How to Get More People to Your Website

By Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead with Tina Wolfe
In 2016, a staggering 209.6 million people in the U.S. browsed products, compared priced, and bought items online. Having a website to showcase your services or products is pivotal in remaining commercially competitive in the 21^st century. That said, if nobody is visiting your website to browse your products or services, it might as well not exist.
 

Take a look at the following 25 ways to get more people to your website.

Use Social Media to Attract Visitors

Use social media to promote your website and attract visitors. Post interesting and engaging content on social media with a link to your website, to encourage people to head to your site. When you add your social media accounts to your profile in ChamberMaster's Member Information Center, the system will automatically push out your news releases, events, job postings, and special deals to those channels. 

Ensure Your Site is Search Engine Optimized

Optimizing your site by using the right keywords and regularly updating it with fresh content will help it rank better on the search engines, boosting your organic traffic. Also, enabling your site with Google Analytics will help you stay on top of statistics about who is visiting your site and how they are finding it. 

Have a Blog on Your Site and Regularly Update It

Having a blog on your website is one of the most effective ways to build engagement with your brand and encourage people to visit your site. Regularly update your blog with informative, entertaining and engaging content to encourage visitors to keep returning to your site. Blogs don't have to be extremely long. Think about using your blog to tell your story to your audience, provide them with free, useful information related to your product or service, include links in your blog to other sites, even it's your competition. This will build a trust value with your audience that you really do have their best interest at heart, and not just making a sale. 

Use Pay Per Click Campaigns

As online marketing influencer Neil Patel notes, one of the basic ways to drive traffic to a business website is through paid campaigns. PPC, where you bid on different types of keywords, is an easy way to promote your website to an audience who might not otherwise see it. Watch this Video that will explain all about what PPC is and how it works. 

Use Business Cards for Offline Promotion

Good old-fashioned business cards are by no means dead and buried. Handing out business cards with details of your site’s URL printed on them at every opportunity to lure prospects to your site, is one of the most cost-effective offline marketing strategies. The local printer, Master's Hand can provide great design options for a business card and because they are local, the money stays in the community! 

Visit Trade Shows

Trade shows are a great way to promote your brand, build your network, and attract prospects. Use trade shows as a means of handing out fliers and business cards, which has details of your website on them. Also, think about local business meeting groups such as the new local Toastmaster's, Kiwanis Club, or our local McDowell Marketing Masterminds Group. Think outside the box on how to reach people and how to diversify your market. 

Use Influencer Marketing to Attract Traffic

Influencer marketing, whereby an influential individual in your niche with hordes of followers deliberately promotes your brand, products or services, is a proven way for businesses to attract people to their website. Before you can get that influential person to sing the praises of your product or brand, you have to build that relationship with them. Do this by following them on social media and make meaningful connections through comments on their material or posts. Ask them questions or ask to interview them for your own blog or site. You'll often find that those that are successful in their respective fields are open to sharing that information with others. 

Include Your Web Address on Branded Uniforms & All Marketing

If your business requires branded uniforms, utilize employees’ uniforms to the maximum by including your website address on branded shirts and jackets. Don't stop there! Get into the habit of including your website address on all of your marketing materials and your communications. Make it so easy for people to find you online that they don't have to Google you! 

Make Your Website Mobile Friendly

A record amount of digital traffic is now coming from mobile devices. Ensure your website is navigational from the likes of smartphones and tablets, by making it mobile friendly. Many templates available through hosting companies and even shareware, such as WordPress and Adobe Dreamweaver, come with mobile versions. 

Guest Blog on Other Sites

Rather than limiting new blogs to your own site, aim to get them published as guest blogs on other sites. Having links to your website on credible sites with high Domain Authority (DA) is a great way to boost your SEO and the organic traffic to your site.

