Thinking back to how things used to be, a website (or domain name) is a lot like having a phone number. Just because you have a number doesn't mean the phone will ring. The same with a website. You must promote it. Before that, you need to make sure you have a few, other items in place.
Let's touch on everything you need to get more traffic to your website.
A while ago, I had MadisonClick set up as a website directory. I'd add websites to it all the time. Very often, I'd get to a website's home page and, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what they did or what the company was about. So, that's the first thing - you need to tell people what you do as well as what THEY will get when they arrive at your website. The home page should not be about you but about your website visitor and what's in it for them.
Next, what are you doing to keep people on your website? You need to keep them around with content that helps solve problems. Again... what's in it for them?
Once that's done, have you set up pathways to funnel traffic in the right directions? What calls to action do you have set up to convert traffic into leads or sales?
Setting up funnels can get complex, but even having a basic funnel in place to a contact form or to buy something isn't difficult to do. Before you start promoting your website, get the right messages, funnels, and tracking in place.
Make sure you know your customer. Find out who they are and where they hang out. Create a persona listing their age, what websites they go to, what they're interested in, how much education they have, and anything else you can find out. Once you do this, you'll know exactly who you are marketing to. You'll know what to say and how to keep their interest.
Spending time, money, and effort using the wrong message is like taking money out of your pocket and burning it. A lot of business owner skip this important step, thinking it's not important. They then wonder why they don't have enough traffic to their website to support their business. It's crazy.
Not knowing what you're up against (or just assuming) can be a big mistake.
If you're selling a widget for $5, but your competition has one that's 10 times better for only $10, you don't stand a chance in the market.
Research doesn't sound fun, but it has to be done. Once you get into it, it's not bad at all - or even kind of fun. You might even come across something that points your business, or part of it, in a new and exciting direction.
Besides just looking at your competition, find out how they're getting new customers. There are certain online tools available we can help you do this. It's very important to know because you need to also be making your pitch to those same audiences.
Things like page load times, the mobile experience, site structure, site authority, and dozens of other factors play a huge part on where your website ranks organically. Getting a website evaluation is the first step to setting a game plan.
Many business owners think they're better than their competition, and wonder why they don't rank higher. There are reasons. Business owners who use real data actually get the right answers. So just don't hope or guess, but get and use real data. Once you have that, the right decisions can be made to make Google want to rank your website high.
On-page SEO is also huge. There are a lot of things that could technically be wrong with your website - in other words, you could be penalizing yourself. Instead of fighting against yourself and your competition, make sure your website gets optimized where all the things Google doesn't like are fixed. You can easily see a big boost in rankings just by getting this work done.
And then make sure your website loads quickly.
Although it might not seem too sexy, spending time or resources on referral traffic has many benefits.
There are plenty of websites like Quora where you can set yourself up as an expert in your field. Get in there and commit to posting 2-3 times per day. Write really good answers to people's questions and link to a relevant piece of content on your website. If you don't have that content, go and create it quickly. The same works for forums. Those forum posts can live online for 10 to 20 years or more. Get in there.
Find other websites/businesses that are related to what you do, who are not competitors, and reach out to them. Send a contact there a question about their business. Then compliment them on something. In the next email, pose the question of working together. See where it goes from there. Do this once per day.
You won't believe the amount of traffic you can get by doing this.
Type questions into Google, then look for the suggested searches (what other people are searching on), check the results, then combine the best information into one page using your own words (no copying and pasting). Be the ultimate answer for that question.
Then later, rinse, repeat.
Keep doing this until your website it the ultimate resource.
What happens is, you start getting recognized for your content, and other link to your page since it's the best. Pretty soon, that content is ranking higher and higher. Other people start linking to it. You then hit the top 3 spots in search, no problem. This just plain works.
The problem is, people either don't want to do it or don't want to do the work and wait for the results later. That's good for you because the field is actually wide open in many cases.
Don't over think the structure. Just have one, main FAQs page that links to other pages. Each page should have its own question and answer. It's then easy for Google and anyone else to link people to a page that just deals with that one topic.
Format the page well and make sure it's easy to read with headings, bold text, lists, images, and even videos. Make it the absolute best resource out there. Make it so good that others won't want to even take a stab at making it better. Don't fill it with fluff, but make each part of the page full of good, useful information... gold nuggets everyone. Lots of "ah-ha" moments.
And then don't forget to have a call to action where people can contact you, find out more, buy something, etc.
Creating a social presence and buying traffic does work. It's too big of a topic to touch on here, but it does work. Having a partner who can work with you on this while you run your business is the best route to take.
When choosing that partner, make sure they're finding out what makes your business tick. If you contact them and they come back with a plan without first investigating your business, run away from them... fast. They're just trying to get your money.
The right partner will get you the best bang for your buck by digging into your business. They must investigate the market, where you fit in, and where you can shine. Please, please don't burn your money by giving it to the first company you find. There are a lot of marketing companies who are in it for the fast buck, who give us all a bad reputation. Ask for proof. Talk to their clients. Do your homework.
Don't try one thing then give up. That's how you fail. Keep experimenting and testing different messages with different audiences. After a good amount of testing, you'll know what works. You can't get there without putting in the work. Yes, some thing will not work. Great! You know not to do that - just don't give up... keep going. It's not fun, no, but the rewards are huge.
When you find out what message works the best, just add fuel to the fire - keep doing that.
It's like pedaling a bike up a hill. You have to work to get there, but after you get to the top, you have momentum and you just coast down. You'll only stop if you hit the brakes.
Now you have 7 ways to help you get more traffic to your website. This is what it takes. It's not just one thing, either - but a combination. Optimize your website and promote it.
Hoping your website ranks high does... absolutely nothing - stop doing that. Take some action. Use these 7 ways to get more traffic, keep more traffic, attract more traffic, then convert more traffic!
Need help? We're here for you - contact us.
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-Tony
