Who doesn’t like traffic? On their website…

If you are a small business owner or someone that has not grown up in a tech-savvy time, you may not fully understand the importance of your company’s website. Recent statistics estimate over half of the world is online, making it very important for you to grow your digital footprint and create an online platform for you to showcase your information and attract potential customers.

Building a creative and responsive website is just the first step in your digital marketing plan! It is now time to bring traffic to your site and keep them engaged with your brand.

Content is king

Despite what most digital marketers will have you believe, there is no one way to achieve success with content marketing. The trick is to produce different types of content to appeal to different consumers. Some readers would like their content in small snippets, while others would like a more detailed approach. We recommend you have blogs, white papers and industry reports on your website. Not only will this add authenticity and enhance your brand value, it will help position you as a thought leader in your industry.

Pro tip: Your headline is the hook that draws the readers in. Make sure your headlines are snappy and catchy, otherwise even the best content may go unread!

SEO

As the name suggests, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your online content so that a search engine picks up your page as a top result for a particular keyword. What does this mean? There are over 2 million blog posts published on WordPress every day. Which means that by the time you finish reading this article, there would have been over 1058 blog posts that have been published. This is on WordPress alone! Imagine how many are there on the internet. So how do you get your post to stand out?

One of the best ways to ensure you are picked up by search engines is to constantly update the content on your website – whether it is design or written content. We recommend you upload about two blogs a week. To get better results, you should link one blog to similar content on the website, or you can include external links.

Pro tip: Search engines have become extremely skilled in identifying spam content. You need to create content that is of great value to the consumers and is not just promotional material.

Use social media

There is no point in creating quality content if there is no one to consume it. If you are not on social media yet, it’s not too late to start. Brands that have a presence on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Twitter or Pinterest open various avenues for new customers to interact with them. However, it is not enough to post engaging content alone – be active on social media by participating in different conversations that are relevant to your brand. Don’t shy away from redirecting customers back to your website.

Pro tip: Platforms like Quora or Reddit are a great way to get visibility. Comment on a relevant question with a well-researched answer and redirect them to your website. A customer is more likely to reach out to you as you have fulfilled a need they have expressed.

Cross posting and guest blogging

Being able to contribute to other popular sites in your industry is a great way to drive traffic back to your website. Not only does it enhance your visibility, being featured on prestigious sites will add credibility to your brand. Guest blogging is a two-way street! Invite bloggers to write on your site as well and encourage them to share the link with their followers.

Pro tip: If there is a prominent personality that cannot commit to a blog, see if you can interview them and publish it on your site!

Paid promotions

As the adage goes, ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch.’ While there are ways you can drive traffic to your site for free, nothing works as well as paid promotions. Make your website the focal point of your marketing strategy and find online channels that work for your brand. Social media advertising, display ads and paid search are all great ways to ensure your brand gets maximum visibility. While it can be a little expensive, it helps you reach your target audience and the payoff is worth it in the end! However, you need to assess which channels will help you reach your marketing goal. If you are unsure, you can enlist the help of digital marketing strategists that will devise a plan that works for your brand.

Use the traffic

While visitors can come to your website for information, your website doubles up as an excellent marketing tool. You can use elements such as sign up forms and cookies to not only improve their viewing experience but also drive automated marketing efforts.

Keep them coming back for more

Getting website visitors is not something that happens overnight, it requires a great deal of hard work and patience. Once you get traffic to your site, keep them coming back with relevant and engaging content on an ongoing basis. For a better viewing experience, create a responsive site that adapts to every screen size.

Apart from being aesthetically pleasing, a fluid website will save you a lot of trouble in the future as web technologies change and advance. The goal should be to have a website that seamlessly tailors to different viewing devices across various platforms.