Today I want to take a moment to clarify something critical for entrepreneurs everywhere…
Having a great Website isn’t enough. You have to get people there. That means you need a plan for marketing your site.
The problem is that a lot of business owners confuse having a Website as part of their marketing plan, with marketing their Website. And rightly so. After all, having a good Website is a terrific tactic for marketing what you do, sell or offer. And you don’t usually market your marketing tactics.
But unless you have a plan for driving traffic to your site, prospects may never find it. So below are seven simple ways to drive loads of well-targeted traffic to your Website without breaking the bank…
1) Keywords are Key
Keywords are words or phrases people use to search for something on the Web. Search engines also use these to determine what your site is about. This means you want the right keywords in the right spots on your site.
So, do your keyword research (find loads of keyword info and resources on the Web). Then, use those keywords in your content about 1-4 times per page. Put them in headlines and subheads whenever possible, at the beginning of the page, and at the bottom of each page right after the ©. Finally, add them to your Description and Title tags (These are behind the scenes, so ask your Web person for help).
2) Give It Away
Freebies are a terrific way to get people to visit your site and grow your list of interested prospects. In fact, these days, offering a free ebook, audio or video on your site in exchange for the visitor’s name and email is a must. You can promote your freebie online and off, on the back of your business card, and even at networking meetings.
3) Put It Out There
Put your Web address (URL) on everything including: business cards, packaging, email addresses, email signatures, promotions, signs, etc. Be sure to mention it in your elevator pitch or any time you’re interviewed. And of course, put it in the byline of any articles you get published.
4) Be Fresh
Another great reason to have a blog, or even better an entire WordPress blogsite, is that search engines love sites with regular fresh content. You can post articles, audio podcasts, videos, links to other people’s sites or articles of interest, book reviews, you name it. Be sure to put your keywords in your post titles whenever possible.
5) Speak and Be Seen
Networking? Offer your freebie in your elevator pitch. Speaking? Offer it either via a bowl for business cards or from the stage. If it’s a teleseminar, offer your freebie as a bonus on the call.
6) Link Up
Profiles on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn provide more links and drive traffic to your site. These sites work best for marketing if you actively post and participate. But, at the least you should join a few, fill out your profiles completely and include a link to your site. Push your blog feed to your profiles whenever possible to keep them active and updated, and create more back links.
7) Share Your Expertise
Submitting articles to highly credible publication sites drives traffic to your site in a few ways…
First, you get more links back to your site. Second, prospects may follow those links after reading your article. Third, people may reference your articles on their own site, giving you more exposure.
Ideally, submit to sites with lots of traffic and content in your area of expertise. Then use the author’s bio area to offer your freebie and a link to your site to get it.
It takes some time, but if you get these tactics going, more hot prospects are sure to come your way. Then, if your Website is effective, you can sit back and watch it do your sales and marketing job for you.
