Image by 200 Degrees from Pixabay

By Rachelle Wilber

Even if you build a shiny new website for your business, it won’t do you much good if no one visits it. To drive the right kind of traffic to a site, the owner must understand their target audience and engage in tactics to draw them to the destination. There are a lot of different ways to increase traffic, so it’s a good idea to pick a few to start with before adding other channels.

Network with related websites

One of the most common ways to gain visibility and early traffic flow is through networks. These can be natural or organic relationships started by a simple message or email. They could also be more business-like arrangements involving mutual benefits or an affiliate dynamic. In any case, engaging with websites that your target community already frequents is a good way to get their attention.

Optimize for search engines

Search engine optimization has been around as long as the public internet even though it’s changed quite a bit since then. SEO (search engine optimization) is the deliberate designing or modification of a website to better appeal to automated search engines. The specific techniques to accomplish this change with the algorithm updates, but there are a few best practices that still matter. This includes things like site mapping, mobile-friendly design, and keyword use.

Invest in advertising

Many companies buy website traffic by investing in digital advertising. The internet has an almost limitless number of advertising opportunities out there, especially on social media platforms. Modern data science tactics have allowed these advertisers to provide direct access to target markets via advertising. It’s important to remember that buying traffic doesn’t mean you are buying interested viewers. You still need to have a website that engages and hooks them in quickly after they first visit.

Publish useful content

Content is really what your site is all about, so it’s important to keep it updated and moving forward. Written blogs, video tutorials, and other general media about the company all help increase visibility online. Building a real knowledge base of original and accurate articles is a solid long-term SEO strategy for becoming a trusted source on the web.

Increasing web traffic is often a matter of patience, which is something no one wants to really accept. There’s nothing wrong with investing in viral marketing and branding concepts, but don’t forget to maintain the basic best practices to build a dependable and consistent flow to your site.

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Rachelle Wilber is a freelance writer living in the San Diego, California area. She graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She tries to find an interest in all topics and themes, which prompts her writing. When she isn’t on her porch writing in the sun, you can find her shopping, at the beach, or at the gym.