Driving website traffic is a top marketing initiative for well, any business that has a website! More website traffic creates more opportunities for businesses to generate solid leads and see real results. With that said, many businesses haven’t quite figured out how to leverage their website to generate these leads. One of the biggest reasons for this is that their website isn’t getting noticed, so results are lackluster.
So, how can you avoid a boring and hard-to-find website and improve your digital marketing efforts?
1. Understand SEO
Your website relies on the support of a strong SEO strategy to increase visibility to the right audience, and people rely on search engines to provide them with the most accurate results. With that said, businesses need to focus on mastering SEO so that they can have a competitive position in search engine results, thus increasing overall visibility to the right people. Essentially, the effectiveness of your SEO determines the amount of quality organic leads your business receives.
With Google’s algorithm regularly being updated, businesses have been working harder than ever to improve the quality and relevance of their SEO keywords. Instead of working harder, try working smarter by implementing the use of a few SEO tools to help optimize your content, select useful keywords and keep up to date with best practices.
2. Utilize Free Tools
Sometimes businesses believe that the only way to see results is through big investments. However, utilizing free tools is a great way to improve your website’s visibility. Consider these quick and easy wins:
Google Maps: Google Maps makes it easier for customers to find your company, builds trust and provides your business better access to your target audience. Registering your business with Google Maps is quick and easy. Just go to Google My Business, click “Get on Google” and enter your business name and address in the search box. From there, you can verify and confirm your business.
Angie’s List: This online directory allows users to read and publish crowd-sourced reviews of local businesses. Angie’s list offers plans that businesses can take advantage of to increase their visibility and help establish trust with their customers, but simply having a profile to display your contact information and business offerings is free. Angie’s List Membership plans offer nationwide access to more than 10 million verified reviews on local companies, making it a great starting point for businesses seeking exposure.
There are other tools out there that help businesses manage digital content, design marketing campaigns and improve search engine optimization. While it is easy to get lost in the sea of “helpful resources,” utilizing free tools and service trials offers a low-risk, low-investment opportunity to explore what works best for your business.
3. Use Social Media
Social media continues to grow and be a necessary platform for businesses globally. In fact, 77.6% of small businesses say they use social media in their marketing strategy. Social media is essential for business because it really helps pull out beneficial information about their ideal customer when it comes to their behaviors and interests. Businesses can leverage social media not only to get in front of their target customer but to understand what will make them appealing to customers.
Social media does an excellent job of strengthening marketing efforts by helping businesses build better relationships with customers. In addition, being active on social media improves your business’s visibility, which means more people are likely to make their way to your website. The more time that you spend honing your social media marketing efforts, the more traffic you will gain.
With the number of people who spend a majority of their free time online, there is no reason why a business shouldn’t be capitalizing on a social media platform. But remember, not all social media is created equal. If you are just starting out, consider starting with one platform your audience is using to yield the best results.
4. Get Reviewed
Reviews are ultimately your referral system and are a crucial part of the marketing process. This is because 91% of people trust reviews as much as personal recommendations. Reviews establish credibility and build trust between you and your potential customers. When customers are deciding whether to invest in a product or service, they first look at reviews to see what other people are saying about your company. These reviews generate buzz for your business.
One of the first things that businesses need to do to generate reviews is to ensure they have a designated space for it. Websites like Yelp and Google My Business are the perfect platforms for businesses to receive reviews. Oftentimes, businesses miss out on reviews because there are no opportunities for customers to talk about the business.
Here are 3 easy strategies to generate reviews for your business:
5. Pay to Play: Utilize Paid Ads
When it comes to paid ads, it’s critical to know your audience for the best results. Once you know your audience, paid ads are an excellent way to increase your site’s visibility efficiently and quickly. Paid ads focus on precise targeting that gets your website right in front of your customers. There are many paid options where your ad can exist such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Google Ads: With Google Ads, you can be seen by customers the moment they’re searching, and you only pay when customers engage with your ads.
Facebook Ads: With two billion people using Facebook a month, Facebook Ads is a great option to advertise your business, offering unique targeting options and a user friendly platform.
LinkedIn Ads: LinkedIn has the largest professional network, making their paid ads platform a popular and effective solution, particularly for businesses in the B2B space.
It’s important to note that paid ads are on the rise when it comes to digital marketing. With that said, competition is growing for ad space, which affects how expensive it can get. Businesses should prepare a budget while taking into account the demand for paid ads across industries.
6. Have a Killer Blog
Content marketing still reigns supreme — in fact, 70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing. In general, customers pay attention to brands who are consistently producing quality content. For this reason, having a killer blog is a must to improve website visibility. The better your content is, the more people you can get to engage with your business, resulting in new site visitors.
It’s not enough to just create quality content, that content needs to be updated regularly. Many businesses feel they don’t have the time to upkeep a blog, but quality blog posts don’t need to be novels, they just need to be helpful to your audience.
The internet is a fast-paced environment, and in order to keep a competitive advantage and remain visible to potential customers, you must update with new (and useful) content to stay relevant.
7. Use Images
Many businesses may feel that images play a small role in improving a website’s visibility, but it does quite the opposite. Strong images work hand-in-hand with content to help improve search engine rankings. Images not only make your content more appealing, but visual searching is becoming increasingly popular. This means that businesses who also focus on adding relevant and engaging images to their content can expect to see a boost in website traffic.
A website is no longer an option for businesses, it’s a necessity. Websites establish your business’s credibility, improve accessibility to customers and help you generate more sales. With that said, increasing your website’s visibility is integral to see optimal business success. If you have any questions about improving your website’s visibility or want to know more about how we can help your business, feel free to reach out to our team of digital marketing experts today!
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