Robyn Rivera
Every website needs traffic. Without it, there’s very little point in having a website in the first place. But, it’s important to realize that not all website traffic is made equal.
Driving traffic to your website is important, but ultimately, you want your website visitors to eventually become leads and customers. To get conversions, you need to drive the right kind of traffic to your website.
The two main avenues for driving traffic to your website are paid advertising and organic content marketing.
Create a 30-second commercial to run on digital TV. This is called OTT (over-the-top) advertising, and it’s become a key digital marketing channel for modern small businesses.
Let’s face it, more and more people are watching TV by streaming it on a Roku or an Xbox, making OTT advertising an effective way to get views on your ad. Plus, OTT ads aren’t skippable, making them even more valuable.
Video is an excellent format for sharing your story and creating emotional connections, and since OTT advertising allows for pinpoint targeting, you can make sure that you get your ads in front of the right audience.
Just as search advertising is an effective way to get in front of people actively searching for keywords related to your products or services, it can also be used to connect with people searching specifically for your brand.
By running brand search ads, you can take up more real estate on the SERP (search engine results page) and better control the messaging.
Not everyone who lands on your website will be ready to make a purchase or book a service the first time they’re exposed to your message, even if they are a high-quality prospect. In fact, it can take up to seven times for a prospect to convert!
By running retargeting ads (also called remarketing ads), you can reintroduce your message to prospects who have previously landed on your website without converting.
Since retargeting ads are targeted to only people who have already responded positively to your message in the past, they tend to have a higher ROI and conversion rate than other types of campaigns.
Most product searches, as well as local business searches, start on a search engine, like Google or Bing. When someone is searching for keywords related to your business, you want to make sure that you show up.
It takes time to rank organically for your best keywords, but with search ads, you can start ranking at the top of page one of the search results right away.
Run ads for more specific, long-tail keywords for the best bang for your buck, and limit your ads to only people in your area if you’re locally based.
Social media is more than just about fostering social connections. It’s become one of the main places people go when they want to find new brands or products. Plus, it’s where people spend the majority of their time online these days.
Running ads on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms popular with your audience is a great way to get your name out there and build brand awareness. Make the most of your social media advertising budget by targeting users based on their demographics, like age, location, interests, etc.
Having an active presence on the social media platforms popular with your customer base is incredibly important these days. Posting regularly on your timelines shows that you’re active and helps you build strong connections with people in your community.
The best part about posting on social media is that it’s free! And, every time someone likes, shares or comments on your posts, more and more people are likely to see it. You can also increase your visibility by adding hashtags to your posts.
Pro tip: If you’ve got the budget, consider boosting your posts. Boosting gets your posts in front of a much wider audience.
High-quality website traffic isn’t necessarily new website traffic. In fact, some of your best customers won’t be new customers at all. It’s your existing, loyal customers who are likely to spend more money and tell more people about your brand.
Email marketing helps you stay top of mind with existing customers, while also helping you nurture leads into customers. Send out a monthly email will ensure that yours is the first brand your leads and customers think of when they need your services or products.
When someone is searching for keywords related to your brand, services or products, you want to make sure that your website shows up on the first page of the search results. You also want to take up as much real estate as possible on that page.
Creating keyword-rich content for your website and blog will help your website rank for the best keywords for your brand. The best part is that every organic click you get is totally free.
Pro tip: When you run paid ads alongside your organic content marketing efforts, it can actually help you rank higher organically. Plus, you’ll take up more space on the page.
Ranking for near-me searches is the first step to an effective local marketing strategy. In order to rank high on Google Maps and near-me searches, you need to have an optimized and active Google Business Profile.
Too often, local businesses create a great Google Business Profile that they never touch again. You’ll get much better results if you stay active and post on your Google Business Profile regularly.
This is the perfect place to post updates about your business and answer common questions prospective customers have.
Pro tip: Get reviews! Google prioritizes Google Business Profiles with lots of reviews and a high average star rating.
Engage on social media with other people’s content in your community or in your particular target audience. Like their content, leave comments and engage with people who are posting content related to your brand or industry.
The more active your brand is on social media, the more people are likely to see you on social media, follow you and eventually come to your website.
The best part of this particular strategy is that you don’t actually have to create any content yourself. All you have to do is interact with content others have created.
Building a beautiful, modern website is just the first step. Learn how the Marketing 360® platform can help you drive high-quality traffic to your website and grow your business. See our plans and pricing.
Originally published on Marketing 360