Driving Web Traffic

You've made a blog, your first online business, or a webpage for your local basket-weaving group, but how do you get people to your website? Aside from working out your site's quirks like mobile accessibility and quality content, you need to spend as much time promoting your content as creating it. By now, you've hopefully started raising awareness on social media, but most businesses underestimate marketing potential through social networks. So here are some real-life examples of the strategies companies use to bring visitor traffic to their websites.

Outdoorsy Black Women

Someone in a female-only camping group on Facebook promoted the Outdoorsy Black Women site (and mobile app) in a group post. She included a short description of the history behind developing the site and images of the company's team. In doing so, she increased website traffic and encouraged other women (myself included) to raise awareness for the company, which created more web traffic. This is a great example of promoting your company amongst a community with related interests. Sharing with one group could encourage group members to spread awareness about your company in other groups or with their friends and family.

I liked their company Facebook page, so of course, I get occasional updates when they post new content. They post more frequently than I get notifications, but they post on average twice each day, and all posts have an image. Active engagement on social media is another good way to boost your company, especially with relevant photos.

Left: Outdoorsy Black Women on Facebook hosts a blog post. Right: The same blog post featured on their blog webpage.

Outdoorsy Black Women also has a blog for current users to post their stories, which offers them fresh content to post on their social platforms instead of repeatedly pitching about their company. This strategy is low-cost, which makes it great for small or new businesses. Blogs reach existing and new customers and can be pretty powerful.

LaRoche-Posay

I found this company after searching "best skincare for oily sensitive skin." Several skincare blogs recommended the Effaclar skin regimen by LaRoche-Posay as one of the top product lines for oily and sensitive skin, though there were other competing skincare lines. Recommendations from reputable influencers or known blogs can be an effective tool for growing customer traffic.

Before purchasing anything, I left Google to think about which skincare products might be best. Later, my Facebook feed had a sponsored post from LaRoche-Posay about their deals and some of their more popular skincare lines. Facebook-sponsored posts can track cookies to put your posts in front of people already looking for similar products. These are an especially great way to bring your name and company in front of potential customers. However, sponsored posts cost more to target your specific clientele.

Naturally, I clicked on the posts linked website and went to their homepage. An email sign-up box appeared, offering a discount for members who register with an email. I followed along and entered my email, but then the website offered a skincare regimen quiz to find the perfect fit for me. Not only did they use email sign-up tactics to get me in the door, but they also provided an additional service to keep me on their site and suggested products I might purchase.

LaRoche-Posay homepage with e-mail sign-up box

And these traffic-driving tactics worked: I did sign up with an email and then bought their product. Of course, these tactics aren't foolproof: I went through the same process with other stores but ultimately chose to purchase from LaRoche-Posay. Signing up for an email membership also included me in a weekly newsletter from the shop, which is another strategy for driving website traffic. They also created and spread their own hashtag: #LaRochePosayUSA which makes their products more SEO-friendly and prompts more visits to their website.

Hipcamp

Hipcamp is another example of a website recommended through the same camping group as Outdoorsy Black Women, except I ignored the post. Sure, people supporting your companies in related communities is a great tactic to use, but several websites offer the same services as Hipcamp, so I wasn't interested.

I started getting Instagram ads from Hipcamp about their services and website updates a few months later, which piqued my curiosity. Within those few months, the company had upgraded from just another camping search site to something resembling Airbnb's web design. They now have their own "Hipcash" for members to pay for camping experiences and a journal page where Hipcampers can post blogs, including news about the company's launch of Hipcamp Canada.

Emersumnice Brewery

Emersumnice (think about a southern accent saying "'Em are some nice...") Brewery is a local business in my hometown of Owasso, Oklahoma, with a less-than-perfect online presence. The family of my brother's friend founded the brewery about two years ago, but the restaurant created its reputation without much online buzz. When they started the brewery, they passed out flyers door-to-door, advertised at busy intersections, and asked friends and family to spread the word. All of which are great examples of promoting your business offline. Sometimes, we get caught up in today's technology and forget that person-to-person contact can be a powerful tool.

As the company gained momentum, they built their website and paid for billboard advertisements along the highway that passes through the middle of town. They continued to build their reputation with great products and services and created a growing social media presence. Their website is still minimalistic, but their Facebook page promotes weekly events that corral an impressive nightly crowd.

SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb is a random website I found while searching for "examples of websites that drive traffic." This website paid for sponsored Google ads and was the first search result provided. According to experts, most people will click on the first three websites to show up from a Google search. Sponsored Google ads also appear on YouTube, so paying for these ads gets your company listed on the two largest search engines.

SimilarWeb also hosts a blog, a page for success stories, a series of webinars, and chat support for promoting customer acquisition. Most websites might have a blog and success stories, but webinars and chat support are less common and offer a unique way to connect with your visitors to keep them on your site.

Summary

Keep in mind that your visitors want to feel like people, not customers. So always make sure you offer a genuine human connection. Familiarize yourself with the platforms your target audience uses and concentrate where you have the highest chance for engagement. You don't need to pitch your company with every post; you can form attention-grabbing questions to create a flowing conversation.

Dunn, J. (2014, July 29). 10 ways to drive traffic to your website. GoDaddy Blog. https://www.godaddy.com/garage/10-ways-drive-traffic-website/.

Rogers, A. (2020, August 5). Need Traffic? Here's How to Get Visitors to a New Website (Even If You Don't Know Where to Begin). Shopify. https://www.shopify.com/blog/how-to-increase-website-traffic.

Schaffer, N. (2017, September 7). Social Media Promotion - 11 Effective Ways to Boost Your Content. Curata Blog. http://www.curata.com/blog/11-effective-ways-to-use-social-media-to-promote-your-content/.