You just finished the most beautiful site imaginable — it ticks off all the boxes for excellent user experience and engagement. You know you must drive traffic to it to maximize your efforts. However, you also must attract your target audience if you want your conversion rates to be impressive.
1. Create a Targeted Ad Campaign
Approximately 193,890,945 websites are active, with 252,000 new ones created daily — that’s about 10,500 new websites per hour. Figuring out how to stand out from all the noise of new digital data is challenging. To cut through, you could buy ads and drive traffic to your page by offering an incentive.
However, if people land on your site and immediately bounce away, you won’t gain any traction. Instead, create buyer personas for your intended users. Once you understand their biggest concerns and pain points, think of how to solve them.
Your ads should address the issue head-on and explain that you have the solution. Give people only enough information to get them to click through to your site. You want to drive traffic to your page, so entice them to go there for more.
When you advertise in newsletters, related websites, Google Ads and social media, you’ll reach a highly targeted audience. You can narrow your reach by age, location, gender and interests. The more you know about your typical customer, the easier it is to choose the right parameters.
2. Engage People on Social Media
Building relationships is a crucial part of increasing website traffic over time. More than 75% of consumers are loyal to brands they feel connected to. By creating a relationship with your target audience, you start an ongoing relationship you can cultivate.
How can you engage people on social media? Ask for user-generated content, which offers you free marketing material. Run a contest where they share a post or invite someone to like your page who might be interested in what you offer.
Respond to all comments and like replies. Look for ways to connect in groups without spamming the other participants. Many groups allow business pages to join, like and comment. Where can you add your expertise, help others and build your authority in your niche?
3. Partner With Other Businesses
Develop relationships with other businesses related to yours. One example might be a wedding planner working alongside a bakery and a dress shop to get the word out to potential clients. Ideally, you will send traffic to them and they back to you.
With this partnership, you can run cross-promotions. For instance, one theater in Indianapolis used to offer a discount on movie tickets for those who brought in a receipt from a pizza place. The pizza place also offered a discount to those who brought in movie stubs. The two would also occasionally run movie and dinner nights, offering a discount package to enjoy both. Since their clientele was similar, the cross-promotions worked perfectly.
4. Try Content Syndication
You spend a lot of time crafting expert content that drives results. Why not expand your reach even more by syndicating it and allowing other publications to share it? You can increase traffic dramatically if you select a topic your potential audience is interested in and wants to know more about when they finish the article.
You can also offer content on sites such as Taboola and niche markets in your industry. Pay attention to which platforms convert into leads and how many become buyers. Repeat your efforts with the most successful ones.
5. Offer Free Webinars
When your target audience realizes they need what you offer, they’re likely to turn to the internet for advice. Many are seeking expert advice that resonates with them. You can offer webinars on topics of interest to your users to drive them to your website and show them you can solve whatever issue they’re facing.
For example, if a heating and air conditioning company wants to attract new customers, they might narrow the topic to their community. What issue are people currently facing? Perhaps they worry their air conditioning will go out before they can replace the unit. You can take their concern and turn it into a workshop on how regular maintenance can extend the life of their heating and cooling systems.
Tell Everyone About Your New Website
Tell everyone you meet and ask them to share the info to get the word out about your new website. Carry cards with your website address and leave them in places where your buyers spend time. If you sell real estate, scatter a few cards in the local laundry mat and doctors’ offices. If you offer web development, send flyers to local business owners.
The more personal your message, the better users will receive it. With a bit of determination and continued marketing, your website traffic will grow rapidly, and you’ll find success.
