What Brings Visitors to Your Website?
Building a website is one of the most crucial elements to a small businessâs success. It serves as the basis for creating an online presence and expanding your business. But it has no value if no one goes there. How then can we encourage visitors to visit your website?
Itâs challenging to determine what is and isnât bringing visitors to your website while youâre busy producing fresh blog posts, updating social media, and planning new email campaigns.
So, what can we do? Letâs look below for some answers.
Great Content is good, but we really need to know what topics people are searching for. Which do you think comes first?
Write Topics People Are Searching For.
The only way to know what topics your readers are looking for is to know your audience and then use keywords relevant to your niche. But before we think about keyword research we should know who our readers are.
Many of us who are digital marketers believe we understand our customer base and demographics. We believe that we can connect with and attract these website visitors. But do we really know them and how do we know them?
We do have tools like Google Analytics that help discover who our readers are. But if you truly know your niche and are interacting with them on social media, that will give you a firmer understanding of who they are.
Where do your readers socialize on the web? where do they work on the web? For example, the Z generation has different ways they interact on different social platforms. i.e.; see belowâŠ
360 Billion in Disposable Income.
One of our favorite generational groups we love to poke fun at are the âZoomersâ. But you will be doing yourself out of a huge market if you dismiss the Gen Zâers.
Business Insider estimates there are 68 million people in this demographic alone in the U.S. with a disposable income of $360 billion dollars. That is 20% of the market.
These guys and Gals are the first digitally aware native generation. So you canât approach this market the same as older demographics.
Gen Zâers demand ( yep they are more demanding) brands understand the different ways they use social media.
Content is still numero uno but you have to get the right content for each channel.
First off our Zoomers spend 4.5 hours a day on average on their smartphones. So your website has to be optimized for cell phones.
And studies by wiser people than me have found that they use YouTube for content creation, Tik Tok for fun, Instagram for fashion updates, Facebook for family because Mum and Dad use it and Snap Chat to share their daily stuff.
So it would be best if you refined your messages to make personalized content.
Once we believe we know our audience we need to make sure they can find us.
Make Your Website Findable.
Getting your website noticed by Google is the prerequisite for others to be able to find it. And it is not always easy. One of the best ways to get noticed by Google is to use the right Keywords.
Google doesnât only take note of quality websites. It identifies pertinent web pages that are most appropriate for a given search. And it uses keywords to help. Let me explain further.
Users enter keywords into search engines to find content that is pertinent to their query. Because keywords are derived from search queries, including them in your content strategy will assist visitors to locate your material when they are seeking it and for search engines to rank your website pages.
For Example:
And an answer.
So my keywords were âThe Best Affiliate Siteâ and then Google supplied the answer.
Find out more about âKeywordsâ in my blog âWhy are Focus Keywords Important for SEOâ
Once your audience has found your website you must make sure you have great content.
How to Write High-Quality Website Content.
Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, or Google E-E-A-T, is one of the standards it employs to determine whether your information is worthwhile to users. They do it to shield users from poor-quality stuff.
Google E-E-A-T has the potential to influence your position in Googleâs âSERPsâ even if it is not formally a ranking criterion. The sites that Google displays in response to a search query are known as search engine research pages. For instance, the âanswerâ to âBest Affiliate Siteâ
Now we know what Google is looking for, how do we do it?
Great Headlines and Lead-in Phrases.
There is a lot to learn about producing web copy, whether youâre a novice writer or a seasoned one. The first line is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of drawing readers in. Just like fishing, you need to find a hook that your audience is interested in. You only have a few seconds to hook your fish and readers are even more fickle.
A Good headline should;
- Summarize the topic: Outline the topic without giving away the âpunch lineâ
- Be emotionally compelling: When possible, use powerful words to enliven a headline. Examples include the terms âcomprehensive,â âguaranteed,â âinstantly,â or âfree.â Power phrases that inspire readers to act by evoking excitement are the most potent.
- Simple to understand: help your reader understand the main point of the message.
- Be the Right Length: Neither too long nor too short. In reality, it appears that headlines between 80 and 100 characters, or 14 and 18 words, perform the best. At least, that is what Outbrain study suggests.
- Use targeted headlines: Donât use your headline to try to get everyoneâs attention. Concentrate only on readers who can relate emotionally to the subject or concept you are writing about. Youâre attempting to deliver a particular message to your intended audience about one thing, donât try to include too many different ideas in your headline, And donât try to target too many different people.
