monitor and tweak to get the best results!
(9) Make Useful Videos
Written content is king for search traffic, but people are much more likely to consume your content if it’s in video format. Just make sure it’s in manageable chunks, and optimized for mobile.
Use what you know about your audiences from your different interactions to come up with topics. Cut them up so that you can produce shorter videos that people will actually have the time to watch until the very end.
Plan out a video content calendar around these chunks. Present your content with not only an intro and outro that invite people to view related content – and of course, visit your website – but in a way that keeps them hungry for more.
Final Thoughts
Driving real traffic to your website may have been a challenge for you up to this point. It’s not something that just happens automatically – you have to work for it.
With the right strategies and consistent effort, however, you can bring the people you want to your website so you can reel them in with the value you provide.
Not great at doing this kind of stuff? Not to worry. There are tons of experienced freelance professionals available online who can help you implement each of the strategies above, and a lot more. If hiring scares you, download this ebook on The 10 Most Common Mistakes of Outsourcing so you know what you’re getting into and how to make a great hire for each task.
