Why Isn't My Website Working? Five Tips To Generate Traffic

Taking a “build it and they will come” attitude to a business website is a certain route to disappointment, yet many people still think that’s all they need to do. If the work on your website is limited to designing and uploading it, it’s likely that few people will ever find it, beyond you and those who visit it specifically - perhaps as a result of being given a business card. For your website to “work” you need an ongoing strategy to drive traffic towards it.

This article presents you with five tips to help you boost your readership stats.

1. Go Beyond a Brochure

Simple brochure style websites are better than nothing, but do little to engage people once they’ve had a quick glance at what your company does. Make adding content to your site something that you do on a regular basis – consider news pages, case studies and blogs. This gives readers something current to look at, and provides more content for search engines to find.

2. Hook People In
More links means more clicks, which in turn means more visitors. Be active in relevant communities such as forums and social networking groups, and make sure you link to your site in your posts and signatures. For example: if you provide services to small businesses, join some small business forums, contribute helpfully and intelligently, and people will probably click your company URL to find out more about you.

3. Optimize for Search (carefully)

The world of search engine optimization is in a serious state of flux at the time of writing, with several popular techniques (such as link sharing) being called into question. However, this doesn’t stop you from doing the basics – such as making sure your content is targeted towards relevant keywords, ensuring you have good quality site maps, and using keyword-rich image descriptions.

4. Promote your Site Offline

Make sure your URL is prominently displayed on your printed marketing literature and signage. Also, give your customers reasons to visit your site. If, for example, you have published a blog post that you feel may be of interest, email the link to encourage them to visit the site and read it. If the content is good, they may share it with others.

5. Consider Paid Advertising

If you want your website to bring you paying customers, you may wish to consider investing in banner ads or sponsored links. If yours is a crowded field, remember only ten firms can “win” by placing on Google’s first page for each search. If you can’t generate the traffic naturally, it may be worth paying to push yourself right to the top.

As you work to improve your site, it’s crucial to monitor the success of the steps you take. Google’s free Google Analytics service allows you to drill down into the readership of your site in extreme detail. Be sure to make use of the service to see which of your efforts are paying dividends, and which parts of your site are working for your readers.

About the Author: Debbie Thomson is a Content Marketing Specialist at GFI MAX, she is also a keen blogger and enjoys writing about many topics including business, technology and marketing.