If a tree falls in the forest, but no one is around to see it or hear it, then does it actually fall? This question has stumped students of philosophy for some time, but there’s a more important question that modern-day businesses are asking. This question asks, if you have a website, but no one ever comes to see it, then does it actually exist?
In a technical sense, yes, but websites without traffic do you no good. So if you’re going to put in the time, effort, and hard work it takes to create a portal for your customers to find you, here are some things you should do to make sure they find it, and step inside.
1. Make Great Content
It should go without saying, but the first and most important way to increase your traffic is to put great content on your website. Whether it’s blog posts, videos, or something else entirely, you need content that is valuable to your customer base. Ask what problems you’re solving, what information you’re sharing, or what kind of entertainment you’re offering, and that is the first step to creating content people will look for.
2. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords
When you think of keywords, chances are you think of short, simple, popular ones. If you were running an online shoe store, for example, then keywords like, “shoes,” “buy,” or, “boots,” would be ideal. However, those are also words that are both very general, and which have a lot of competition for who’s going to be at the top of the search results. Instead, take some advice from Forbes, and focus on long-tail keywords. Keywords like, “buy cheap men’s boots,” are more specific, and there’s less competition for them, which means you could rise to the top of the search results with greater ease.
3. Be Active on Social Media (As Well as Forums)
Social media is one of the biggest tools in any business’s arsenal these days. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others are free to start accounts on, it’s possible to reach millions of people through them, and if you are active on multiple platforms it only increases the odds of you finding a bigger audience. Popular forums are also good places to gain some traction. If you become part of the community, and partake in conversations, make sure to mention your site in both your profile and your signature line. That way people who recognize you as a professional in the field will also check out your site. They might even spread the word to their friends while they’re at it.
4. Update Regularly
Websites need to be constantly updated. Not just because you should always be adding new content and finagling your formula (though you should be), but because search engines pay attention to how often you update. If you update regularly, a search engine will see that as proof that your site is growing, and it will increase your ranking in the search queue.
Additionally, if you’re putting up new content, make sure you do it on a schedule. Whether you’re running a blog, a video channel, a how-to series of articles, or a web comic, readers like knowing when updates are going to happen. Regularity and reliability are more important than brilliance, which is why updating every Friday will get you better results than putting up sublime content with weeks or months of silence in the interim.
5. Make Sure Your Site Is Device-Friendly
We live in a world of high-speed Internet, but connection speed and processing power still vary wildly. Not only that, but different people access the Internet through different means. Some still use a desktop computer, others prefer laptops, and still others will use smartphones and tablets. So it’s important to be sure your site will properly display on any device someone uses to access it, otherwise you’ll be shutting out an entire segment of the browsing population.
Also, it’s a good idea to make sure your site will display quickly, and smoothly. If you have high-resolution photographs, or a dense video on the homepage, it might be a good idea to change those features so your page can display quickly. Patience is in short supply among viewers, and if your site takes too long to load they’re likely to click the back button.
6. Use Pictures
While too many high-definition pictures can slow your website down, that doesn’t mean you should resort to using plain text to get your points across. Pictures arrest people’s attention, and they make it more likely they’ll stop and read what’s on your site. Additionally, pictures on your page will show up when you post on social media, giving you a double incentive to make sure you have eye-catching images on your site.
7. Build Your Backlinks
Backlinks are not the end-all, be-all feature they once were, but they are still important when it comes to your website’s search engine ranking and your visibility. That’s why you should consider guest posting on other websites, and including links to your website in all the content you create. Over time, those links can have a big effect on your overall traffic.
This is only the beginning. If you’re ready to drive more traffic, contact us for a complete marketing strategy.
