Traffic is the worst. Whether it’s on the main road or train line you take to work every day, or in between you and the date you’re already late for, traffic is everywhere you don’t want it to be. But let’s talk about the one place you actually want more traffic: your website!

A common question we hear is, “How do I get more traffic to my website?” These days, putting your website on your business card and on your marketing materials is almost a formality, but unless you’re handing out 100 business cards or flyers a day to qualified prospects or partners, it’s likely not enough to get you the traffic you want.  

Let’s take a look at some website marketing tips outlining the best ways to get more traffic to your website.

Paid Traffic

One of the quickest ways to get traffic to your website is to pay for it.  A common source of paid traffic is pay-per-click advertising on Google or social media. 

Effective pay-per-click advertising on Google includes targeting the proper search keywords and audiences and writing ad copy that converts. Effectively running paid ads on social media includes targeting the right interests and demographics and creating graphics or videos that catch the user’s attention and then writing ad copy that persuades them even further.

With all of this being said, simply running paid ads on these platforms though is not enough. For your paid ads to be effective, you must have a strategy in place and understand the inner-workings of each platform you’re running ads on. Without this, you may see an influx of traffic to your site but it’s likely that you’re spending money on traffic that never intends to convert on your website.

Organic Traffic 

If you don’t have the money to engage in many paid digital ads, or don’t understand how to run paid ad and are doing all of your marketing yourself or in-house, there are some organic techniques that you can utilize to drive traffic to your website. 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is free but costs something more valuable than money – your time. It is a time-consuming and ongoing process. If done right though, the payoff may be worth it as you could increase your traffic (and sales!), while also establishing yourself as a trustworthy business or brand. Whether or not you’re running paid traffic to your site, Search Engine Optimization should be a part of every digital marketer’s game plan. There are many ways that you can improve your website’s SEO such as optimizing your on-page content with keywords, adding metadata to your pages, adding alt text to all of your images, and utilizing backlinks from other trusted websites. 

Another way to drive organic traffic to your website is through a Google My Business profile. The importance of your Google Business profile cannot be overstated. Google My Business can increase your SEO through posts you make (similar to social media posts), helps improve trust in your business through customer reviews, and allows you to provide information on special offers to Google users. Google My Business is completely free and should be utilized by any business, whether or not they have a physical location. 

Outside of Google My Business, you can also increase your organic traffic by utilizing other online directory listings, one of the most common is Yelp.  There are also niche directories for certain industries which can be a great place to find qualified traffic because it’s likely that any one visiting the site is already actively looking for your product or service. 

Lastly, don’t forget to ensure your website, social channels and other online platforms are good to go when you’re on the go! So much of our consumption these days is via mobile, so compatibility and user-experience is crucial. Use Google’s Page Insights Tool to check your mobile layout and see if it conforms to guidelines, and make sure all your posts and content are “AMP-specification ready.”

Still asking how to drive traffic to your website?

If you need assistance driving qualified traffic to your website, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for assistance. We can help you with paid advertising, organic search engine optimization, social media, and more.