So you launched a new website and now you are realizing that the web design company salesman was feeding you a line when he said that a new website would make your phone ring off the hook. Maybe you saw one of those commercials from Wix or another company talking about launching a website or a Facebook page and how your business would be flooded with customers and now you are wondering why this isn’t happening. The answer is pretty simple, because nobody is finding it. For some reason, a lot of business owners think that they will simply put a new website online and magically people will find it and start calling, but you must ask yourself if that is a realistic way of looking at things. Ask yourself if you have ever accidentally stumbled across a website and became a customer? The answer is probably no, because it is almost impossible to “stumble” across anything on the internet. You find things online because paths are set up from you to that website or social media profile. So how do you get that traffic to find your website?
There are really only about three ways that people find business websites online, links from other sites, social media and search engines. All three can function as a method to get people to find your website, and some will function better than others to convert that traffic into customers. Simply having a website will not drive traffic, so you are going to have to be pro-active at making traffic happen. This means that you are going to need to promote your website and business within the spaces that can easily lead to your website. Things like billboards and television commercials are notoriously bad at driving traffic to a website because it is not an easy process for people to get there. They ae used to just clicking something, and will not be as open to typing in an address unless there is something very valuable on the other end. For this purpose, lets talk about the three main ways that traffic finds your website, starting with links.
Links From Other Websites
People click through links on other websites if they believe there is something valuable at the other end. This can be more information on a topic they are researching, or an offer that they cannot refuse. You are going to need to think about what is worth someone’s time to click through to you, and position that offer in the appropriate place on your website. If you would not click through yourself, chances are that nobody else will either. You will also need to think about where you are going to position that offer or content. It will have to be a place where a lot of your potential customers are going, and that very well might cost you money to put your link there. Nobody who runs a popular website is going to give their space away to you for free. Anything else may exist, but it will probably not drive much traffic.
Social Media
Social media is a powerful way to get a message to people who think alike, because people tend to have friends that are interested in the same things as them. This means that you will either need to use the paid ads on social media to reach these groups, or you will need to work on building a following on your own social media profiles by providing great content. Remember that people will not follow you just because you exist, you will need to offer them a reason to follow you. Also remember that people do not like to exit that platform by clicking links. This means that paid ads will work better if you lead them to a profile for your business on that platform, and not to your website.
Search Engines
This is probably the most effective way to drive traffic to a website, because people are pro-actively searching for the things you sell in order to find your listing. You can use the paid versions of search engines to place ads on specific search phrases and drive customers to your site that way, but keep in mind that each click is going to cost you money and you will need a lot of clicks to convert into a single customer. Conversion rates on ecommerce sites are usually less than 3%, and many times are less than 1%. PPC can get expensive really fast if it is all you rely on. SEO is the other method of driving traffic through search engines. This is done by presenting yourself as the authority on a topic that customers are looking for information about. Using text and graphics on your website that Google recognizes as important for these people can build your authority on that topic, and make Google push you higher in the results. Getting links from other websites that are not paid for will also help this process. Done right, SEO can drive a ton of traffic for a good price, but you will probably see no return at all on your investment until you reach page one for good search phrases. This can take months or even years for competitive phrases.
If you would like help with any of these traffic driving methods, contact Big Bulldog SEO at 702-767-4637.
