Creating a website is only half the battle, getting Internet traffic to it is where most new site owners get stuck. Today we’ll go over the most effective online marketing channels to increase traffic to your website. If you are looking for ways to get clients to your site without breaking the bank, read on.
Ways to increase website traffic. Overview
There are dozens of online marketing channels to exploit, but few of them provide quick and significant results. Here is our list of high-yield ways to increase web traffic:
- Direct leads come to your website bypassing Google and third-party resources if you spread the word around and your site URL is easy to remember.
- Search engine optimization (SEO) makes Google and other search engines love your website and show it on the first page of search results, making it easier to find.
- Social media marketing (SMM) is about creating a community and building trust with your clients before leading them to your website to purchase your products or services.
- Search engine (SEA) or per-per-click (PPC) advertising provides quick results by directing clients to your website for a fee.
- Email marketing provides a one- or two-way communication channel with your clients if you have a substantial enough mailing list.
- Third-party platforms can either host your guest posts, your links, or advertise your website for a fee and work great if you choose a platform popular with your target audience.
- Affiliate marketing gets paying customers to your website by hiring other webmasters to attract the target audience through a variety of channels.
- Creating a presence on content aggregator sites, like Reddit, Quora, or Medium gets your company name out and increase brand visibility.
- Posting advertisements on free online classifieds platforms, like Craigslist, Indeed, Oodle, and others, with a link to the website is another free way to attract potential customers.
- Sharing discounts and coupons for your products and services through Groupon and other promo code aggregators can be a part of your website promotion strategy if you are willing to cut the prices a little.
- Viral marketing requires a buzz-worthy message that will spread throughout the target audience, increase brand recognition and make potential customers talk about your products or services.
Critical online marketing channels: pros, cons, costs
Direct Traffic
You can achieve direct traffic if you meet the clients and share the website URL during meetings, industry shows, conferences, and other events.
Pros:
You get to network and establish personal contacts with the target audience;
The leads you get are warm, not cold.
Cons:
You have to meet the potential clients personally;
This approach requires much time.
Costs:
Conference/shows/events attendance fees;
Production of marketing materials with the website URL.
SEO Traffic
Quality search engine optimization is an ongoing work that requires time and effort to:
- Set up and maintain an optimized website with regular content updates;
- Set up and update a blog;
- Publish the content on third-party platforms to improve the website stats;
- Get backlinks from other websites;
- Create and publish a variety of posts: articles, Q&As, presentations, and more.
Pros:
The search traffic is virtually free;
This approach works 24/7.
Cons:
You have to generate and publish relevant content for your target audience;
You have to find new third-party platforms to distribute your content.
Costs:
SEO specialists’ and copywriters’ wages;
Backlink acquisition and third-party website publishing expenses.
SMM Traffic
Targeting potential customers through social media platforms and leading them to your website is an effective online marketing technique. To make it work:
- Create and update a company channel, group, or account;
- Publish exciting content in your posts;
- Engage the audience through instructional videos, webinars, coaching sessions;
- Increase the number of followers through likes, shares, guest posts, advertising.
Pros:
You get direct contact with thousands of potential customers;
You can learn about the target audience’s pressure points and offer solutions through personal communication;
Social media platforms provide access to your target audience’s accounts enabling in-depth analysis of the potential customers’ needs and interests.
Cons:
You have to spend much time on target audience interaction through social media platforms;
Social media strategy for account promotion takes time to generate a substantial number of followers;
You have to work consistently on viral social media content to share with your target audience.
Costs:
SMM specialists’ wages;
Content development expenses (videos, posts, surveys, contests, etc.)
Ad Traffic
If you buy traffic through advertising, you can see a near instant increase of potential customers, but it will cost you a pretty penny. Online advertising includes:
- Search engine advertising (Google Ads, Bing Ads, and more);
- Social media advertising (Facebook Ads Manager, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube Ads);
- Advertising space purchase on third-party platforms popular with your target audience.
Pros:
You can get a quick increase in website traffic;
There are ways to scale the traffic by deactivating the campaign or changing the budget.
Cons:
The advertising campaign planning, set up, and targeting is hard to keep on budget.
The promotional budget is substantial.
Costs:
Advertising campaign expenses (pay-per-click or pay-per-view);
The cost of creating promotional materials: banners, videos, landing pages, etc.
Was our short foray in the world of expensive and free web traffic useful? If so, share this post on social media and subscribe to FreshCode blog to learn about recent IT updates. If you want to learn more about different aspects of social media advertising, getting free traffic, buying it or other ways to promote your website, share your thoughts, ideas, and questions in the comment section.