If you want to increase website traffic, you need to get the basics right. Follow these three principles and you'll ensure your customers are finding you before your competitors.
1. Great Content
For people to visit your website – and keep them coming back – you have to give them a good reason. Great content is the cornerstone to increasing traffic to your site, and everything else rests on this.
If the content’s not great, all other attempts to increase traffic will be wasted. Remember that there are a million sites out there, so make the first, and every, impression count.
2. Search Engine Optimisation
Top-of-mind websites are few and far between. Amazon and eBay are two of the lucky ones, but most other websites have to be found with the help of search engines. That’s why it’s critical to get your website on the first page of a search engine results page to increase website traffic.
This is done through a process called Search Engine Optimisation, which works to get a website to rank high on search engines such as Google and Bing. A higher ranking on a search engine such as Google or Bing will result in an increase in website traffic.
3. Social media promotion
Social media is an excellent way to promote your website and increase traffic to it.
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are the "Big Three" social media platforms in South Africa, and YouTube is also a good one, though many people don't regard YouTube a social media platform.
If you do business in the U.S, Google+ is another medium to explore in order to increase website traffic.
Every post on a social media platform is an opportunity to increase website traffic. And each post is also an opportunity to get "re-tweeted", "liked" or "shared", which contribute to increasing exposure and creating opportunities for increasing website traffic.
So, in summary, to make the most of your website – and ensure your consumers do too – always follow this checklist:
1. Have great content
2. Optimise your website for increased ranking on search engines
3. Promote your website via social media
We all know that when it comes to online marketing, there are numerous tactics to make brands and companies famous. From social media and SEO, to lead nurturing and email marketing campaigns - all certainly have their merits, especially when used in combination. However, the old adage still remains - Content is King.
Let's first establish what content is, becuase there seem to be many opinions on the matter. That's probably because it's such an open-ended, always evolving subject.
In simple terms 'content' refers to any published material, from blog posts to more advanced content like video, white papers, apps, ebooks, podcasts, webinars...the list goes on.
Rather than what it is, the most important point to consider is what it does ie whether or not it makes a difference in people's lives. Afterall, helpful is the new viral.
Sure, content is a great way to drive traffic and boost your search rankings, but that should not be the sole purpose of creating content. If it is, your audience will be on to you, they'll sniff your insincere motives out and they will be reluctant to engage further with you.
To make sure that you create a connection with your audience to get them one step closer to become a loyal brand ambassador, ask yourself these two questions before you publish any piece of content:
- Does it add value to people's lives?
- What does my audience know now that they didn't know before seeing my content?
If you can confidently answer these questions, and you can, with conviction, affirm that you have something of value to offer, you're ready to unleash your content on the world. Go ahead then, hit 'Publish!'