When you want your business to grow and survive, especially during this pandemic, it needs to be online. More than half of the global population actively go on the web. And apart from connecting with friends and family from a distance and watching Netflix, they often use the internet to buy products and services.
This consumer trend is especially true for customers in countries like the US. According to recent data from Pew Research, around eight in ten Americans shop online. Furthermore, 15 percent of them go online shopping every week. Your customers are on the web. Your business should be there, too.
To attract customers to your site, however, building and publishing a basic website isn’t enough. You need to be visible on search engines and social media sites. These often need specialised techniques to do properly. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on them.
Here are low-cost but effective ways to improve your website traffic.
Be active on social media
Promoting your website on social media is great because almost everyone has one. Over 72 percent of adults in the US have at least one social media account. If you have a new article on your site, link it in a post with a short summary to entice your viewers to click on it.
Running a promo for your online store? Don’t forget to spread the word! If you’re releasing new products or services soon, count them down on your Facebook and Twitter page while also directing customers to your website for extra content.
If you still aren’t getting any website traffic, consider boosting your posts. This involves showing your social media content at the top of your target audience’s news feed – even if they haven’t liked your page. This not only helps in getting the word out to your existing readers but also nets you new prospects who are highly interested in your products or services.
You could take it a step further as well by connecting with relevant influencers and using their posts to promote your website. Just make sure that the personality you’re using shares the same target market as your brand.
Create Content Worth Sharing
When it comes to digital, content is and will always be, king. People like learning new things, even if it’s for the everyday items and services they buy. They like learning these things from authoritative sources, too. You’re an expert in the products you sell, so your customers would definitely appreciate gaining some knowledge from you.
You can choose form variety of content topics. A classic one would be a guide on how to make the most out of your products. This can come in the form of a blog post or even a video. You could also create content that’s directly or indirectly related to your product. For example, if you’re running a waste management company, explain how skip hires work and how they benefit customers.
Make the most out of your content by hiring a firm providing SEO services. SEO or Search Engine Optimization involves modifying your site’s elements and adding strategic keywords and links to your content so that it’s easier for both human readers and search engines to understand.
Use Pay Per Click Ads
What’s great about online advertising is that most providers operate on a “pay-per-click” scheme. As its name implies, you only pay the company for every interaction your ad gets. You’re only spending money on results.
Platforms like Google Ads also let you spend as much or as little on your campaign budget. They let you target a specific audience too. This way, you only show ads to people who fit your target demographic and share interests that are relevant to your brand.
Ask Friends and Family to Share Your Site
If your business is still starting out, you won’t have enough of a following yet to get your website shared online. If you’re still unsure about using money to promote your site, you can always get friends and family to do it for you. Their friends list gives you access to a wide network of people. You’re sure to get your site shown to a person in your target audience.
When you need your business to survive and grow online, it needs to have website traffic that’s high in quantity and quality. You don’t have to spend a fortune in online marketing to get it done. Using pay per click ads, creating blog content, being active on social media and getting family and friends to share your site are all low-cost but potent ways to get customers on your site – and retain them.
