How Can You Increase Website Traffic?Start With The Basics
If you are at least superficially familiar with inbound marketing, then you probably know that the first step in any successful strategy is to attract visitors to the site. It is sometimes very difficult to accomplish this task. You already have plenty of other things to worry about, such as finding ways to increase revenue or updating your strategy to keep up with the latest marketing trends. Therefore, this initial step is easy to miss.
However, it must not be forgotten. To keep it at the forefront of your marketing strategy, you must stop thinking that traffic generation is impossible. You don’t need the luck to increase website traffic – just use proven tips that will help you succeed. In this article, we have collected the best ways to drive traffic to your website.
1. Optimize Your Site For People, Not Search Engines
You have definitely heard the term “SEO” (“Search Engine Optimization”). For whom or what exactly do you think the site should be optimized? Let me give you a hint: not for search engines. In fact, the most popular sites are not optimized for search engines, but for the people who use them.
If the page is optimized for users, then search engines will appreciate it. Thus, by designing a site specifically for the people you want to attract to it, you are killing two birds with one stone. It will immediately be optimized for search engines.
Given all of the above, to create a successful website, you should first think not about search engines, but about your target audience. What do your users want to see? What exactly do they need? How can you best help them? Just develop a site optimized for users, and search engines will pull themselves up.
2. Create Content With The Right Keywords
Your keywords act as bridges. Thanks to them, random people can get to your site. But in order for the user to decide to cross the bridge and visit your site, he must be interested in the content that is offered in the search results.
The best way to find out what your audience wants is to create customer personas, as they are a composite of the people you are trying to attract. When creating content, you should choose the right keywords. Focus on the problems your users care about or the goals they hope to achieve. Why? Because people are actively looking for ways to solve these problems. They will find and visit your site if you have content that can be useful to them.
3. Practice Cognitive Fluency
Imagine that you want to find a lawyer who can help you file a patent for your latest invention. You go to Google and type “patent lawyers” into the search bar.
Don’t be in a hurry to hit the search button. First answer: what do you think the websites of these patent lawyers look like? Hard-to-read pages with extravagant fonts, designed in neon colors are unlikely to come to your mind. On the contrary, on the site of a good and reputable patent lawyer, you probably expect to see more subdued tones, elegant fonts, and a list of services that he provides.
Of course, after searching the Internet, you will sooner or later pick up a patent lawyer. Most likely, his page will be close in content to your initial idea of how the site of a respected specialist should look like.
This psychological principle is called “cognitive fluency”: the most visited sites in most cases provide a user experience that meets the expectations of visitors. Such venues offer what people expect to see.
There is an easy way to check if your site meets the rules of cognitive fluency. Ask your regular visitors what they expect to see on a site like yours. What style and decoration do they prefer? What content should receive the most attention? If your site isn’t meeting user expectations, it might be time to consider new optimization strategies.
4. Write Blog Posts On The Most Exciting Topics
You can increase traffic not only with the help of content on the site. Your blog can also be one of the most powerful tools for attracting new visitors. You optimize pages for keywords that your audience cares about. The same should be done with blog posts. What are the most common questions your visitors ask? What problems do they face and what exactly are they looking for on the Internet? These are good topics for your blog posts.
Write relevant texts that answer your audience’s questions using the appropriate keywords. Your site will appear in the search results for these words. As a result, you will be remembered by the user and in the future, he will be able to contact you again for help. This way you build trusting relationships with potential buyers.
5. Create Separate Posts For The Most Relevant Keywords
Your keyword footprint is kind of like a carbon footprint, only online. It is a list of keywords by which your site is ranked by search engines. With it, you can determine how big a mark you left on the Internet. Unlike a carbon footprint, a big keyword footprint is a very good thing! Why? Because its presence indicates that your site ranks high in the SERPs and is associated with many different keywords. Each of these keys gives you additional chances to attract new visitors.
Each written blog entry is considered by search engines as a separate page of the site. With that in mind, you should strive to create quality posts with relevant keywords. The more there are, the higher your chances of appearing in search results. Blog posts help increase the number of keywords and therefore increase the likelihood of attracting a new visitor.
6. Post Regularly On Your Blog
It’s not enough to just blog about keywords that are relevant to your audience. If you want to achieve sustainable traffic growth, you need to constantly post new content.
Companies that publish blog posts daily are almost 70% more likely to report a positive ROI compared to competitors that update their blogs once a month. For you, this means that blogging on a regular basis can bring significant benefits in terms of increasing the number of visitors, leads, and even customers.
Blogging regularly gives search engines a reason to crawl your site regularly. As a result, search engines find, index, and rank your pages more often.
7. Answer Social Media Questions On A Blog
Have you ever seen people asking for advice on Twitter or Facebook? For example, they asked for advice on a place to eat in your city, or they posted a question about which brand of toothpaste is best to buy. How about asking a question on a LinkedIn group you’re a member of? Chances are you’ve seen similar questions… but how often have you answered them?
What would you do if someone asked you the same questions in person? Would they just leave, pretending not to hear? No – you would have answered them! You would provide the interested person with the information they were looking for and serve as a source of information for them.
The same concept can work on social media as well. If some person (and part-time – a potential client) asks for help, do not ignore his comment or question, help him! Try to benefit someone with your highly specialized knowledge. Respond to messages and requests on social networks, but in addition to everything, insert links to relevant pages on your website or blog articles in these answers. That way, leads and prospects get the help they were looking for, and you get a new visitor. This is a very effective tactic if you are not just spamming links to your site, but sending really useful messages.
8. Monitor Relevant Keywords On Social Networks And Join Discussions
You won’t be able to share useful content with potential customers on social media until you know they’re looking for it. That’s why it’s worth monitoring social media to keep track of the keywords that are most important to your business. Find out how you can help the people who use them.
Track mentions of your potential customers’ main concerns across different social networks. If you find such discussions, try to take part in them. Just like you did in the previous scenario when people asked questions. By monitoring top keywords, you’ll be able to contribute your two cents (and content) at the right time and place.
By following these simple rules, you will be able to attract the people you need to your site – your user personas. By luring them to you, sooner or later you will be able to make leads out of them, nurture and turn them into customers. Eventually, they will become promoters of your brand. Remember: the main thing is the right traffic.
helpful content for a website traffic