I get it. You've invested hours building your website under the (mistaken?!) assumption that if you build what your customers need, they will show up in droves at your virtual doorstep. But that hasn't happened. You've posted in Facebook groups, written dozens of blog posts, googled "How do I get traffic to my website for free?" and still nothing helps. You don't have a $10 million budget for a Super Bowl commercial -- or even a couple of pennies to get your cousin Eddy to mention your site on his Instagram with 5,000 followers. So what do you do?
As with any element of business, marketing you website is all about building systems. You develop a process that enables you to consistently promote your website and over time, people will start finding you. This may happen because Google and other search engines will start indexing more of your site and more content for long-tail keywords will rank highly. This may also happen because as you work your plan, you'll find those things that your customers are looking for.
This is what happened with my sister site, reThink ELA. eight years ago, I realized I needed resources to teach short stories. I found a few lists of recommended stories, but nothing that included audio adaptations, videos, paired texts, essential questions, and other resources that I spent hours looking for. So I wrote a blog post. Then I wrote a couple of more on different genres on short stories. Those posts have brought tens of thousands of people to my website -- including 15,000 one year for Halloween Day. Yes, you read that right. ONE DAY.
How do you get traffic to your website consistently?
As I mentioned, you need to create a plan and then work it consistently. If you're running an online business selling services or content, you might choose to write a blog and record a podcast. If you're selling local services, you might write blog posts and post offers and recommendations on your Facebook page. In either case, I highly recommend you also offer an email list where you can reach people right in their inboxes and drive them back to your website to read your content or purchase the products or services you're offering.
Outside of an email list, there are all kinds of other strategies that work. When you know the right methods that work for your audience, you will be amazed at how easy it is to increase your readership and profits. Here are the five most effective tips that work across industries:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is your biggest asset. No matter how many other traffic-getting methods you employ, SEO will make or break your efforts.
The best strategy, of course, is targeting keywords in each post. Obviously you don’t want to make it look unnatural, but you need to lace your posts with keywords in a natural way if you want to get ranked.
What kind of keywords should you go after?
It all depends on the size of your website. In general, you might want to consider targeting long-tail keyword terms because they are easier to rank for and also the most profitable ones. It’s always simpler to rank for ten keywords that get thirty searches a month than one that gets three hundred searches.
Also, the long-tail terms are generally the most profitable because they are the most targeted. For instance, if you have a fitness blog, you wouldn’t want to get ranked for the term “fitness.” Instead, you want to rank for something like “how to lose weight in 30 days.” That’s a much more specific search, and you will find it much easier to sell something for this term.
Also, remember, you should only focus on one keyword phrase (and a couple of very related terms) for each page or post on your website. Think of it like writing an essay on one topic with the intention of making one argument or providing one bit of information. If you're not sure how this works, do a search for the keyword phrase you're wanting to target and then read what ranks highly in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Update Consistently
Make sure to continually add new content each and every week. Search engines like fresh sites, which is why blogs are so easy to get ranked.
How often should you add new posts? Try and do so at least a couple times a week.
I know this is difficult, but as with any writing, the best way to make this happen is to schedule time to write. Literally add it to your Google Calendar as if it's a class or an appointment. Then sit down and write. The beauty of WordPress websites is that you can schedule your content. So you can sit down on a Sunday afternoon, write two blog posts, and schedule them to post later in the week. You could even write an entire month or more of posts this way.
You can also invest in relevant private label rights (PLR) content to help you product more content.
Comment in Forums and Groups
Forums and Facebook Groups related to your blog topic are great places to get the word out about your site. However, don’t just go and spam them by making a few meaningless comments and moving on to the next forum or dropping a promotion for your product or service in a group that doesn't explicitly allow promotions.
Even if the moderators allow your links to stay, which is unlikely, this will never get long-term traffic from that site. Make sure you add meaningful and useful content, which will help people learn to trust you.
By answering people’s questions, you will build yourself as an authority figure. This will in turn drive traffic to your site. This way you get SEO benefits from the one-way links you are generating, as well as getting traffic at the same time.
This is easier to do on forums that allow signatures and Facebook groups that allow links.
Comment on Blogs
Perhaps because everyone is hanging out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok these days, we seem to have forgotten that blog commenting is a thing that can help with SEO and building relationships and credibility. Bloggers love reciprocating though. So if you are taking an active interest in other people’s blogs and make intelligent comments, they may come and check out your site as well.
Again, make sure you provide a meaningful comment. Try to stick with the popular blogs in your category for more traffic. Also, check to see if that blog gives you the opportunity to link to your site in your account, not in your actual blog post. For example, on this site, when you enter your details to comment, my system will make your name a link to your blog. This is great not only for search engine ranking, but also for readers to follow your link back to your site.
30 Day Website Traffic Challenge?
Would you like to increase your website traffic in 30 days? Register for our FREE 30 Day Web Traffic Blueprint and challenge yourself to try one new strategy each day. Then choose three strategies that will best reach YOUR audience to keep long-term/
