According to a study by research firm Clutch.co, 36% of small businesses do not have a website, which is amazing in today’s internet age, especially when 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. Many small business owners, however, understand the importance of having a website because potential buyers rely on Google and other search engines to seek the products, services, and information they crave. Finding your business online is an important reason to have a website, but it’s not the only one:

• A website helps establish authority and credibility to buyers by showcasing your testimonials and reviews

• A website provides perpetual information, saving you and your staff time from repeating this information to prospects and customers

• A website acts as your digital employee, on call 24/7, always available to help and guide visitors (and without the added costs of salary, benefits, and phone plans)

• A website helps to show your company story, values, team and personality

While these benefits are undeniable, they are only realized when visitors actually find your website. Launching a new website or blog for your business is an exciting time, but it doesn't mean visitors will start flocking to your site overnight.  Even having an established website for years doesn’t guarantee the results you want.

Don't fret though. There are ways to increase traffic, regardless if your site is brand new, or has been around for a while.

BELOW ARE FIVE STEPS YOU CAN START IMPLEMENTING RIGHT AWAY:

1. Create Blog Content

Google rewards websites that consistently publish new, relevant content. That is why business blogs are so popular today. But there is a reality check here—a flood of new people will not visit your website simply because your business started a blog. Instead, do some reverse engineering. Use Google Analytics or other website analytic tools to understand the keywords that currently bring visitors to your website. You should then create your new content (blog posts) using those keywords, assuming they are relevant to your industry or business. The density of keywords on your website will increase and result in more visitors. A word of caution though: Do not “keyword stuff” your posts, which can hurt your SEO (search engine optimization). Focus on 1-2 keywords per post.

Post relevant and quality content, unique to your audience. How often should you post? People are busy, so they probably can’t keep up with daily or weekly posts. Instead, focus on quality over quantity. Provide them with valuable information that helps in some way. Does your post offer a solution to their problem? Make each post count.

Promote your posts on social media, include in your email marketing, post to social bookmarking sites like Reddit, Flipboard, or Digg, and contribute to social groups, communities, and forums.

2. Take Advantage of Email Marketing

An effective way to drive traffic to your website is by implementing an email marketing strategy. Sending value-providing newsletters or mass emails can grab the attention of prospects and customers. The content within your email should call potential buyers to take the next step, which oftentimes is sending them to your website to read your blog, gather more information or contact you.

Do not overwhelm readers with too many choices or call-to-actions within your newsletters or e-blasts. Send one email with one goal, such as linking to your latest blog post. Your email subject line should be compelling so the chances of readers opening your emails improve greatly.

3. Implement On-Page SEO Tactics

What exactly is SEO? As defined by Moz, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results. What does this mean? In short, SEO is a set of tactics used to increase your chances of being found by search engine “bots”. These “bots” scan almost every site on the internet and index them for the search results. Google and Bing want to display the most relevant information to their online users, so it’s important to implement these strategies into your website if you want your website to display for specific search phrases.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO) IS A SET OF TACTICS USED TO INCREASE THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE THROUGH ORGANIC SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS.

Optimizing your website for search engine results comes in many forms. Steps include implementing long-tail keywords into your content, and improving site and page titles, meta descriptions and image alt tags. The alt tag of any image on your site should describe what's on it. Google provides best practices for use of images on websites. Other good practices include having sound URL structure and creating internal links to new content. All of these tactics are called On-Page SEO, also known as On-Site SEO. These are tasks that can be implemented directly within a website. Talk to a digital marketing agency or SEO firm if you’re not comfortable executing these tasks on your own.

An entire book could be written about SEO, but these tips will get you started.

4. Get Listed on Other Sites and Platforms

Leverage the popularity of other websites and platforms so that others can find your business. Creating and managing a business page on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow other users to learn about your offerings.

Additionally, create profiles on leading purchasing and referral platforms such as Yelp and Angie’s List. Businesses who cater to local customers should create profiles on local listings and directories. A digital marketing company can provide a quick solution by listing and maintaining your business profiles simultaneously with many local directories.

5. Buy Online Ads

Before buying advertising on Google or social media channels like Facebook define your strategy. Are you looking to increase your website traffic only? Or do you also want to increase conversions once they land on your site? Each objective has a different strategy.

There are pros and cons to each paid channel—and more times than not you will have to test different campaigns to learn what is working and what is not. Like most marketing efforts you will have to give it some time to learn what your money is doing for you. PPC (pay-per-click) and lead generation ad campaigns should run at least three months to properly analyze costs and the associated results, such as clicks, impressions, and conversions.

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If you need help implementing any of these strategies or if you have questions about your site’s current performance (or you need a website), contact us for a free consultation today. Upward Digital Marketing Group provides online marketing services for small to mid-sized businesses via website design & strategy, email marketing, search engine optimization, reputation management, video & content creation, and digital marketing consulting.

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Dental Network Group member, Upward Digital Marketing Group, provides online marketing services for small to mid-sized businesses via website design & strategy, email marketing, search engine optimization, reputation management, online listings, video & content creation, and digital marketing consulting. Contact us today to learn more.