How can you drive website traffic for your small business?

In the digitally advancing world, every small business owner aims at attracting more traffic for their website, and tries to convert them into actual purchases. The most common hurdle small business owners or entrepreneurs face is not related to setting up or creating a website, but driving traffic for their website. It may not be an overnight process, but selecting the right tool is of prime importance.

Not every small business has sufficient capital or funds to spend on running huge marketing campaigns. Investing the adequate amount of capital in the right direction, according to the budget allocated, may prove beneficial to engage new customers. It is paramount to expect a great return from the website. It is becoming difficult to get noticed in the crowded network. If you are successful in driving and processing conversions of the traffic, you can churn a satisfactory quantum of profits.

This article will outline the best ways to increase the quality traffic to your website, which may help you save a lot of effort, time, and money.

What is website traffic?

It is said that website traffic determines the success of the business. But what exactly does website traffic mean, or include? Simply put, It refers to the number of users visiting the website. Once you understand the traffic, you can identify the ways to improve the different aspects of business and facilitate growth.

Why drive website traffic?

It is an important indicator for your business to grow. It can reap benefits in the following ways:

• Assessing your marketing strategy.
• Knowing your audience well.
• Improving search engine reliability.
• Generating new leads and increasing the conversion.

Ways to drive website traffic

Once you are aware of the areas of traffic, you can use relevant marketing techniques optimally. You can scale the efforts efficiently, once you know where your traffic arises from. Here are some effective ways to ensure an increase in organic traffic to your website.

1. Create an attractive website

When you create a website which is captivating and easy to navigate, it helps in engaging the customers. It should be accessible by everybody, and user-friendly as well. It should support the mobile view also. Ensure proper categorisation of the products and services. Every small detail on the website should be supported by a brief description to clinch clarity. It should motivate the visitors to explore the whole website. Make sure that the website is technically optimised, and loads fast.

2. Selecting the right marketing channel

Not every method or channel of marketing may apply to your business. After conducting research and knowing your target audience, you should select the marketing channel which is the best fit for you. It helps in captivating new customers, and retains the existing ones. The marketing manager should have full control over the channel, and change the strategies as and when required. You may also go for paid promotions if your budget permits so. There are many pocket-friendly promotion tools available; for instance, Facebook ads can be used for 1$ per day. Monitor the advertisement costs on social media.

3. Use of social media

Approximately 365 million people in India are actively using the internet, and the number is estimated to grow shortly. The majority of these use different types of social media platforms. So, every company needs to have a solid social media presence. With the use of social media, a small business can promote their products and services effectively. A proactive approach for social media marketing helps in customer engagement and conversion of leads in actual purchases and sales. To create brand awareness, one must undertake various techniques for their customers, such as offers, giveaways, contests, etc. Influencer marketing can also be adopted to fascinate a large group of people.

4. Curate engaging content

We all are aware of the fact that content is king. Small businesses must invest the necessary resources in curating appealing content. It may be in the form of articles, blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts, vlogs, eBooks, etc. The format of the content should be decided beforehand, and should serve all the type of audiences. Make proper utilisation of videos and graphics which seems enchanting. The headline should be compelling, and the content should be updated from time to time.

5. Email marketing

People tend to forget the power of email marketing in recent times. One should not miss upon the traditional methods, as it has proven to be a powerful tool, and acts as a reminder of the brand to the customers. It is a cost-effective tool which may help in promoting new products and services to your probable, as well as existing customers.

6. Focus on analytics

Google Analytics will help small businesses design their promotional strategies. The needs, tastes, and preferences of the visitors can be known, and changes can be made in the current offerings of the business. You can track the posts and pages which are frequently visited, or those not visited at all. It helps in analysing the source of traffic.

7. Be responsive and available to your customers

The more responsive you are, the more your customers will be satisfied. Respond and answer to the queries and complaints of your customers, along with taking the necessary efforts to resolve them. Your website should have FAQs that help the customer when they are stuck. Be active in the comment sections of your social media accounts.

8. Building links

The process of creating a link at a point to your website from another website is known as a backlink. With the help of creating backlinks, the customers will be able to reach your website easily when they are surfing through some other one. Build relationships with other brands, and work in collaboration. You can also place testimonials on the website to enhance your credibility.

9. SEO

Search engine optimisation is an integral part of the digital marketing technique. It helps to increase the quality and quantity of visitors or customers through search engine results. This helps in driving more people to your website, and increases conversions. It also ensures loyal customers, and an increase in authority.

10. User-friendly mobile application

Build a user-friendly mobile application that should be in coordination with the company’s website. It must be easy to understand and confirm the guidelines. It should serve the same purpose as that of your website. It should consist of attractive posts and content.

11. The keyword manoeuvre

Gone are those days when one keyword was sufficient. Small business owners should ensure the use of multiple long-tail keywords and phrases. They should be user-focused, and match the specific keywords. Create some unique hashtags, and use them wherever and whenever possible. There are many free tools available for identifying the important keywords which help in locating the website easily.

Conclusion

Thus, we can conclude that an increase in visitors will not happen overnight, it takes some effort. But if you focus on attracting the right customers for your website, you can convert them easily. Do not let the competition affect your decisions to drive traffic. Follow the strategies and tips mentioned above, and it will become easier for any small business to practically implement them for increasing the organic traffic.

Also read:

1) How to Advertise a Small Business? Some cost effective ideas
2) Which affordable digital marketing course is best for a startup and small business owners?
3) How Influencer Marketing Can Help Small Businesses?
4) How To Do Planning & Manage An Online Business?

FAQs

Q. What are the different ways to measure website traffic?

Ans. Website traffic can be measured in different ways which include:

• The number of visits across a period.
• Rate or percentage of people purchasing the products.
• Identifying the channels from where the traffic arises.
• Assessing the bounce rates.

Q. What is a bounce rate?

Ans. Bounce rate refers to the rate which shows the number of visitors who close the website after visiting a single page. They do not move to other pages on the website.

Q. How can you monitor and evaluate your website traffic?

Ans. The most commonly used tool for monitoring and evaluating the website traffic for any business organisation is Google Analytics.

Q. What is organic traffic?

Ans. Organic traffic relates to the increase in visitors for a specific website, along with improvement in the conversion rates.

Q. What are the channels to drive organic traffic to your website?

Ans. The various channels to drive organic traffic to your website includes:

• Email
• Social media
• Online advertisements
• Blogs
• Directory listings (online)
• SEO, etc.