Attracting more visitors to a website is probably the most common question I get asked by all types of business owners. More traffic to a website means more potential for leads to be generated and more leads generally equates to more sales.
There are so many ways of generating traffic to a website, but I’m going to cut straight to my two favourite effective ways of generating traffic to your website.
1. Write Blog Articles for Free Google Traffic
The basis of ranking well in Google is regular content marketing in the form of blog articles. If you are stuck for what to write about, then I recommend writing articles that answer commonly asked questions or the most common buying objections about your product or service.
Articles provide your website with many keyword opportunities to be found through Google search results, plus you show potential customers that you know what you’re talking about and build credibility before ever speaking with them. However, this marketing strategy takes 6 to 12 months to take effect, so while it’s important long term, it won’t get you the results you need now. In saying that, writing articles also gives you content to share on your social media, which is another way to attract website visitors (but first you need followers – so we’re kind of going around in circles).
2. Paid Advertising
Paying for online ads is the fastest way to get high-quality website visitors. You don’t need an email marketing list or social media followers to get started. There are multiple ad buying options, but the most common are Facebook and Google Ads.
Facebook ads have gained huge popularity because on the surface they are good value compared with Google Ads because you can reach thousands of people with a small budget. However, people on Facebook are generally not in a ‘buying’ mind frame which is why you will hear people say “oh, I tried Facebook ads, but they didn’t work for me.” This is because Facebook ads require a sequence of ads (plus email marketing) over a period of time to persuade someone to buy. It’s rare that someone will buy from one Facebook ad unless your business is pitching impulse products for less than $30. So again, it’s not a fast process to get more sales now.
Google Search Ads (previously Google AdWords) is the fastest way to get high-quality website visitors because you’re showing ads to people that are looking for what you sell. It’s a red-hot lead, and they are looking for businesses just like yours right now. Google Search Ads allows you to show your ads to people who are likely to be interested in your products and services, while filtering out those who aren’t. These ads are great for getting more sales, getting more calls or getting more email leads.
Yes, competition for your desired keywords can be fierce (and expensive), but the payoffs can be worth it and are measurable which means you’re not throwing money into an unknown hole.
A common pitfall for small business owners is the number of options and strategies available. It’s common for people to come to me overwhelmed because they’ve tried multiple things with little to no result. So, my best advice is to tackle one strategy/tactic at a time. Do it properly and thoroughly before determining whether it’s right for your business. Repetitive and consistent online success can come from 2 to 3 strategies implemented well. When you’ve nailed one form of attracting website visitors, then you can move onto another.
On a side note, be careful not to fall for traffic buying scams. There are so many forms of online scams, it’s tricky to specify what to watch out for, but things such as ‘like for like’ or websites that ask you to buy links for instant traffic should be avoided.
