Just about everyone understands that a website is a prerequisite when it comes to business these days. Even if your work is not really online-based, you will still need some kind of online presence in order to spread the word and attract customers. Otherwise, you would have to depend solely on word-of-mouth and local recommendations.
But just having – and maintaining – a website is not the answer. The problem is that everyone has a website now, especially your competitors, and you need to find a way to break through all the noise. Different industries can use different methods, Sportsbooks can offer betting bonuses, while retailers can offer exclusive discounts.
We thought we would work on a more general basis and go through some of the things you should be thinking about if you want to drive more traffic to your site – whatever business you might be in. Here are some factors you might want to consider.
Factors to Consider to Drive More Traffic to Your Site
High-Quality Content
This might sound like a no-brainer. But you might be surprised by the amount of websites that just aren’t worth visiting. Websites should not be an afterthought – research into what your customers and potential customers might like to see and deliver high-quality content.
Gone are the days of filling pages with basic information. Website visitors are much more media-savvy these days and know what they want to see. If you can gain a reputation in your industry for interesting content, those visitors will return. Just make sure that your content doesn’t always push the hard sell.
Mention in Emails
You should be incorporating a rounded and varied approach to your online marketing. The more traditional among you will be happy to know that emails are still very much part of this. Keeping in touch with your customer base, on your terms, is a must and you can plug your website while you do this.
You can include website links in email newsletters or promotional emails. In this way, you are not only telling your email recipients about some deals and offers that are available – but also providing the website link that directs them where they want to go with the minimum of fuss.
Use Social Media
Social media use is just as important as developing and maintaining a website. You should know which platforms work best for your own business and be busy engaging with your customers through those platforms. But this kind of marketing should not be done in isolation. A coordinated approach is needed.
The same kind of engagement made through emails can also be done through social media. Always make sure that any directions to websites are targeted to specific pages as well, so you get your customers to the place you want them and they are happy not to have to waste time searching your site.
Pay Influencers
If you are new to influencers you may be under the misconception that they are only used in fashion or other creative industries. But the fact is that influencers can be used in just about any business sector. As long as they are able to attract an audience that wants to see what they are saying, they can be used to drive traffic to your site.
Do your research to find out who are the influencers for your industry – and then reach out and strike up a business relationship. From there you can work together to find the best way to increase the views on your website and keep the influencer happy at the same time.
Use Google Guidance
You should already be doing everything you can to use Google to increase visits to your site. We will talk about SEO in a moment but there is some very good guidance from Google itself about how you can ensure that your site is classified as “high performing”.
If your site is “high performing” it will then be ranked highly. This is all-important, as when someone searches for a topic related to your business, you want your name to come out first. A website audit may be required here to find out just how responsive your site is – and also to inform you about how it can be upgraded to that “high performing” benchmark.
Implement SEO Techniques
We didn’t start off by mentioning SEO techniques as we think that you probably already know about keywords and the types of things needed to make sure that your site is search engine optimized. However, there are some basic techniques that can be employed to improve performance.
We have already mentioned making sure that the content on your site is of high quality. But did you know that longer content is prized these days, as it suggests a higher level of reliability? You should also optimize your URLs by making sure the slugs are succinct and to the point.
Optimize for Mobile
More than 50% of traffic on the web comes from mobile, so you need to make sure that your site is optimized for a smaller screen. If most people are using mobile devices to access your site, you don’t want to lose them straight away because they can’t read your content on their phones.
Most important here is to ensure that mobile viewing is considered an afterthought. You should be thinking about mobile-friendliness from the start. A CMS that easily converts your content is a must. If you are serious about increasing website traffic – and you should be – then the mobile angle is a priority.