Increasing Website Traffic

Taking steps to Increase traffic to a business website is a cost-effective way of improving customer awareness of the business and generating new leads.

Here we introduce some simple methods of attracting visitors to a website and encouraging them to keep coming back. It covers issues such as search engine optimisation, producing relevant, engaging content, using social media, blogging and pay-per-click advertising.

Search engine optimisation

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a method of improving a website's visibility in search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. Search engines are often the first method for users searching for products or services online. The higher your website is ranked in search results, the more visitors it is likely to receive.

Search engines rank search results based on various criteria. One of the most important criteria is the presence on your website of keywords related to a user's search.

Think about the words or phrases that potential customers might use to search for your product or service. Include them in your copy and use them to create meaningful titles, captions and descriptions for images or video content.

SEO tools that help you to optimise your website content and design are widely available from search engine providers and third-party software developers.

Social media engagement

Social media marketing encourages social network users to spread virtual 'word of mouth' information about your business. Social networks are powerful communication tools that allow business owners and freelancers to interact with current and potential customers.

It is important to establish which platforms are most relevant for your business. Once you have done this, you can set up social media accounts for your business on these platforms and post interesting snippets of information that link back to your website.

You can add 'share' buttons to your website to encourage visitors to post links to your pages on their own social media accounts, and 'follow' buttons to encourage them to subscribe to your social media accounts.

Relevant website content

Although the content of your website should take SEO into account, it is important to ensure that it is written primarily for your website visitors, rather than for search engines. Avoid overusing keywords or including unoriginal or misleading content just to improve your search ranking. Provide relevant, useful, authoritative content that is engaging and easy to understand.

Blogging

Blogs allow users to write, publish and distribute information quickly online. A blog with regular, personal, diary-style posts is a useful method of adding regular fresh content to a website. Blogs are often interactive, allowing readers to post responses and other comments.

Having your own blog can help increase traffic to your website. It is also an opportunity to join a conversation with other bloggers with mutual professional interests. Take time to read and comment on other blogs in your area of expertise.

Posting an intelligent comment with a link to your website can raise the profile of your business and your website. Make sure your comments are relevant and respectful. Posting irrelevant comments can be regarded as spamming and could damage your business's reputation.

Pay-per-click advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an advertising model in which advertisers pay online publishers a fee every time their advert is clicked by a website visitor. A carefully monitored PPC campaign can be cost-effective, as you will only pay when users click on your ads.

Hints and tips

• Include your website address on your marketing materials, business stationery, email signatures and van liveries.

• Monitor your website traffic and measure the effectiveness of your efforts to increase it.

• Don't add irrelevant, poor-quality content or links, as this will lower your website's search ranking, as well as giving website visitors a negative view of your business.

• Beware of unscrupulous 'SEO experts' who claim to guarantee to improve your search engine rankings in exchange for a fee.

Contact Ashored for help and support with your business.