Need More Web Traffic? Why Just Focusing on SEO Isn’t Good Enough
by Kirsty LaVier on Jun 20, 2011 • 5:51 am 18 CommentsIf you want to make the most out of your website, you need a solid SEO strategy. However, relying on the search engines for all of your traffic is the web equivalent of putting all of your eggs in one basket. The search engines change their algorithms all the time. Sometimes, those changes are minor; other times, they make major changes that have a drastic effect on the rankings. Since you can’t control what the search engines do, you can’t rely solely on them for all of your traffic.
So, what else can you do to drive traffic?
Lots of things! Start by building an email list. It’s not hard to add an opt-in box on your website. That way, you’ll still be able to communicate with people even if you suddenly lose your rankings. A quick email can let all of your subscribers know about your latest product, a new deal you’re offering, or your newest service.
But what about getting new traffic?
There are plenty of ways to do that, too! Start by jumping into the social networking revolution. Companies all over the world are becoming visible on Twitter and Facebook. Both websites offer you a great opportunity to get more customers, spread your message, and communicate directly with your target audience — all without depending on the search engines! A solid article marketing or guest blogging strategy can get your name and your link out there — even if your website isn’t very visible on the search engines. As an added benefit, every time you publish an article or do a guest post for a blog in your niche, post a link to it on your Twitter and Facebook pages. After all, you can never have too much self-promotion!
And, you can take advantage of one of the newest trends in web content — videos. Web videos are getting more and more popular. You can upload them right to YouTube, then post a link to your website, tell your email list about it, and post a link to the video on your Twitter and Facebook pages. If your video is interesting, it can quickly become viral on the social networking sites — even before the search engine spiders have a chance to index it!
And, if you want to add some advertising into the mix, Interspire shopping cart has a tool that can automatically create an AdWords campaign for your products. That way, if you lose your rankings, you can have ads that are right at the top of the search results.
By diversifying your traffic, you can actually see more results than you can with even the best SEO strategy. After all, when it comes to web traffic, you can never have too much of it!
What are your favorite methods besides relying on search engines for generating traffic to your site?
18 comments
bbrian017 says:
Jun 20, 2011
Hi Kirsty this was a great little article. I think many companies think it’s as easy as setting up a website but in all realty it’s a lot of work.
Adding diversification into an online marketing strategy is very solid and sound advice.
Kirsty LaVier says:
Jun 24, 2011
I’m glad you’ve found this article useful Brian. Yes some companies are also not sure whether they should be on social media channels and engage in other marketing tactics. It sure does take a lot of work but definitely worth it.
Paul says:
Jun 20, 2011
Hello Kirsty,
I have to agree with you that a diversity of web traffic is the best kind of traffic. it seems that if you rely to heavily on any one arena you could set yourself up for trouble. I personally feel that leaving good quality comments on sites like this one is also an easy way to drive a little extra traffic to your site every day.
Kirsty LaVier says:
Jun 24, 2011
Oh yes, commenting on related blogs definitely gives you more exposure, drives traffic back to your site, and also boosts your credibility. Thanks for checking out the article Paul!
Frank Dickiinson says:
Jun 20, 2011
Hi Kirsty!
great post here with lots of take aways. I currently use Social media (I love Twitter) and guest blogging strategies to enhance my blog reach. I write in some HUGE markets (Marketing, Personal Development and Social Media) so I am faced with a lot of competition in the search engines.
Guest posting and twitter have helped me get me and my blog out there even when I have struggled in SEO.
Kirsty LaVier says:
Jun 24, 2011
Good to hear that you’ve been doing great with social media Frank. A lot of people get confused with which social media channels to focus on. It’s better to pick 1 or 2 that you feel comfortable with and that you can effectively manage regularly.
Ivin says:
Jun 21, 2011
I’ve have a decent email list, but the response or open rate is weak. Any idea how to better that?
Kirsty LaVier says:
Jun 24, 2011
Hi Ivin! Perhaps you can do some changes on the title itself whenever you send out emails to your list. Give them something they can’t resist such as a free resource, and give out content that they need. Most people want simple step by step tips and that’s something to think about. 🙂
Shivam Garg says:
Jun 23, 2011
Hi Kirsty,
Nice post.I think social media like fb is a great tool for generating some good traffic.With the availability of so many people in the hood I feel social media turns a campaign into a religion.
Link Building Services says:
Jun 23, 2011
Thank you for this valuable information, so nice seeing the community post this kind of information instead of selling it like a lot do.
Jkar says:
Jun 23, 2011
True, we should not rely on SEO alone. However, SEO should play the major role in driving traffic to your site. People search for services and products in the search engine and not with those social network sites. however, those social networking sites provides an avenue for us to buzz/advertise our services/products to huge number of people but it has also a drawback. Most of the traffic from social networking sites do not convert well compared to the traffic that you get from search engines.
For me its a 20-70. 20% on social network visibility, 70% SEO. Just do it in the right way and you will not have to worry about penalties.
Jordan Dyckes says:
Jun 26, 2011
I’ve been running this website for a couple of weeks now, and my traffic started falling from 1000’s to 100’s of visitors daily, this article has been inspiring and will hopefully help bring my site back to life.
Jeevanjacobjohn says:
Jun 29, 2011
Hey Kristy,
Great article. I agree with you. Seo is important, but you can’t rely on search engines for every single bit of your traffic. You need to use several marketing strategies that include commenting, guest blogging and networking through social media sites. These may not get you the most traffic. But, I can promise you, the traffic that you get through these strategies will be the most loyal ones you will ever get. Anyways, thank you for the great read, appreciate it.
Jeevan Jacob John
Jordan J. Caron says:
Jul 4, 2011
From my past experience with paying a SEO company do some link building for me, it was worth it. I really think the best way to gain visitors who are interested in what you have to say is to seek them out and connect with them via social media, other blogs and discussion forums.
You must of course provide valuable content to keep them on your site once you have them. Too many times I click on a site that has keywords but is marketing for something I don’t want.
Matt says:
Jul 9, 2011
Yes, it’s very true that social bookmarking is a real goldmine. And the traffic can also be very targeted, particularly when it comes to Twitter.
Offline marketing with methods such as flyers, posters, business cards is also worth doing. That’s much more labor intensive, of course. And the hits just trickle in. But it is good quality. And it’s particularly good if you want highly geo-targeted traffic.
Usman says:
Aug 8, 2011
Social marketing is good but it requires lots n lots of time .. even more time than SEO in my opinion.
Bilal arshad says:
Sep 9, 2011
SEO helps Google , but social marketing helps people , but one thing should be considered that social marketing is only useful if it hit’s the potential user ..
Mahendra says:
Sep 28, 2011
Facebook is good for traffic in social media category rather than just concentrating on SEO social media is also important