{"id":219235,"date":"2021-03-16T15:28:31","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T15:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engaging-websites.com\/?p=219235"},"modified":"2021-03-18T12:29:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T12:29:05","slug":"3-ways-to-drive-traffic-to-your-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engaging-websites.com\/3-ways-to-drive-traffic-to-your-website\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ways to drive traffic to your website"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.22&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;0px|||||&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.25&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_post_title meta=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221;][\/et_pb_post_title][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.2&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;16px&#8221; header_2_text_color=&#8221;#796100&#8243; header_2_font_size=&#8221;22px&#8221; header_3_font=&#8221;|600|||||||&#8221; header_3_font_size=&#8221;18px&#8221; header_4_font_size=&#8221;16px&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<p>We hear time and time again from our clients, \u2018I have a brand new website. It looks great. It\u2019s informative\u2026Why hasn\u2019t business improved?\u2019 Well, luckily, it\u2019s not a mystery! In this article, we talk about how to drive traffic to your website, how to increase website traffic, and how to boost traffic.<\/p>\n<h2>WHY DO I NEED MORE THAN JUST A WEBSITE?<\/h2>\n<p>On its own, your website can\u2019t generate traffic, visits, or ongoing engagement. These elements are needed to generate sales and ultimately, grow your business. At Engaging Content, <a href=\"https:\/\/engaging-websites.com\/why-a-business-website-is-like-a-movie\/\">we see websites like movies<\/a>. So much needs to happen, both on and off your website. Before, during, and after creation, just like making a movie!<\/p>\n<p>When looking at how to drive traffic to your website, you should consider the same principles as movie makers do:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Write and tell a compelling story<\/li>\n<li>Research and understand your target audience<\/li>\n<li>Find the best people for the job \u2013 you can\u2019t do everything yourself!<\/li>\n<li>Edit and re-edit \u2013 websites require updating<\/li>\n<li>Test your website on your audience with market research<\/li>\n<li>Promote your website by using digital content marketing strategies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That is how you end up with a business website that is more than just a website. You\u2019ll be able to create an online presence that resonates with your target market. It will increase website traffic, and ultimately convert traffic into sales!<\/p>\n<p>Now you know how to drive traffic to your website, let\u2019s look at 10 ways to increase website traffic\u2026<\/p>\n<h2>1. SEO KEYWORDS BOOST TRAFFIC<\/h2>\n<p>The first thing you should do when looking at how to drive traffic to your website is to find appropriate SEO keywords.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll need to find high-volume, low-competition keywords. (Words and phrases people type into search engines). And then put these keywords into the content of your website.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most important thing you should know is that you can\u2019t just put any text onto your website and expect it to rank in search engines. (Let alone on the first page of search results.)<\/p>\n<p>If you want to be found in search engines for relevant search queries, you\u2019ll need to optimise all of your website content Including copy, blogs, and articles, around high-volume, low-competition keywords.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll also need to regularly check in on your SEO results. Making sure you create new, optimised content on a regular basis in order to keep ranking well in search engines and boost traffic.<\/p>\n<h2>2. CUSTOMER PERSONA RESEARCH WILL HELP INCREASE WEBSITE TRAFFIC<\/h2>\n<p>Another activity you should carry out in order to boost traffic to your website is to research and create some customer personas. This will not only help when looking at how to drive traffic to your website, it will also increase the quality of your website traffic.<\/p>\n<p>Customer personas are semi-fictionalised representations of your ideal clients. In order to create a customer persona, you\u2019ll need to essentially profile your ideal customers. Research and write down all of their needs, goals, problems, lifestyles, and buying behaviours.<\/p>\n<p>Then, once you\u2019ve collected this information, you should tailor all of your website content. As well as your marketing and advertising efforts, towards these ideal customers. This makes it much more likely that your ideal customers will be drawn in by your content, make a purchase, and become a loyal customer.