Invite Other People to Guest Blog on Your Site

Inviting others to post high-quality and engaging articles that are void of spammy links on your website, is a great way to increase traffic to your site, as the author of the guest blog is likely to share the content and build up rapport with your brand. Ask others in the business or a complimentary business to guest blog. To respect their time, you might want to create five to 10 questions that you can send to them that would be helpful to your clientele. 

Post Content on LinkedIn Pulse

As WordStream founder and CEO of MobileMonkey Larry Kim notes, “LinkedIn Pulse is a killer way to get your best content in front of a larger audience.” Drive traffic to your site by posting unique and engaging content on LinkedIn Pulse. Not only are you reaching a larger audience, but you also have the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field with these articles. The content can vary from industry advice to white papers, to customer stories. Click here to see how it works

Display Your Website Details in Your Office or Shop Window

Promote your site’s URL to those passing by your shop or office by simply displaying your web address in the window – an incredibly simple and cost-effective marketing tactic. There are three local companies, all of which can make window decals: Coley's Graphics and More, Master's Hand Print Works, and Graphics Warehouse. 

Use Car Wraps to Promote Your URL

Ensure your vehicle acts as marketing pedestal to every passer-by by wrapping or partially wrapping it with your business’s logo and your website’s URL. Does your business deliver? We've seen this locally with places like Marion Pharmacy and Fat Boy's Burritos. Coley's Graphics and More does vehicle advertising, just not complete car wraps. Master's Hand Print Works does the vehicle wraps. 

Advertise in Print Media

With 17% of small businesses still advertising regularly in the newspaper, print advertising is by no means dead. Use the likes of newspapers and magazines to advertise your business, including details of your website to encourage readers to visit your site. The Chamber often partners with The McDowell News, buying a larger ad space so that we can offer a discount to our members. Look for these opportunities through your email. 

Use Direct Mail Campaigns

Leaving promotional material on coffee tables in waiting rooms and posting it through letterboxes that include your URL can be a highly successful way to alert prospects to your website. Think about asking your dentist, pharmacist, or insurance agent if you can leave a stack of business cards or brochures at their offices and offer to return the favor! Always keep your promotional material up-to-date and remember the Visitor Center gets thousands of people coming through and it's free for members to have your brochures, fliers, and business cards. 

Publish Interviews with Thought Leaders on Your Website

Publishing interviews or commentary from leading figures in your market can be a great way to encourage people to head to your site and boost its credibility. By the same token, why not start doing interviews yourself as a thought leader in your industry to help raise your online credibility and presence and attract people to your site?

Attend Networking Events

Networking brings a multitude of benefits to small businesses, including the opportunity to promote your website to the right audience. The Chamber hosts a number of networking events throughout the year and we also promote our member's networking event on our calendar. Don't underestimate the power of in-person contact to open doors. 

Place Internal Links on Your Site

When publishing content on your website, use relevant and credible internal links in the content to help boost your SEO and make the content a more useful experience for the reader – a key att

ribute in increasing website traffic.

Publish Original Research on Your Site

Original research helps drive traffic to a website, so endeavor to get your hands on research that’s not available anywhere else, whether it’s through webinars, whitepapers or how-tos.

Fine-Tune Existing Content

Does the existing content on your website ‘make the grade’ in terms of being readable and engaging to visitors? Tweaking the content on your site so it’s more engaging, promotional (but not spammy) and has a healthy scattering of relevant keywords, will be an effective way to help increase traffic to your site.

Advertise on Local Radio

Advertising on local radio stations, WBRM, Inc. remains an effective way to promote your website to a local audience.

Upgrade Old Blogs

Putting fresh life into old blogs by making them relevant to today and to your target audiences can be a cost-effective and simple way to improve your SEO and increase traffic to your site.

Use YouTube to Promote Your Site

YouTube has positioned itself as a respected social site for small businesses. Post creative videos on YouTube to encourage people to subscribe to your channel. Don’t forget to mention your URL to promote your website to your YouTube audience. Spencer's ACE Hardware does an amazing job utilizing YouTube video to market their products and their brand. Check out their YouTube Channel.