How to get more traffic to your website.

You have a great business that’s offering some of the best products or services around.. Your team is full of experts who are the best at what they do. You’re passionate about your organization and where it’s headed. And yet… when you check your website’s search traffic analytics, you feel like you’re singing a song and nobody’s listening. You need more traffic to your website in order to get the sales your company deserves, but how in the world do you bring the customers in?

It can be tricky when trying to get more traffic to your website, but it’s completely possible. You just have to be willing to put in the time and energy necessary (or hire a company who knows what they’re doing) to help make it happen.

Search engine optimization

If only the best companies were the ones who showed up at the top of Google’s first page of search results, right? While Google’s (and other search engines’) algorithms have gotten better at identifying high-quality content, there’s no denying that the competition for search-based traffic is fierce. There are millions of companies selling their services online, and there may even be millions of companies selling products or services similar to your own.

The key to getting ranked high on search? Find the best keywords to help you rank without getting overwhelmed by competition. So, for instance, you might be better off optimizing your website with the keywords, “best HVAC repair in Missoula,” rather than “HVAC repair.” Using a specific keyword (especially if it’s location-based) will make it easier to rank high for terms that search term, while it may not rank at all for a more general term.

It’s also important to remember that each of your website’s pages can be optimized for different keywords. So, if you have a blog for your company, each blog you write can be optimized for a keyword that’s related to your business operations. This allows for more opportunities for search traffic based on different terms. For instance, if you have that HVAC repair company, blogs titled, “How to troubleshoot your HVAC unit at home,” or “Why you need to have your air conditioning cleaned before summer,” can help you get traffic from different topics and keywords.

Great, original content

Search engines these days aren’t just prioritizing sites that are packed with specific keywords. Rather, they’re able to differentiate high-quality, researched, and original content that has great sources over content that seems to be ripped off from other sites or slapped up without proof-reading. By putting together blogs with industry experts, or how-to videos related to your field, you’re likely to get more “search juice” from the search engines.

But even more to the point, great, original content is shareable content. If you’re an artist who sells your artwork, and you use your website’s blog to offer painting tips and how-tos, when your blogs or videos help out your customers, they’re more likely to share the blogs with their friends online. And when your customers share your website content, you’re more likely to generate visits to your website. This is because your customers become your advocates, and they end up endorsing your business and your art, simply because you offered a tutorial that helped them out.

Social media content that sings

The beauty of social media is that when it’s done well, you have the potential to use it to bring repeat customers back to your website, but to also generate new leads. When you have good website content, that lends itself to creating good social media content. And when you have a highly-clickable and shareable social media campaign that connects to your website, you’re going to see an increase in traffic.

So, for instance, if you’re a personal trainer who’s website includes tutorials on how to do kettlebell exercises, you could put together a social media post that offers a single video for how to do a basic kettlebell swing, with a click-through link to your website where people can see five more kettlebell swing variations on your blog. Anyone who’s interested in learning the variations is likely to click through. Thus, you’ve increased your web traffic.

Build your email list with a freebie

One of the best ways to get repeat visitors to your website is to build your email list. By getting people to opt-in to your company’s emails, you’re being “invited” to sell them in their inbox when you send out your email marketing campaigns. Of course, it’s not easy to get someone to volunteer their email address for this purpose. In general, you have to give something to your customers (or potential customers) in order to get their email address in return.

You’ve seen examples. Websites that sell clothes might offer a one-time 10% discount you can have sent to your email address. Or companies that offer services might provide a free, 30-minute consultation when you opt into their emails. But another option that shouldn’t be overlooked is a “freebie” that’s useful for your potential customers. For instance, if you’re a health coach, maybe you put together an ebook with 15 smoothie recipes that customers can get for free. Or if you’re a parenting expert, maybe you offer an educational coloring-book that parents can download for their kids. Think about the types of freebies or discounts you could offer, and make it worthwhile to your customers. You shouldn’t underestimate the power of landing that email address.

Then, of course, you need to use it. Make sure you’re putting together and sending out regular marketing emails with high-quality content and offers that are tailored to your potential customers. These are all great ways to get more traffic to your website.