It doesn't matter how much time you invest in creating the perfect website if no one sees it.
That's why today we're looking at the five best ways to get more visitors to your site to increase its value and that of your blog. It gets a little more detailed in places; if you're short on time, just read the summary.
If you want to know more about website traffic and how SEO works, read our previous article: search-engine-placement-only-ranked-among-the-top-10
1 → Invest in search engine advertising (SEA)
SEA (Search Engine Advertising, not to be confused with SEO) is definitely the fastest way to increase your website traffic, so let's start there. The term SEM (Search Engine Marketing) is often used in this context.
SEA simply means that you place online ads that then appear in search queries on the Internet. SEA is highly efficient. Here are a few statistics to prove it:
- 19 % of entrepreneurs are likely to increase their SEM budget by more than 50 % in the next year
- In 2017, the SEM budget - in Europe alone - increased by 12 %
- Google AdWords results (buying keywords) get 65 % of clicks, while organic results only get 35 % (Source: Craig McConel)
- On average, 41 % of people click on the top 3 paid ads on the search results page (Source: Wordstream)
- Search ads can increase brand awareness by 80 %. (google)
The most common forms of SEM are PPC (pay-per-click) and Google AdWords. The two main advantages are that a) you only pay when people actually click on them; and b) you can target selected groups of people.
The disadvantage is that SEM can quickly become very expensive. This mainly depends on your industry and your competition. The price of a Google AdWord is largely determined by the number of people who want it, so if your business deals with more unusual topics, SEM could be the best decision for you.
SummarySearch Engine Marketing is the fastest way to increase your visitor numbers. You place ads in the search engine. The most common forms of SEM are Pay-Per-Click and Google Adwords. They are both very effective, the disadvantage already mentioned is that it costs money.
2 → Invest in social media advertising (SMM)
SMM, social media marketing, is becoming increasingly popular. However, as with your website, it is not enough to simply be present; you also need to be active in the social media environment in order to be found and stay ahead of your competitors.
- In 2015, Facebook influenced 52 % of consumers when shopping online and offline
- 'Clicking on links' accounts for about 92 % of all user interactions with tweets
- By the end of 2018, the number of marketers sharing video content via LinkedIn is expected to increase to 60 %.
The main advantages of social media advertising are:
- Higher sales
- Better integration in the communication of social media participants ('Likes')
- Getting to know the customers
- Increased brand awareness
- Increased ROI.
Social media is very powerful as an advertising platform, especially because it appeals to customers' personal relationships with one another. Comments, reviews, 'likes' and shared content are of immense importance in marketing.
Social media ads also have to be paid for, but they are usually cheaper than search engine ads and valuable for increasing your traffic.
Facebook, for example, has two billion active users. The advantages of Facebook advertising are:
- It is affordable
- You have a wide audience to choose from, but you can also choose to address only certain groups of people
- 'Retargeting' is very efficient on Facebook (i.e. the visitor is also targeted with personalized advertising on other websites).
The disadvantages are:
- Low organic reach (the number of people on whose screen unpaid posts from you are displayed). The lifespan of a link is not very long; if you want to be seen on Facebook, you have to pay.
- Advertising on Facebook requires constant monitoring and adjustment of advertising campaigns.
- It is time-consuming.
SummarySocial media is a very efficient way to advertise and increase your traffic. The best thing about it is the communication between social media participants: comments, reviews and 'likes' have a similar meaning to word of mouth in the real world.
3 → Invest in your content
Content marketing is definitely the most profitable way in the long term to increase your visitor numbers, raise your brand awareness and establish yourself as an expert in your field in the eyes of customers.
More and more companies are recognizing this and are increasingly focusing on content. The demands of users are therefore constantly increasing. If you are able to create useful, relevant and unique content (see 'https://digital-now.com/6-tips-um-guten-content-zu-erstellen'), you will reap the associated benefits:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Strong and lasting relationships with your customers
- Be perceived as an expert
- Increase your ROI
- Increase the number of returning visitors (conversion rate).
Focus on creating good content for your website and blog, but also for the most important social media channels. This advertising is free for your company.
Sure: it takes a lot of time to plan and create content. You may even have to hire - or commission - someone to do it. But: your entire online marketing stands or falls with good or bad content.
Summary: Content marketing (creating good content that is valuable for the customer) is the be-all and end-all of your entire online marketing. It takes time, but offers many advantages that other forms of advertising cannot offer (e.g. expert image). When done right, content marketing is the key to driving traffic to your website.
4 → Invest in search engine optimization (SEO)
To get as much traffic as possible to your website, don't rely on advertising alone. SEO (search engine optimization) is becoming increasingly popular and for good reasons:
- Websites that appear in the top three search results usually stay there for a long time.
- A high ranking puts you one step ahead of your competition
- SEO is much cheaper than SEA
- SEO brings a better return than SEA
- SEO constantly brings in new customers; SEA only when it is activated.
When it comes to SEO, you have to think and act at least in the medium term, better in the long term. That's the downside of SEO: a lot of work; a lot of time! You can't achieve significant results in SEO overnight, so you have to work on it constantly. 'Trial and error' is the rule here. But: SEO is always worth it.
SummaryA high ranking, a good search engine placement is one of the best ways to bring new customers to your website. It makes sense to invest in SEO. SEO is a long-term strategy; one downside is that it can take time to achieve good results.
5 → Focus on the user experience
Many website operators make the mistake of focusing only on their product and service; not on the 'feel-good factor' that their website brings to the visitor. This can best be compared to a neatly furnished store as opposed to a dull 'shop window'.
Even if you manage to get a large number of visitors through advertising and social media integration... if visitors don't see any value in your website for themselves, they will leave without further ado.
And this is much easier than in the real world: the competition is just a click away. So the modern, discerning user sees no reason to waste time on a website that is difficult to use, doesn't work on their cell phone and/or doesn't provide any useful, relevant, new information.
For optimum user-friendliness, please note the following:
- Write unique, relevant and useful content
- Make sure that the website loads quickly (little but efficient source code).
- Even if the page is already loaded, it must be very responsive, as more and more people are using mobile devices for surfing (no Flash, no frames, etc.).
- Keep the design minimalist and easy to understand
- Link internally to relevant articles and parts of the website
- Do not use annoying pop-ups and push advertising techniques.
So if you manage to give your visitors - regardless of your product - real or perceived added value on your site, your visitor numbers will increase all by themselves over time. You should therefore always keep the 'user experience' aspect in mind when revising or adding new content.
SummaryThe 'user experience' conveyed - regardless of your offer - is an aspect that should not be underestimated. This includes all perceived factors such as loading time, responsiveness, design, clarity and high-quality, useful content. Generating a good user experience costs just as much as a bad one, but definitely brings more visitors to your site.
For further questions, ... contact us! - We always have the answers!