<\/p>\n<p>This should ideally be done before you start work on your website. But it can be done to refresh existing websites. And you should remember to revisit them on an ongoing basis to ensure they stay relevant.<\/p>\n<h2>3. OPTIMISE YOUR SITE<\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve carried out proper research, you can then optimise your site. Whilst site optimisation does not directly increase website traffic, users are more likely to recommend you to others if they find your site easy to use, helpful, and interesting.<\/p>\n<p>This involves making the site as functional as possible for your visitors. You\u2019ll need to make sure that your site loads quickly, and functions properly. Ensuring there are no broken links, broken pages, or missing content.<\/p>\n<p>You can also optimise your site design to make sure that it resonates with your target audience. And that your site design works with your content to interest your visitors, not put them off.<\/p>\n<p>Also, pay attention to the user experience of your site. There should be a clear and direct pathway that leads website visitors to the crucial information and purchase pages. Once a visitor lands on your website, they should easily be able to navigate your site pages. And there should be plenty of features to keep them interested and persuade them to visit more pages.<\/p>\n<h2>4. USER TEST YOUR SITE<\/h2>\n<p>Don\u2019t be afraid to carry out some user testing on your site!<\/p>\n<p>Sit with people that match your ideal customer profiles and get their feedback. You\u2019d be surprised how much information you can get simply by asking for it.<\/p>\n<p>It is best to use an impartial market research agency. This way you\u2019ll ensure you get unbiased feedback and get the most out of the experience.<\/p>\n<h2>5. PAID ADVERTISING CAN HELP BOOST TRAFFIC<\/h2>\n<p>Of course, you could also consider paid advertising as a way to boost traffic to your website and increase brand awareness.<\/p>\n<p>These could come in the form of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Google ads<\/li>\n<li>Social media ads<\/li>\n<li>Print ads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Basing your ads on customer persona and keyword research will give your ads the best return on investment, and make them work harder. This will help you understand which advertising channels your customers engage with. As well as the messaging and imagery to use within the ad.<\/p>\n<p>Online advertising also offers businesses more tailored options than ever before. If you understand the profile of your ideal customers, you can use Facebook and Google to show your ads to people who meet this criteria.<\/p>\n<h2>6. SOCIAL MEDIA<\/h2>\n<p>SMEs often underestimate the importance of social media for their websites and their businesses. Especially when looking at how to drive traffic to your website.<\/p>\n<p>And while a large and loyal following on social media might not directly increase your website ranks, it does boost traffic on your site. You should be regularly sharing interesting, helpful, and relevant content on your social media.<\/p>\n<p>But you should avoid making every post a sales pitch to prevent putting people off. Just focus on providing value to your followers, and you\u2019ll build a loyal customer base that visits your site regularly.<\/p>\n<p>We managed to increase the visibility of one of our recent client\u2019s sites by 2-3% every month through only sharing a variety of content on her business Facebook page!<\/p>\n<h2>7. BACKLINK GENERATION<\/h2>\n<p>Another important activity that will increase website traffic and site rankings is backlink generation.<\/p>\n<p>A backlink is when another website links to your site. This is one of the number one factors that Google uses when deciding which websites to rank highly.<\/p>\n<p>BUT you should remember that these backlinks need to come from an authoritative and reputable site, not a spam site, to give your site more authority with Google.<\/p>\n<p>To generate backlinks for your site, you could try guest blogging, content promotion, news and media features, or even the broken link method. This involves finding broken links on websites in your industry and reaching out to the website owner. You can then suggest that they replace the broken link with a piece of relevant content you\u2019ve written. The <a href=\"https:\/\/chrome.google.com\/webstore\/detail\/check-my-links\/ojkcdipcgfaekbeaelaapakgnjflfglf?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Check My Links Google Chrome extension<\/a> is a great, FREE way to find broken links!<\/p>\n<h2>8. CONTENT PRODUCTION AND CONTENT MARKETING<\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ll also need to factor in ongoing content production and content marketing in order to boost traffic. Content marketing, often associated with inbound marketing, is one of the best and most cost-effective ways to increase website traffic.