5 Tips for Creating A Website That Brings in More Traffic

Hello, small business owner. Don’t worry, we won’t take up too much of your time. One question: How is business? Is it booming? Do you have more traffic coming in than you know what to do with? Are you managing your growth and capital in ways that are setting you up for success years from now?

Or are you struggling to maintain your balanced budget, wondering how you can generate more traffic and more revenue? Do you find yourself scrambling to set up new marketing techniques that initially sound great, but fall hopelessly short when you look at sales totals at the end of each month?

It is not often that business owners are satisfied with the traffic they are generating to their websites. While there is a wealth of information out there in cyberspace as to what to do to increase web traffic, most of it is scattered and ineffective. You may have thought that setting up a website was a “one shot and you’re done” tactic, and that you could let the world wide web do the lead generating for you.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Making a name for yourself on the internet is serious business, and it is a process that never ends. Never. A website is like a garden; it will need constant attention, management, and updating in order to be optimized for your customers.

Just how do we optimize? We have endless to-do lists, we have invoices to pay, we have product to generate, we have customers to contact. What can we do to simplify and streamline the process of building our internet brand and making sure that we have what it takes to succeed?

Following these five simple steps to website optimization will not only make you more visible, it will create systems for you that are nearly effortless to maintain and improve on a regular basis.

Optimize your web content!

This is the foundation of all things digital; optimizing your website content so that Google notices your digital footprint will ensure that you are placed higher in their ranking system. More visibility equals more customers. How do you optimize your content? By updating your material on a regular basis, using relevant search and key words, and adding content that is of value to your potential customer base. You should be writing and producing content with your target audience in mind, so when they go in and do a search for products and services, yours are placed right in front of them. Think of Google as your personal assistant in getting this optimization done, so play nice!

Utilize the power of social media!

Fifteen years ago, it was laughable to think that social media could be used as a marketing tool, but the face of e-commerce is changing, and it’s necessary to keep current with your own marketing strategies. Sharing new product and service information via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a good way to get others to share and circulate your information as well. Again, the more visible you are, the more likely you are to be found.

Consider content outreach and guest postings!

No matter how loyal your customer base is, it will always be necessary to generate new business. Getting tried and true content republished on large media outlets is one way to ensure that new audiences will be exposed to your business. Offer to be a guest poster, displaying your products and services similar to putting an ad banner on a well-known website. The more you post, the more people will see.

Create and put systems in place that generate recurring traffic!

Have you considered sending out blast surveys asking your customers what they want and need? How about follow up emails asking about order fulfillment that also weave in additional product offerings? Use giveaways and sales as incentives to get customers to give you their personal contact information, and then begin building a database that keeps getting larger and larger as satisfied customers refer friends and family to you. Customers, both satisfied and unsatisfied, will talk, so make sure that what they are saying about you is positive.

Repackage and repurpose!

Statistically, the more quality content you generate, the more likely it is that you will be noticed by search engine algorithms and by customers. Do you think you’ve maxed out your content ideas? Try these on for size:

• Include infographics in your blog posts
• Create slide shows using previously shared content
• Convert blog posts into newsletters and share with subscribers
• Turn previous content into a video or a podcast
• Spin your blog content and add to other sites to increase visibility

Where there is a will, there is a way….and another way of saying it. You are far more creative than you give yourself credit for, so keep generating those marketing and sharing ideas!

With these simple actions steps, you have consistent tools to take your marketing strategies and your website traffic to the next level. Get ready for increased sales and revenue as you apply these strategies to grow your business in ways that you never dreamed about! Here’s to your continued growth and success!

Guest article written by: Caryl Anne Crowne is a contributing author and media specialist for Allegra Marketing. She regularly produces content for a variety of blogs that center around digital and print business solutions and ideas.