You know you're a marketer when you're stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the highway, and all you can think about is, "Why can't I drive traffic to my website like this?"
If you’ve ever struggled with driving traffic to your website, you're certainly not alone. According to research conducted by the Content Marketing Institute in 2020, 63% of content professionals cite the lack of staff skilled in content strategy as a significant challenge in driving website traffic.
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Balancing the tasks of writing new blog posts, managing social media, and strategizing for email campaigns can make it difficult to identify what's actually driving traffic to your site and what isn't.
The comprehensive list below will help you increase your website traffic, generate more leads, and ultimately improve your ROI.
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Free Ways to Get More Traffic to Your Website
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Content Creation
Creating high-quality content is a cornerstone of inbound marketing, which focuses on attracting the right people to your company. One of the best ways to achieve this is through blogging.
To craft content that attracts the right visitors to your website, you must first understand the buyer personas you’re targeting. Once you know your audience, you can create content that naturally draws them to your website.
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But how do you write a compelling blog post that will draw in the right audience? Follow these five steps:
- Identify Your Buyer Persona: Understand your target market’s job titles, pain points, and interests.
- Conduct SEO Research: Discover what your audience is searching for on search engines to provide relevant content.
- Write a Draft: Create a post that answers your audience's questions, using interesting angles to stand out.
- Publish: Post your content on your blog site and use SEO tools to optimize it.
- Promote: Share your blog post on social media and in email newsletters to drive traffic. The more traffic your post generates, the higher it will rank in search engines.
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Pro Tip: Enhance your blogging strategy with our Free AI Blog Writer to streamline content creation using artificial intelligence.
Topic Expertise
Ranking higher on Google increases your organic traffic. At HubSpot, we utilize the pillar/topic cluster model to establish topic expertise. Google favors sites that demonstrate in-depth knowledge on specific subjects.
To be seen as an expert, create a pillar page—a comprehensive, long-form blog post that covers all aspects of a topic. Then, produce "cluster content," or supporting blog posts, targeting long-tail keywords to show extensive coverage of the topic. Focusing on long-term traffic will help you rank higher in search engines.
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Christina Perricone, a senior blog manager at HubSpot, explains, "The pillar cluster model organizes content on your site around a single topic and search term through internal linking. This structure helps search engines easily crawl and categorize all of the content you have on a particular topic, making it easier for you to rank for that search term. When done correctly, it also helps visitors navigate your site and move through related pages, boosting traffic for all the pages in your topic cluster."
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Organic Social Media
While organic social media isn’t a new strategy, it remains crucial for marketers. Beyond posting on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, you can leverage Instagram Stories (utilizing the swipe-up feature), live video, IGTV, and Facebook Messenger. The key to organic social media is being an early adopter of new features.
For instance, Facebook’s automated lead generation feature in Messenger allows businesses to create automated chatbot experiences that link to content offers on your site, driving traffic.
It’s also vital to have a diverse social media strategy, utilizing platforms like YouTube and Pinterest, which can generate significant traffic.
Henry Franco, a brand marketing associate at HubSpot, advises, "First, don't spam your audience—it costs nothing for a user to scroll past your post, and if you don’t offer them value, that's exactly what they'll do. Know your audience and craft content that speaks directly to them. Second, stay active with community management. People love when brands like and reply to them—it humanizes your business and keeps people coming back for more content."
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Pro Tip: Learn more with our comprehensive social media marketing guide.
Website Analysis
Before driving traffic to your website, it's essential to understand your audience. Analyze your website using platforms like Crazy Egg to identify where you're losing and gaining visitors. With this data, you can create content that drives the right traffic to your website.
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Collaborate with Influencers
Influencer marketing is a powerful way to create excellent word of mouth and drive traffic to your site. Influencers can share discount codes, links, reviews, or giveaways, tapping into their audience to boost your website traffic.
Email List Building
Leveraging your current readers and customers is an effective strategy for driving traffic. When you post new content, promote it to your email subscribers for a quick traffic boost. Repeat readership is beneficial for traffic goals, conversions, and lead generation.
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To build or grow your email list, consider these strategies:
- Content Offers: Publish content requiring visitors to share their email addresses to access it. Include CTAs for content offers on your website.
- Easy-Access Newsletter Sign-Up: Include sign-up forms throughout your website. If visitors have a good experience, they may want to subscribe.
- Social Media: Promote your email newsletter on social media to convert followers into subscribers.
Pro Tip: Learn how to build or grow your email list from scratch.
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Community Engagement
Building brand recognition through community engagement can drive traffic to your website. Participate in Facebook group discussions, answer questions on public forums, and interact with your followers on social media.
Taco Bell, for example, uses humor and engagement on Twitter to delight customers and build community.
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On-Page SEO
On-page SEO helps your website rank higher in search engines and attracts more traffic. Elements include page title, header, meta description, image alt-text, and URL. Improving these elements can boost your site’s visibility and traffic.
Pro Tip: Get started with our ultimate guide to on-page SEO.
Quality Backlinks
To rank high in search engines and drive traffic, your site must be an industry authority. Acquiring quality backlinks from high-authority websites enhances your credibility and ranking.
Irina Nica, senior content strategist at HubSpot, explains, "High-quality backlinks can boost your ranking and drive referral traffic. Earning backlinks from relevant sites improves your rankings in SERPs, increasing organic traffic. They also drive referral traffic, especially if you're mentioned on popular news sites or articles already ranking well for high-volume keywords."
