Tricks and Tools to Boost Your Website’s Traffic
Website owners can too quickly get caught up in the rush of trying to gain traffic and increase revenue only to realize one important thing.
Often all it takes is to step back and look at what your target audience really wants. Not sure what I mean? Take a look at influencer Neil Patel’s words on the subject:
“Don’t sweat the technical stuff. Think of conversion optimization as the process of making a new friend at a bar. Or, if you don’t like bars, think about the Girl Scouts who sell cookies at your local grocery store every February. Their key selling point? Those kids know how to convince their target customers to buy.”
In other words, building traffic and revenue should take the form of a conversation. As writers, we can take these words to heart. Only then can you build your personal brand. Keeping Neil’s sage words in mind, let’s dive into a few tricks and tools that will help you boost your website’s traffic and revenue – without sweating it.
4 Steps to Boost Your Website’s Traffic
#1: Reach Out to Other Influencers
Even the most compelling content won’t be found if it’s in a silo. The first step to bringing readers to your personal brand and your content is to reach beyond the scope of your own site. Research the influencers in your niche and take the time to reach out to them.
For example, you can begin your search by finding the top 10 sites in your niche. They most likely have links and affiliates with dozens of other sites and brands, so just by starting with the first ten you are sure to have a wealth of influencer information on your hands. Just make sure you stay organized with this information from the beginning!
#2: Publish Content Outside Your Own Site
Building links is a surefire way to boost your SEO. Remember those connections with other influencers? Email them a content idea and ask if you can write something for their site in exchange for a backlink to your own site. This will build organic reach and your SEO ranking.
For example, let’s say you run a site that focuses on ideas and trends for digital nomads. Since your goal is to connect with traveling freelancers all over the world, you can reach out to sites focused on everything from coworking spaces to software tools for remote workers. Make sure you make your pitch unique and specific – fit it to the focus of the site you’re reaching out to.
#3: Engage With Followers on Social Media
As many as 95% of millennials engage with brands via social media. You shouldn’t be the exception! If you don’t already have a social media presence, consider dedicating a few hours each week to building your following and engaging with readers across several platforms – with links back to your site of course.
For example: Start by using a social media management tool like HootSuite to stay on top of daily social media content, or a more advanced tool like Sprout Social to engage with your audience and assess how well your social media efforts are performing. You have to get strategic with social media if you want it to start boosting your website’s traffic.
#4: Don’t Be Afraid to Advertise
Depending on your niche, it may make sense to turn to paid advertising (through social media or PPC on Google). Spend time experimenting whether paid search or boosted social media posts work best for your brand. Be careful to measure results as you go to make sure you’re getting a good return on investment.
A good way to do this is to familiarize yourself with AdWords, the only way to advertise on the world’s most popular search engine. The platform features a research tool that lets you find specific long tail keywords for your site. Once you have a good understanding of the best keywords for your niche, you can set a daily budget (even a small one!) and run a couple of ads at once. You’ll only pay for the advertising if users actually click through to your website.
3 Tools to Boost Your Website’s Traffic and Revenue
To put these steps into action, you’ll need a repertoire of software tools. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
#1: Moz
Moz offers free and paid SEO tools, ranging from rank tracking to backlink opportunity research. It can be your best friend in starting a backlink campaign.
#2: AB Tasty
As you can guess from the name, this software tool focuses on gaining converted followers. With a user-friendly visual editor, users can improve UX and gain more newsletter subscriptions!
#3: AdWords
The advertising platform from Google makes keyword research and PPC campaigns straightforward even for new users. You can use it to increase paid traffic to your site.
Still not sure where to start? You can check out a host of other software tools designed to help websites boost traffic and revenue on review sites.
**About the Author: Brooklin Nash writes about the latest tools and small business trends for TrustRadius. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading YA dystopian fiction (with guilty pleasure) and cooking.
