Nice websites are great but, for most businesses, they are a means to an end – not an end in themselves. The goal of your website should be to drive conversions and conversions depend on web traffic. That means that driving traffic to your website should be the focus of your digital marketing efforts. Think of your website like a billboard – they’re great on a busy road but totally worthless on a deserted highway. So, web design is important but it is not the whole picture – you need to have a strategy that drives traffic to your fresh, beautiful website.

Successfully driving traffic to your website will take a multifaceted approach – one that balances both long- and short-term strategies. Today, we’ll look at the top six ways to increase web traffic; three that will get immediate results and three that will require a little more patience.

Short Term Traffic Strategies

While growing a healthy web presence will require long-term work, there are things you can do for some immediate gratification. These are especially helpful while you wait for the longer-term strategies to start producing results. These typically involve spending a little money, but they will start getting your traffic (and sales) right away.

PPC Advertising

Climbing search rankings with SEO is a long, slow plod; but you can skip to the front of the line with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. With PPC ads, you select your target keywords and your advertising budget, and then you compete for search engine ads. Depending on your market, the costs of a PPC advertising campaign will vary wildly – but they will get you immediate results.

PPC advertising can get expensive quickly, but if your website is driving conversions then the investment is worth it. Before you start investing in PPC advertising, it is important to ensure that your page is optimized for sales and you’re not spending for clicks that don’t lead to sales or leads.

Email Marketing

If you already have a database of customer email address, then email marketing can be a quick way to start driving people to your site. Email marketing involves sending out newsletters, special offers, and other promotions to your existing customer base.

Email marketing doesn’t always work for new businesses – but if you’re an established brand with a list of customers, email marketing can be a cost-effective way to get eyes on your website.

In Person Networking

Not every traffic source has to start out on the internet. You can drive people to your website through good, old-fashioned networking. By attending conferences and networking events, you can promote your website with a little hand-shaking and a few business cards. There’s no guarantee it will drive traffic to your website, but there are few sure-things in the world of marketing.

Face to face networking and sales isn’t for everybody, but it can be a powerful tool for promoting your website. Most consumers are blasted with hundreds of digital marketing messages every day; putting a face on your business might just give your website the boost it needs.

Long Term Traffic Strategies

Paying for short-term traffic is a great place to start, but sustainable success needs long-term solutions to your traffic needs. There is another benefit of long term traffic sources: it is earned rather than purchased. This means that as you build up your long-term strategies, they remain yours and continue to bring you value; whereas short term strategies usually quit working when you quit paying.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website, but it takes a commitment to a long-term mindset. Search engine optimization takes many forms – but it should always include both on-page and off-page optimization efforts.

By investing in SEO growth, your website traffic will increase as you continue to climb the search engine rankings. The best thing about SEO is that the affects stick around for years to come (as long as you use white-hat techniques).

Social Media

Despite the appeal of overnight success, social media requires a marathon mindset. It takes time to grow a following and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. But if you put in the hard work of building a social media following, your website will reap the rewards.

With a solid social media presence, you will have an audience that is familiar with your brand and eager to visit your website. Unfortunately, most social media platforms are increasingly a pay-to-play platform. But that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank on your social media – even a small investment will bring a return.

Blogging

If you want to drive traffic to your website, you absolutely have to have a blog. Fresh content is the only way to encourage repeat visits to your site – and most conversions don’t happen on a customer’s first visit to your site. Blogging is good for your reputation, your SEO efforts, and your social media.

While blogging takes a serious time commitment, it should be a vital part of your long-term traffic strategy. If you don’t think you have the chops to run a regular blog, you can always look into outsourcing your content production. But however, you choose to do it, your website needs a blog.

The Long and Short of It

Well-designed websites are a great thing, but not if nobody ever sees it. There is no silver bullet for the problem of driving traffic to your website, but a combination of the strategies mentioned here will get you results – in both the long and short-term.

At Fusion Group USA, we offer a wide range of marketing and advertising services to help your business grow. From PPC advertising to content creation, we can help you get your message in front of the right audience. And getting your message in front of the right people is the key to earning conversions. Contact us today to learn more about how Fusion Group USA can help your business.