How to increase you website traffic for free
You might want to show off your epic new website. You might be looking for ways to boost sales. Or might you want people to arrive on your website to join a community or event.
How the hell do you get more people on your website to achieve these?
Here are my tips and tricks to get more traffic (i.e. people and potential customers) onto your site, which will ultimately help your long-term website goals.
And you can do all of these without a marketing budget: you just need some time and commitment.
Ads can get pricey, and just asking people to ‘go check out my new website’ doesn’t quite cut it these days, when the internet is a busy place and everyone is vying for the attention of your audience (as you are too). So what are you going to do?
It can be tricky to ask for an investment (i.e. the sale) on social media platforms, so your website should be easy to access for people that want to know a little bit more about you, what you do and how you do it.
I’ve broken this down into two parts: first up is where you can get traffic from.
But there’s no use having a link in your Instagram bio if there is no incentive to click on it.
So the second list is the how and what is going to proactively + intentionally drive potential customers onto your website.
THE WHERE : TRAFFIC SOURCES
Search engines
The most obvious one is Google (or Bing or Yahoo or whichever search engine you use - no judgements) where you implement the technique of search engine optimisation (SEO).
By strategically positioning words and phrases your business or brand relates to across your website, you are more likely to be visible on search engines.
If this is something you’d like to explore in more detail, I’ve written a blog post to help you better understand what SEO is, how it works, and what you can do (in a lot more detail) to improve your SEO authority, and therefore increase the traffic you’re getting to your website from search engines.
Social media
Think Pinterest, Instafuff, Facebook, TikTok - all those platforms you can easily spend hours scrolling through, going deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. If you’ve got a business account on any of these platforms, make sure that the links you’ve got to your website give a good first impression.
Traffic to your website may even come from accounts that aren’t your own - if you’ve collaborated with another business or influencer, or done a giveaway with a brand similar to yours, they may send people your way too.
Are there any Facebook groups that relate to your industry? If so, by hanging out and offering free advice to the many people asking questions, you can find people who would be a good fit for your service or product.
Platforms for long-form content
Any platform where you upload a podcast, put out video tutorials or other visual content is a free way of driving more traffic to your website.
YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Vimeo, Medium.com (a website for creative writers, bloggers and educators) all have ample space to link your website in show notes or descriptions if people like what they’re reading/listening to/watching.
If you’re thinking about creating supporting content for your website in order to educate, inspire or entertain, here are my top tips on strategic blogging for business.
(And when looking at the theory of it, the same rules apply for creating video content and podcasts too.)
Other websites
Businesses run by like-minded people or complimentary brands can be a vote of confidence for your website.
For example, a surf school, a holiday letting agents and a local restaurant all decide to recommend each other online.
You could also guest blog on someone else’s website, if your insight or expertise would be of value to their audience as well. (AND this is a fantastic technique to boost your SEO authority.)
Networking
Whether it’s in person (make sure you’ve got your business cards at the ready) or on platforms like LinkedIn, connecting with like-minded people is a sure fire way of becoming more memorable.
And the more commonalities you can find between the two of you, the more likely it is that this new connection will check you out online.
Whether they are small business owners who you could potentially collaborate with or potential customers (who you want to turn into paying ones), make sure your website is easy to access.
Your email list
This one might sound a bit out of place.
If someone is on your email list, it is highly likely that they’re already visited your website.
But building the authority of your website isn’t just about getting fresh eyes there: it’s as much about reminding people what you do and getting return visitors.
The more you can remind people about your business, the more space and time you’ve got to persuade them to invest in you, meaning making a sale just gets easier.
THE HOW : YOUR BAIT
Search engine descriptions
I know this sounds pretty dull, and it’s not the most exciting thing to write - most people don’t even bother. You may have shown up in the recommended websites for a certain query typed into Google, but there’s still the problem of all the other websites competing for the attention of the searcher.
Clarity is the best way to drive traffic to your website through a search engine results page.
The little description of each website page in the listings (usually about 2 lines) is called a meta description.
To entice someone onto your website, your meta description should clearly describe what the contents of that page is and then promise something extra or a valuable solution.
If SEO is something you’d like to explore in more detail, check out the signature SEO subscription to reach a wider audience, increase conversions on your website and build authority in your industry.
Freebies
Who doesn’t love something for nothing? What could you offer to reel in potential customers, that can only be accessed if they visit your site to get it?
This could be a discount code, a free downloadable, entry to a free webinar or early bird access to a new product.
If you give people something for free, ask if you can have their email list in return.
It’s then much easier to convert an audience that has already proven that what you have to offer is of importance to them (i.e. within an email list), than it is converting a huge audience of semi-interested, but mostly passive people (like your audience on Facebook or Instagram, who might only be following you because they’re friends with your mum, or they just like your photos — which isn’t much use unless you’re a photographer).
Extra insight + education
Like a freebie, long-form content might answer the questions of a potential customer, pique their interest, include an interview with an influencer they’re keen on, teach them how to do something new, or make their everyday life easier.
Promote videos, blogs, tutorials, podcasts and conversations that can only be accessed on your website.
The key is insight - what does your audience care about? Reel them in with a sneak peek to whet their appetite.
Join the community or conversation
People love being opinionated.
And in this day and age, there seems to be a mounting number of issues and injustices that people are coming together to counter.
Invite your following to join you on your website to add to the discussion, voice their concerns, and add to the power of numbers for a greater, common cause.
This could be in a forum type set-up where other people can share their thoughts and support others, a call to sign a petition, or encouraging people to join a real-life/virtual event of individuals with the same values.
I often see small businesses shy away from sending people to their websites, but if you’ve got a website to be proud of, people are going to stick around.
And then you’ve got that extra space to build trust with them and prove your expertise: you’ve got more control over converting them from passive scroller to paying customer.
There’s no use putting your energy into getting people onto your website, if, once they get there, they are confronted by a hot mess.
Click here to schedule a free discovery call call so we can discuss where your energy will be best used to optimise your website to stop people leaving in the first three seconds.