Pro Tip: Learn how to earn backlinks.
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Video Marketing
Incorporating video marketing into your content strategy is essential as audiences increasingly seek video content. According to Statista, 77% of internet users aged 15-35 use YouTube for video content.
Create videos for Instagram Stories, live videos, IGTV, Facebook Watch, YouTube, and more. Start with our ultimate guide to video marketing.
Content Repurposing
Repurposing old content is an efficient way to drive traffic. Transform a successful blog post into a video or convert a popular podcast episode into a blog post. Repurposing high-performing content ensures continued traffic.
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SEO Tools
Becoming proficient with SEO tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, and SEMrush helps you develop a traffic-generating strategy. These tools offer insights into what's working on your site and suggest content ideas with high traffic potential.
Check out our roundup of the best SEO tools to monitor your website.
Historical Optimization
Historical optimization involves updating old blog content to generate more traffic and leads. At HubSpot, a significant portion of monthly blog views and leads come from older posts.
Pamela Vaughan, principal marketing manager on HubSpot's Web Strategy team, says, "Historical optimization suits blogs with a substantial amount of organic search traffic, blog subscribers, social media followers, and a repository of old posts. It should be part of your overall blogging strategy."
Pro Tip: Follow Pamela Vaughan’s step-by-step process for historical optimization.
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Voice Search Optimization
Voice search is a growing area to optimize for. By the end of 2021, voice searches are projected to increase by 9.7%, according to eMarketer. Optimizing for voice search involves researching long-tail keywords, writing answer-focused content, and optimizing for snippets to rank in voice searches.
Local SEO
For brick-and-mortar businesses, local SEO is crucial. Local search engines use signals like local content, social profiles, links, and citations to provide relevant results. Tools like Google My Business and Moz Local help manage directory listings and citations, improving local search visibility.
Ensure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across Google My Business and social media pages. Use a directory management tool and research location-based search terms to rank in local searches.
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QR Codes
QR codes bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, driving traffic from real-world interactions. Ensure you give users a reason to scan them, creating an enticing CTA. Dynamic QR codes remain functional even if your web address changes, offering long-term benefits.
A/B Testing
Testing is essential for marketers. A/B testing, or split testing, helps determine the best-performing campaign versions. These tests provide key insights about your audience, allowing you to tailor content and offers that drive traffic. Explore various A/B testing tools to get started.
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Internal Linking
Internal linking encourages visitors to explore more pages on your website, increasing the likelihood of conversions. Use the pillar/cluster model to create a robust internal linking structure, boosting site credibility and search engine rankings.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO focuses on your website’s backend, ensuring it’s well-organized and optimized for search engines. Factors include page speed, crawling, indexing, and more. HubSpot's director of acquisition, Matthew Howells-Barby, emphasizes the impact of technical SEO, noting a 50% increase in traffic from technical SEO improvements.
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Start with our ultimate guide to technical SEO.
Community Building
Creating a dedicated community around your brand can drive significant traffic. Engage in forums and online communities relevant to your industry. Actively participate in discussions and share your website content where appropriate, attracting new visitors and potential customers.
Content Offers
Offering free resources, such as eBooks, webinars, or courses, attracts visitors and generates leads. Ensure your CTAs are clear and your offers are valuable. Analyze what your audience needs and create offers that meet those needs, driving traffic to your site.
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Media Coverage and Public Relations
Media coverage can significantly boost your website traffic. Building relationships with journalists and bloggers can earn you mentions in high-authority publications. When you secure media coverage, ensure your website link is included, driving traffic from the article to your site.
Social Share Buttons
Adding social share buttons to your content encourages readers to share your content on their social media profiles, extending its reach. This can lead to more traffic from social networks as users share content they find valuable.
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CTR Optimization
Improving your click-through rate (CTR) from search engines can increase your traffic. Write compelling meta descriptions and titles to entice searchers to click on your links. A higher CTR can also improve your search engine rankings.
Academy and Knowledge Base Posts
Creating educational content, such as online courses or knowledge base articles, can attract visitors seeking to learn. These resources provide value to your audience and can be used to drive traffic and generate leads.
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Social News Sites
Sharing your content on platforms like Reddit, Quora, and Digg can drive traffic to your website. Participate in relevant discussions and provide valuable insights, linking back to your website where appropriate.
Paid Ways to Increase Website Traffic
Paid Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, retargeting, display ads, and social media ads are effective for driving traffic quickly. Investing in paid campaigns can yield immediate results and attract a targeted audience to your site.
Contests and Giveaways
Hosting contests and giveaways on your website and social media channels can drive significant traffic. Encourage participants to visit your website to enter, increasing traffic and engagement.
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Guest Posting
Guest posting on high-authority blogs allows you to reach a new audience and drive traffic to your site. Ensure your guest posts provide value and include a link back to your website.
Thought Leadership
Publishing thought leadership content on industry websites can attract decision-makers and drive traffic. Share your expertise through articles, webinars, and speaking engagements, linking back to your website.
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Conclusion
Driving traffic to your website is an ongoing effort that requires a multifaceted approach. By implementing these strategies, you can increase your website traffic and achieve better results for your business. Incorporate these methods into your next quarter's marketing plan to see a significant increase in website traffic and engagement.
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