How to Create a High Traffic Website
Getting traffic to your website is crucial for survival online. Last week, I shared some important SEO tips to help you maximize your traffic and get more readers. This week, I’m showing you how to create a quality website that brings in readers.
Focused Content
For new businesses and blogs, it’s especially important to focus your content very specifically and intentionally. Finding your niche and maintaining focus on key topics within your niche can prove to be a valuable tool that gets you noticed online. It’s best to think about choosing one topic and expanding on relevant sub-topics in order to establish yourself as an expert in your niche. If you’re talking about entrepreneurship, for example, perhaps you could focus specifically on women entrepreneurs. Then you can take that topic and carve out 3-5 relevant sub-topics, such as work-life balance, working moms, etc. This way, you can establish yourself as an expert on a specific topic (women entrepreneurs) while also creating focused content that builds trust with your readers and authority among your peers.
Brand Clarity
In order to really establish yourself online, you have to make things clear to your audience. That means honing your messaging and marketing language, having a visually descriptive logo and creating a website and content that make it easy for visitors to formulate expectations about your brand and what you bring to the table. If you want people to continue to visit your site or take an action there, don’t make it difficult for them. Tell them what you do, how you do it differently and what you have to offer right on your homepage. Make your products and services easy to find. Use a logo and web design that communicate your value right away. Most visitors only stay on your website for about 10 seconds before they decide whether to stay or leave, so you really want to “sell them” on why they should stay within those first 10 seconds. Make sure that there are visual cues on your website and in your business name and logo that get their attention and make it clear what you do.
Related: How Self-Exploration Can Improve Your Business
Provide Value
Ultimately, there is a lot of noise online. People spend more and more time on their computers and they are becoming increasingly web savvy. In most cases they’re overwhelmed with the amount of media available to them and searching for the absolute best and most relevant places to spend their time. Be the one that sets the bar high. Once people see you as a leader in providing value to their lives, they’ll want to return to your website again and again to see what else can benefit them. They’ll come to count on you for it. This is why it’s so important to create consistently awesome content and really focus in on what is relevant to your audience. A great website, blog or newsletter will gain and keep the interest of it’s readers consistently. The gift of great content pays for itself in the trust it buys you with your readers.
Related: 4 Powerful Ways to Gain Credibility Online
Visibility
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media engagement are critical components in being “found” online. Do a Google search of your brand to see where you rank for valuable search terms within your niche. Make sure that you are on the most visible social media channels and updating them often. For better SEO results, use the WordPress SEO by Yoast plugin to insert keywords and keyphrases into your homepage, website pages and blog posts to help your clients more easily “find” you through Google searches. Another key component of increasing visibility is gaining backlinks and media attention. Participate as a guest writer on well-established media outlets and blogs, offer yourself as a guest for interviews, land speaking gigs and don’t be afraid to create your own live and virtual events that will help you to establish your online brand. Facebook groups, Twitter chats and Google+ Hangouts are three great ways to demonstrate your expertise while socializing with your community and promoting your business or blog.
Related: 5 Ways to Improve SEO and Get More Traffic
Conversion
A key part of maintaining your traffic and making sales is conversion. Once you’ve gotten your visitors to the website, have them take an action that will make them more likely to return. Invite them to signup for your newsletter. You can give them something for free in return, such as a free download (video, audio, pdf), that they can grab once they’ve signed up. Get them to like your Facebook page or connect with you on Google+ so you can update them regularly with new blog posts and offers. You can also entice them to make a purchase by offering discounts on products in return for newsletter signups or Facebook likes. Ninja Popups is a great premium plugin that you can use to create a newsletter pop-up or Facebook Like Box pop-up to increase conversions on your website.
