The arena of the online world is a fiercely competitive game. Considering it’s not unwise to call Google the centre of the modern universe, keeping tabs on how to navigate the ever-evolving online space is tricky business. And beyond uncovering the best tools and tricks of the trade for harnessing success in the digital era, unlocking the secret to getting more traffic to your site is ultimately what it all boils down to.
With technology progressing each year, accessing a healthy stream of traffic is a mission that needs constant revision to get the best results. Below are some essential nifty tips straight from the clutches of our experts. Sit back and enjoy the read as we run through some of the most powerful ways to bring traffic to your website in 2019.
How can you increase your website traffic?
1. Get wordy and embrace the field of content
We’re not actually sure how many times we’ve heard the words ‘content is king’, but if we could print it on a t-shirt, we would. More relevant than ever before, content marketing’s explosion has far exceeded traditional marketing tactics, all to lightning-fast speed that none of us really predicted. In the past, we all fell victim to seeing content pushed to the side, where sub-par copy was the norm and words were just a chore. These days, generating powerful content that answers the biggest questions of your target audience is the cornerstone to your digital success.
Consider the fact that your target audience is likely searching for answers about burning questions in their minds – ones that you’re probably able to answer with your own expertise. If you can’t get in touch with them directly, how can you relay this information?
The answer: high-quality, relevant and insightful information that solves their problem. Become their solution – become the source that makes their day. In return, it’s likely you’ll access an uplift in traffic for all the others you helped serve at the same time. You probably spend a fair bit of time tapping away on your smartphone, blasting our texts or tweets – so why not put that energy into words that matter more? It pays to put thought it what you write, and you’ll only receive that spike once you’ve done the hard yards. But oh, is it worth it.
If I really need to preach the potential of content marketing, consider this awesome chart from Google Trends. It tracks the interest in content marketing over the last 15 years – which speaks volumes.
But if you’re going to ask me now what the recipe for a successful content strategy, it’s that truthfully, there isn’t one. It’s more accurate to call it a ‘balance’ or a suite of efforts, rather than a recipe or a formal. And that’s because the landscape of content marketing is so fluid that it never sits still long enough for you to create a hard and fast rule of how to do it. It’s what keeps us on our toes as strategists. It would be a boring world, otherwise.
However, you can create a nutshell for your content efforts through careful planning and a strategic mindset. For starters, keep the following in check when you’re generating your approach to this field:
- Map out fresh topics that are relevant and trending;
- Make sure you’re consistent with your messaging;
- Establish an authentic tone. No one likes run-of-the-mill;
- Incorporate video and audio into the mix;
- Developing authority through outreach;
- Constantly releasing clever content that reflects your company culture.
Become best friends with tools like Keywordtool.io or Google Keyword Planner. Put time aside to get to know how Medium works and find out how to tap into audiences on Quora and Reddit. In essence, content marketing is all about creating an arsenal of weapons you can use when you require them most. Put them into full effect when you need to hire up the big guns, and you’ll see how much of a difference it makes after you’ve spent time nurturing these channels.
Using Keywordtool.io will help you uncover content ideas for your parent topic, if you need inspiration. Remember to always tie this back to a strategy.
If you pour enough time and energy into this field, you will see the positive results from it. But like a new workout program at gym – you won’t get there in a day, and you’ll only see that awesome six-pack of yours when you’ve trained hard and consistently enough to stack it all up into one drool-worthy package.
Above all, remember that content should be formed off of your company values and culture. Add in personality and identify and weave it all through with an authentic approach, and you’ll be well on your way. And if you’re not sure how to even start the process, well, there’s always our experts.
2. Long live search engine optimisation (SEO)
In 2019, SEO is still one of the biggest drivers of traffic. It’s like the train that never slows down and steam-charges ahead on the tracks – no brakes, no coming to a halt. It’s the little train that could.
With Google’s search algorithms continually updating, it’s important to renew old website content (that nifty word again) and optimise your site to the best of your ability. But that’s doesn’t mean throwing some keywords in there and hoping for the best. This isn’t 2001.
Successful SEO strategies not only involve the technicalities of embracing the right keywords but also take extreme strategic efforts to create the perfect balance of links, on-page optimisation and off-page tactics. The cycle is endless. Ask any tech-head in the SEO space, and they’ll tell you there’s never downtime in this field. It takes critical insights and a constant, keen eye to watch over algorithm changes and website behaviour to really harness this space.
SEO is a pyramid of elements – you need to master them all to conquer the art. Image credit: Media Factory.
An SEO campaign is also formed off of a whole bunch of elements that can typically take an entire team to handle efficiently. Some aspects include:
- Optimising all pages with targeted keywords, sitemap structuring and other tidbits;
- Creating fresh, original content that answers the biggest questions;
- Establishing a healthy profile of backlinks for authority – all from trusted, reputable websites. Not to mention their domain authority needs to be pristine.
- Tapping into competitor behaviour and content gaps to apply the best approach.
It takes skill to carry out SEO successfully. You can’t hire some dude off the street, expect him to tap away at his keyboard, and then see a return in your analytics. It takes a highly strategic approach that’s infused with the modern landscape of content marketing to really pack a punch. Take it from us; we’ve seen the rewards from our own work for clients all across the globe – and we didn’t get there by just waiting for and hoping for the best. You need to be a real go-getter. I know you have it in you.
3. Google AdWords
AdWords is a sophisticated game – I won’t sugar coat it. Used strategically, it’s a tactic for traffic that gets results. It takes a combination of analysis and crystal-clear marketing know-how to strike gold. This is why starting with a well-mapped-out approach to chisel out your strategy is crucial. Not to mention it’s worth your time if you don’t plan on wasting your hard-earned dollars.
Like the rest of Google’s ever-evolving empire, AdWords can be used for more than just a search function (or for keeping entertained by quirky search suggestions). However, with this field well on the rise, getting traffic to your site and sales through your door is more than doable on this platform.
Google Keyword Planner will present you with plenty of keyword ideas for your AdWords campaign.
So how exactly do you do that? Honing in on your specific audience is a good place to start. That includes:
- Defining custom intent audiences
- Remarketing lists for search ads the bring your customers back to your site;
- Location and demographic-specific targeting that pinpoints the most likely visitors and encourages them to your site for conversion.
In combination with SEO, these techniques not only help you get traffic, but also grant you clarity on your business’s online presence. You’ll access critical data into how your audience chooses to interact with your brand and be able to map out clear-cut strategies to best tackle it in the future. bring clarity to your business.
4. A kick-butt website design
If this website looked like Space Jam’s, would you pay attention to what I’ve got to say?
Audience attention is precious in the digital space. These days, website designs need to cater to a whole lot more than just looking pretty. They need to be highly functional and cater to mobile, on-the-go audiences. If your website can’t adapt to user behaviour, then you’ll lose them before you even have a chance to open your mouth. It needs to be practical.
Its safe to flaunt our website here, right?
With the right design aesthetic, your traffic can increase through:
- Clearly marked categories and webpages that are intuitive enough to access;
- Visuals that tell a story and set the scene for what your business does;
- A minimalistic layout and aesthetic that places emphasis on your words;
- A mobile-friendly design that lets viewers browse on any device.
- With the average user spending less than five seconds on a site, it’s critical to create the perfect balance. And to do that, you’ll need to experiment with your branding, identity and user journey.
To really establish a potent traffic powerhouse, the truth is that you’ll need to invest time, energy and money into all of the above. Covering all of your bases is always going to be your best shot at success, with some channels more beneficial than others.
However, if you’re not sure where to start or which avenue to tackle first, I highly encourage you to get in touch with our experts to learn more about how we can help you.