<\/p>\n<p>This involves writing regular, relevant, and high-quality content, based on topics your personas are interested in. Optimising around high-volume, low competition keywords. It often involves creating a free, downloadable content offer, such as an ebook, which requires users to give their contact information in exchange for the download.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Your content shouldn\u2019t always be geared around a sales pitch. You should focus on adding value to your readers. Each new blog is a new page that ranks in search engines, spreading your digital web and creating more ways to boost traffic. It also provides value to readers in the long-term which will build trust and brand loyalty.<\/p>\n<p>You can then focus on promoting this content on social media, on your website, and with paid advertising.<\/p>\n<h2>9. PROMOTE OTHER PEOPLE<\/h2>\n<p>But wait! isn\u2019t it counterproductive to promote other people? Isn\u2019t this article about promoting yourself? Won\u2019t this give business to your competitors?<\/p>\n<p>Not necessarily! There are plenty of ways that promoting others in your industry can increase website traffic on your site.<\/p>\n<p>Consider asking another authoritative source in your industry to write a guest blog on your site. They\u2019ll no doubt want to promote this on their own channels. This will boost traffic on your site as their followers will click through.<\/p>\n<p>Or, you could interview a thought leader in your area. You\u2019d be surprised how many people will happily provide you with an interview. This then allows you to effectively \u2018piggy-back\u2019 off of the searches and traffic related to their name and their brand.<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, you could write a review for a product or service you use to run your business, which includes a link back to your website. The company you\u2019ve reviewed may even link to your site, or share\/retweet your comments if you\u2019ve reviewed on social media. This makes their followers aware of your company and your website.<\/p>\n<h2>10. USE DATA TO BOOST TRAFFIC<\/h2>\n<p>Lastly, when trying to increase website traffic, it\u2019s important to continually use data and insights to improve.<\/p>\n<p>Using reporting and analytics tools such as Alexa, SEOmonitor, and Spyfu (some of our personal favourites here at Engaging Content) will analyse your SEO and paid advertising efforts. As well as your site visibility and rankings.<\/p>\n<p>You can use tools such as Hotjar to analyse the user experience of your visitors. And optimise the design, layout and content of your site.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you could also consider carrying out some market research or user testing to find out how users actually engage with your site.<\/p>\n<p>Whichever method you choose, it\u2019s important to regularly check in on your site performance and data. This will tell you what\u2019s working and what isn\u2019t. Allowing you to optimise and improve on a regular basis, showing you how to drive traffic to your website.<\/p>\n<h2>NEED HELP ON HOW TO DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE?<\/h2>\n<p>Putting into practise the above methods in order to boost traffic can be a difficult process. You need to take into account both on-page and off-page activities. As well as using data to continually improve.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re too busy focusing on your business, and you don\u2019t have the in-house capability to carry out this work, why not get in touch with Engaging Content today?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re a small but dedicated team of web designers, developers, content creators and digital marketers based in the centre of Cheltenham. We\u2019re passionate about helping business owners to grow their digital presence and get the website traffic they deserve!<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=&#8221;https:\/\/calendly.com\/engagingcontent\/15min?month=2021-03&#8243; url_new_window=&#8221;on&#8221; button_text=&#8221;BOOK A FREE 15 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.9.1&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_module=&#8221;218938&#8243; saved_tabs=&#8221;all&#8221;][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We hear time and time again from our clients, \u2018I have a brand new website. It looks great. It\u2019s informative\u2026Why hasn\u2019t business improved?\u2019 Well, luckily, it\u2019s not a mystery! In this article, we talk about how to drive traffic to your website, how to increase website traffic, and how to boost traffic. WHY DO I [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Engaging Websites -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Engaging Websites Cheltenham \u26a1\ufe0f Digital Agency, Brand Messaging, Showcase Websites 3 ways to drive traffic to your website\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engaging-websites.com\/3-ways-to-drive-traffic-to-your-website\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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