A beautiful website is useless if no one knows you exist! So how do you increase website traffic? Read on!
It doesn’t matter how fabulous your product is or how unique your business is in the market place, if people don’t know you exist, they don’t know to buy from you.
Consider this. You’re a new business. You open a brand spanking new shop with the highest quality products (or services) that you know will solve the problems of your customers and make a difference in their lives.
The thing is, your shop is in the middle of nowhere and off the beaten track. Do you think people will automatically know you’re open for business, know where to find you and know how amazing you are?
I don’t think so.
So how do we get your name out there and drive traffic to your website?
Below is a list of 101 actionable strategies to drive traffic to your website covering both in the online and offline activities.
You don’t need to master all of them. Test and measure what works for you and focus on the ones that give you the greatest return.
If any though, I encourage you to blog! Google loves content, so give them what they want. The longer the blog post the better – gone are the days of the short and snappy article.
101 Ways to Increase Website Traffic
Blog, Blog, Blog
1. Write a Blog Post
2. Create a “Top ##” Blog Post
3. Write a “Landmark” Blog Post – a long form (at least 1,200 words), authoritive post that solves a big problem in your industry
4. Interview influencers in your niche – they will likely promote you to their audience
5. Create an Infographic. These things get shared like crazy!
6. Create “Expert Roundup” posts and get the featured experts to share
7. Create viral content. Something that is unique, entertaining, surprising or informative.
8. Post it on your Social Media Channels
9. Boost that Post on Facebook
10. Submit the post to StumbleUpon
11. Guest Post on other relevant Blogs
12. Optimise your existing posts – can the headline be improved?
13. If you mentioned anyone in your Blog Post, email them and tell them about it. They may just link back to your or reciprocate.
14. Repost old blog posts on social media
15. Comment on industry blogs – become a regular commenter to help drive referral traffic
16. Link to other relevant blog posts within each post you do. Helps with the “discoverability”.
17. Be thought provoking. Challenge popular thought. Be controversial. Say something that will spark debate.
18. Add “Tweetables” to your blog content for easy sharing and to increase website traffic
Get Social
19. Post regularly on Social Media
20. Link back to your website regularly
21. Engage and delight, tell stories, be visual, be thought provoking
22. Share part of yourself
23. Share behind the scenes
24. Encourage people to like and share your content
25. Interact with your followers. Start meaningful conversations
26. Create a Facebook Group and nurture that community
27. Participate in relevant industry forums and Facebook Communities. Raise your profile and become an influencer or “go-to” person
28. Ride a trending topic. News jack a popular news article or trending hashtag where possible
29. Post 30 relevant #hashtags in the first comment of each Instagram post to increase your reach
30. Post three #hashtags with each Facebook post
31. Add emojis to your Facebook Posts to increase engagement
32. Post animated GIFs from websites like giphy.com to help increase engagement
33. Pin your website and blog posts on Pinterest, a great way to increase website traffic
34. Add social sharing buttons to your website
35. Encourage customers to “check in” on Facebook when they visit you
Grow Your Email List
36. Promote new blog posts to your email list
37. Offer a Free Product (Lead Magnet), create a pop-up on your website and promote it on all your channels
38. Put that Free Download in your Email Signature
39. Send out regular emails to your list
Run a Competition or Giveaway
40. Create a competition on your website. I use KingSumo Giveaways
41. Post it on your Social Media Channels
42. Boost that Post on Facebook
43. Promote it to your email list
44. Offer a discount or gift voucher to all entrants once competition is finished
Embrace Video
45. Post a video on YouTube – it is the 2nd biggest search engine next to Google
46. Post it on your Social Media Channels
47. Boost that Post on Facebook
48. Post a weekly Video Tip on Social Media
49. Host a Webinar
50. Be a guest speaker on someone else’s webinar
Media & PR
51. Create a local “good news story”. Could be donating to charity or gifting your services to someone in need in your community
52. Write a Media Release. Distribute to local news outlets
53. Promote across all your social media channels
54. Promote it to your email list
55. Join HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and answer requests for interviews
Q&A Websites
56. Answer questions on Yahoo Answers
57. Answer questions on Quora
58. Include links back to your website as citations to increase website traffic
Improve Your WebSite’s Performance
59. Speed Up your website. Google ranks faster websites higher, which will increase website traffic
60. Test your website on Google Pagespeed Insights. Correct any errors
61. Install a Security Certificate (https://). Google ranks secure websites higher
62. Ensure your website is “Mobile Friendly”. Google will rank you higher in mobile searches
63. Optimise all images. Oversized images take longer to load and slow down your website
64. Ensure all Plugins are up-to-date
65. Delete any unused and unnecessary plugins
66. Make sure you have a good Web Host. Slow server response time can hurt rankings
67. Install “EWWW Image Optimizer” (WordPress) to downsize images on upload
68. Install “WP-Optimise” (WordPress). Regularly clean your database
69. Install “W3 Super Cache” (WordPress). Enable browser caching, enable compression
70. Install “Better WordPress Minify” (WordPress). Minify Javascript and CSS Files
71. Use a Content Delivery Network like Cloudflare (Free plan is perfect!)
72. Enable Gzip Compression
Offline Marketing
73. Attend a conference. Make connections. Hand out business cards
74. Attend Networking functions. Make connections. Hand out business cards
75. Attend these events as a speaker
76. Sponsor one of these events and utilise the attendee email database
77. Exhibit at a Tradeshow
78. Ensure your web address is on all printed and presentation materials
79. Promote your Business and Web Address on your car
80. Do a local letter drop
81. Reference your web address on your voicemail message
82. Develop Strategic Alliances with other businesses. Leave business cards. Offer promotions or gifts for their customers
83. Host meet-ups or industry social catchups
84. Enter industry awards
85. Offer workshops
86. Consider cinema advertising
87. Create goodie bags for reciprocal businesses and their customers
88. Word of mouth. Ask for referrals
Paid Advertising
89. Advertise on Facebook
90. Advertising on Twitter
91. Advertise on Instagram
92. Advertise on StumbleUpon
93. Advertise on Google Adwords
94. Advertise on Outbrain
95. Advertise in local / industry eNewsletters
96. Advertise on local / industry websites
Bonus Tips
97. Ensure your listed in industry and reputable business directories
98. Ask for a review on Google+ and Facebook from every customer
99. Be a guest speaker on an industry podcast
100. Start a Podcast
101. Publish your own “101 List” :)