- Be Honest: Do not sell something in the headline that canât be found in the content. (No Clickbait)
Experts say you have a winner when someone reading your headline can easily repeat it to a friend from memory.
Engage Your Audience with Great Content.
Create shareable, useful content that meets the demands of your target audience. If youâre creating blog entries, films, or infographics, concentrate on adding value, addressing issues, and offering original ideas.
High-quality content draws readers and motivates them to spread it around, expanding your audience. Unfortunately, MIT Sloan Management Review recently determined that 97% of websites fail to provide a positive customer experience. The result is that only 3% of websites passed the test. That in itself is frightening. The issues related to text legibility and the usage of space for the topicâs natural information flows.
Despite the fact that these issues are simple to correct, the authors let their audience down by being âshoddyâ at the fundamentals. So the first thing is to get the basics right.
1. Legibility is the lowest level consideration in content for writing but has the highest effect. If your text is not legible, it will not be read. There are increasing numbers now using mobile phones to surf the internet. Make sure your text is big enough for your mobile readers.
2. Space is an important visual design tool that helps identify groups of related content and separates it from unrelated content.
Another basic issue we tend to forget is the readability level of your audience. This is where your knowledge of your audience can be a great help to guide you. If you do not know, use the average age of readability as laid out by the âCenter for plain languageâ which puts it between grade 7 and grade 8. In the UK, the central government encourages content writers to aim for a readability level of age nine. Donât use language that your readers will not understand.
Read more about writing great website content here at âTips to Writing Great Website Contentâ
Build a Content Strategy.
Content needs to be planned. While there is an opportunity for impromptu topics, stick to an overall strategy that reflects your long-term objectives.
Planning material in advance provides you the chance to investigate and select the subjects that will improve search engine placements. Plan ahead and select themes that are appropriate for your audience. These objectives should flow from your marketing strategy, which can include the following:
1. Improve exposure and brand recognition.
2. Boost search results.
3. Increase organic traffic.
4. Transform leads into recurring customers.
In light of this, improve your content planning approach or create one if you donât already have one. SEO research identifies pertinent subjects, emerging trends, and popular keywords. Popular keywords will return more search results. Use these resources to create a content strategy that is appropriate for your long-term objectives.
Itâs easier than you might think to produce content that readers truly want to read. Find out what your target audience is looking for, then use that information to produce content that shows up in the search results.
Google Trends, Quora, and Linkedin are all great sites where you can find information that will help you build your content strategy.
Make use of Social Media
Harness the power of social media platforms to promote your website and engage with your audience. Create business profiles on popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
A good place to start your goal of increasing traffic to your website is by choosing the best-suited social media platform for the job. So which is the best social media platform to drive traffic to your website? Well, it depends on your demographic as we saw with the look at âZoomersâ However Facebook still seems to be a very popular choice.
- Optimize for social sharing: The number 1 piece of advice is to add social sharing buttons to your site. It is an expected part of modern web design, This saves cutting and pasting from and into URLâs.
- Use hashtags: Hashtags allow social media users to find and engage with content related to common themes or interests and also help content reach more people and be discovered by users all across the world.
- Leverage influencers: Influencers can be used in a variety of ways to increase site traffic, and they are more reachable than most people realize.
Influencers can be paid to post about your company, products, and links on social media, or you can provide them with free products in exchange for a frank evaluation on their channels. Additionally, make an effort to forge connections with influential bloggers so they can promote your company on their blogs. - Run paid advertising campaigns. Find out more at âUsing Social Media for Business Marketingâ
- Cross-promote your social media channels
- Post on your social accounts often and regularly.
- Post content that links to your website.
Online Directories
Do you want Google to take notice of your website? You may make profiles on a ton of internet platforms and add your website there. The more locations you list your company and provide a link to your website, the more likely it is that people will choose you over your rivals. To be listed, go to these places:
- Yelp
- My Business on Google
- And moreâŠ
Final Thoughts.
These are quite a few ways you can help get readers and potential customers to your website. And once they are reading your content you want to grab their interest. They probably didnât stumble onto your stuff by mistake. They were probably looking for some type of solution. The buyerâs journey should naturally include content given that, according to one study, about 65% of consumers said they did âsignificant amountsâ of research before making a purchase. There are three separate phases in the buyerâs journey, during which the customer:
1. Recognizes a problem.
2. Identifies the problem and possible fixes.
3. Selects a course of action.
Whether they are looking for an answer, a realization, or even to make a final purchase, your material should ensure each visitor finds what they are looking for. And if you incorporate the above you will have more chances of helping a new reader become a new customer.
Steve.
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