6 Ways to Increase Online Web Site Traffic

Designing websites for over 10 years, I’m still amazed at the number of businesses that invest in their website and leave no budget for marketing the site. The site itself is only a TOOL to showcase your product or service. The plan should fit into your overall marketing plan (which fits into your business plan). Even if you don’t have all that, you can start marketing your site with this blog post.

The good news is search engines are so powerful, once you take the steps to Make Your Site Search Engine Friendly, you’ve made some smart decisions that will pay off for years to come. Some of these suggestions will be structural and won’t involve an ongoing time commitment, while others will involve a more dedicated approach. In any event, marketing always takes both consistency and evaluation to be effective.

1. Write a blog

I started this blog just over a month ago. Some days I’ll post it in the morning and four hours later get a Google Alert, telling that it’s been picked up by the (google) search engine. What that tells me is that BluSkyeGroup.com is being indexed by Google (at least) VERY fast. I remember not so long ago, it would take weeks for new content to show up. So by writing a blog and posting new, searchable content on a regular basis, you can absolutely increase online web site traffic.

2. Integrate your site with your social media strategy

I would absolutely create a business page on Facebook. Social media is a great way to remind folks about new content on your site. Think of your marketing efforts and certainly your online presence as a combination of opportunities that all provide content and MOST IMPORTANTLY all connect with each other. Linking your website with Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook allows people to see different sides of you and your business, and you will increase your online web site traffic.

3. Put your site address on all company collateral

I know this may sound really basic, but don’t just focus on your business card. Put it on brochures, ads, and mention it in networking meetings. Add it to your email signature and highlight it in any e-blasts you may distribute.

4. Make your site a resource for others

There are so many well-designed sites out there that look great, but after one visit there is no real reason to go back. Even if you just create a page of resources with links to useful information, folks will return. Creating new content is ideal, and giving visitors a reason to come back should be high on any website owner’s priority list.

5. Do keyword research for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The way I approach SEO, especially my blog posts, is to pick a keyword (which is really a phrase) that ranks high with Keyword Effectiveness Index (kei). The post is then built around that phrase. The KEI compares the number of times a keyword has been searched for with the number of pages that contain the exact keyword phrase. The goal is to choose a phrase that people search for that a low number of sites have in their content. For example, the phrase for this post is “increase online web site traffic.”

I use a combination of WordTracker, the keyword tool in Google Adwords and Google Insights, although there are many ways to go about it. It’s definitely a time-consuming process, but there is NOTHING else that provides more bang for your buck. Most websites BluSkye Group produces have an SEO component attached to them, with (at least) initial keyword research.

6. Set up Google Analytics

This doesn’t necessarily INCREASE your online web site traffic, but you need to measure your site traffic to gauge your marketing efforts. This is what I currently use and find it really easy to understand. Many times, the challenge with lots of data is how to interpret it. There are many things you can learn from the statistics, and Google does a good job of explaining it. Some of the the data I find most useful is:

• Top traffic sources (how people are coming to the site)
• Length of time on the site
• The bounce rate, which is percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page.

There are obviously a lot of other packages you can use to track your site, many of which are included in hosting packages. What have you been using and what features do you value most?

So here are some ways to increase online web site traffic with little or no resources. Most people might need some help with the keyword research, but besides all these directions really focus on time equity, not cash. I’d love hear other suggestions that have worked for you. Any tips you can offer?

David Contois is a marketing consultant and graphic designer in San Diego. You can learn more about marketing your business, graphic design, web design and search engine optimization by subscribing to our RSS feed here. David can also be followed on Twitter @BSGrp or @dcontois and on Facebook.com/BluSkyeGroup.

Tags: google alerts, google analytics, increase online web site traffic, online traffic, search engine friendly, search engine optimization, web traffic, wordtracker

posted on Monday, November 1st, 2010 at 8:00 am filed under Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, Web Design, Web site marketing.follow any responses through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.