It's loud and crowded online, and if your marketing strategies aren't making your business stand out, you're just going to be among many - that's if you even get noticed at all! Your website is vital when it comes to enticing prospective buyers; it's the online face of your business, and this is why traffic generation needs to be one of your most important marketing strategies.
But why is getting people to look at your website so important?
In a word, revenue.
The more exposed you are, the easier you are to find. The more consumers know about what you do and your products and services, the more likely you will make money. And let's face it, that's what we're here for.
However, when it comes to generating traffic to your business website, it's worth remembering the adage; quality over quantity. Many businesses focus solely on getting as much traffic to their page as possible, but if it's not quality traffic, the chances of you converting those visitors into paying customers are slim.
So, how do you generate high-quality website traffic
We're glad you asked…
The quality of your online presence is one instant where 'less is more seriously doesn't apply. If you're going to stand out from the crowd, you need to create high-quality content to get yourself noticed - this means creating content that is better than your competitors!
Think of your website as the foundation on which all your marketing efforts will be built. People will visit your company website to educate themselves on what you're about, learn exactly why they can't possibly go another day with your products and services, and maybe even be entertained and have a bit of a laugh.
If your website content is sparse, uninteresting, poor quality, or irrelevant to the needs of your potential customers, they'll simply turn away - normally in the direction of one of your competitors! The quality of your content will draw people in in the first place, but how is that traffic generated?
Search engines - yep, good old Google. In a nutshell, a potential customer will tap into a search engine specifically what they're looking for, and anything relevant will pop up on the search engine results pages. If Google, in its infinite wisdom, decides that your content is the most relevant and of a high enough quality, it will rank higher.
It goes without saying that the higher your company website ranks on search engines, the more exposure you will get. Research shows that 75% of online users don't look past the first page of search results, so if your business isn't on that first page, it basically doesn't exist to more than half the global population.
Ensure that your website content is relevant to your target market
Check your content is well written, easy to read, and free of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes
Make your content as dynamic as possible. When we read online, we tend to 'scan read' first before starting from the top and reading through properly, so hook your audience as soon as possible with attention-grabbing headings, interesting blogs, and witty repartee.
Show that you are an authority in your field by showcasing your industry expertise - not just general knowledge.
Add longer content. The more detail and information you include, the higher you will rank.
There's no point in working hard on creating killer content without making sure you have top-notch SEO. if you don't, it won't be long before you get totally lost in a sea of similar companies all vying for attention on Google.
Get your SEO in order!
It is central to your company's marketing strategies, but it constantly changes - which can be a bit of a pain in the proverbial. But don't be tempted to think, 'sod it, it doesn't matter.'
Your SEO, including popular keywords and phrases that are commonly searched for by prospective customers in your content, will help you to rank more highly on Google.
There are two main types of strategies that will help you to attract more web traffic to your page:
This strategy involves looking at all the different factors Google uses to calculate its page rankings, such as:
Keyword research - using words on your website that are focused, relevant and competitive
Mobile optimisation - if your website isn't optimised for mobile use, it will hurt your overall rankings. These days it's rare for someone not to have a phone in their hand 24/7, and most web users will Google from their mobiles, so optimising your content for mobile use is super important.
Page loading speed - What do you think a visitor will do if your website page takes an age to load? That's right - head straight to a competitor's page instead, and in today's world where everyone wants to access what they want NOW, rather than in 30 seconds, you really can't afford to have slow loading speeds.
Add links. Internal links will help to generate traffic from one page to another and increase engagement with visitors to your website. Adding external links is important as well. Linking to content from reputable websites that is relevant to your site shows you're interested in helping your visitors - plus, any websites you link to might return the favour and link back to your website too!
You can't just depend on organic website traffic because getting a good Google ranking is also based on social signals, so be sure to promote new content to generate awareness. Posting links to your new website content on your social pages is a good way to get followers heading back to your site.
Keeping a close eye on your website engagement will let you know how much traffic you're generating, where exactly the traffic is coming from, and whether or not it's of high quality.
Things that you should be monitoring are:
The number of visitors and sessions. Seeing how many people are visiting your website and for how long will give you a good idea of how successful your marketing efforts are.
Sources - where is your traffic coming from?
Average pages per session. The number of web pages visitors are checking on when they visit your site can tell you a lot. The volume of pages they're visiting could mean that they are engaged in your content and enjoying spending time on your website or having trouble finding what they are looking for.
New visitors VS returning visitors. A high percentage could mean that even though you're generating a lot of traffic, it's not high quality because they're not coming back. A low percentage means you're not generating enough new traffic in the first place.
Let's say you've got all your traffic-generating strategies in place, bringing in lots of potential leads.
Fantastic.
However, you need to be aware of some common mistakes that could render all of that lovely traffic you're bringing in next to useless.
Mistakes like:
Not attracting your target audience. Using the wrong keywords could bring you traffic that's not relevant to your brand - so be sure to only use words that relate to your business. If you don't, all you're attracting to your website are people who don't actually have any interest in your products or services.
Not having a conversion strategy. Getting lots of website visitors is very good but pretty pointless if you have no clue how to convert these into paying customers. And to be honest, even if you have high-quality traffic coming to your website, they're not going to convert! You need to make sure you are nurturing your website visitors through their journeys so that you can capture them as customers.
Your website offers a poor experience for the user. Make sure your pages load quickly, your links work, and your website is visually pleasing, easy to read, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.
There's no point in being gung-ho about generating traffic for five minutes and then resting on your laurels and hoping for the best. Traffic generation needs to be a long-term strategy for the success of your business. Building a steady and consistent stream of quality traffic will take time, effort, and patience, but it won't half be worth it!