Try these 7 Ways To Increase Web Traffic whenever you publish your expert content on the Internet. You write to attract attention, offer useful information, and increase your readership. How devastated will you be if no-one sees it?
Imagine the nightmare of arriving at a venue, to deliver your best and most polished speech, only to find the place is all but deserted. Apart from someone snoozing in the back row, there’s nobody there. You’re talking to an empty room.
That’s exactly what happens when your web content doesn’t connect with readers.
Some basic tips
There are plenty of ways you can access technically complicated, and expensive, advice about how to increase the number of visitors to your site.
To be honest, I haven’t the time or resources to do much more than I do already. I had some good, basic advice (in simple language) from a savvy friend, and I’m happy to share it.
Given my own areas of strength, I was pleased to hear that most of the advice focused on writing and common sense – in other words, things that human beings can manage without too much technical rigmarole.
First things first
There are two fundamental, and probably obvious, starting points. Each is covered in a separate article (see below).
Produce really effective content
This is absolutely essential. If you want to convert your readers into return visitors who might become clients, increasing web traffic isn’t enough.
If your site doesn’t have quality content, there’s really no point going any further with it. ‘Click bait’ content will have no lasting appeal. You have to provide information that people want.
Read more in Write Effective Web Content
Use well chosen keywords
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) improves the ranking of your site and your posts, and is a good way to attract visitors. For SEO purposes, you need to understand how keywords work, and how and where you should use them.
Find out more in How To Use SEO and Keywords.
7 ways to increase web traffic: free advice on free methods
1. Encourage comments
Many people publish blog posts but disable readers’ comments or questions. Not a good idea.
The more activity on your website, the better. You should certainly moderate the comments, but always allow them. When someone leaves a comment, respond to it as soon as you can. Search engines favour sites that are active.
2. Provide links
In every post you publish there should be an internal link to another post or page on your website.
It will encourage readers to look at more of your content. When they do, you score two or more hits, and that extra attention will eventually drive your search engine ranking higher and increase web traffic.
3. Write titles that begin with a number
Unless your site is a collection of lists, don’t do it all the time. If you do it in some of your posts titles (as I did with this one), it will help your ranking.
4. Use Google’s free webmaster tools
Find them here. Just sign in with your Google account.
5. Use Facebook and Google+
Every time you write a new post on your site, write a brief summary or teaser – for example, on Facebook, Google+ and, if appropriate, LinkedIn – and include a link to your new post.
This is a great way to increase web traffic to your site.
6. Don’t forget Bing
Not everyone is in love with Google.
Bing is now partnered with Yahoo! Search, and close to 10% of web searches are made using this facility. Bing also has good webmaster tools to help you improve your ranking, and might even offer you a bonus for signing up.
Visit Bing Webmaster to explore the tools.
7. AMP up your site
A huge number of your potential visitors will use phones or tablets to access your content. Slow loading spells trouble for your site. The latest industry estimate is that more than half of your visitors will leave your page if it takes more than three seconds to load.
The AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) Project addresses this problem. Most popular web platforms such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and Squarespace offer AMP plug-ins that will have your pages loading almost instantly. If you notice a search engine listing that has a lightning bolt inside a grey circle, it means the site has been AMPed up.
Don’t deliver your best work to an empty room!
Try these 7 Ways To Increase Web Traffic, then please use the Comments box below, to let me know how you go.