How to Drive Website Traffic in 12 Smart Steps

If someone asks me what type of superpower I wish I had, I’d say one that will be useful in driving traffic to my own website… and my clients’ websites. As simple as that, but I wish it was really that simple. The truth is it isn’t… if you don’t do the work.

In my attempt to help my community and you (yes you included, because you’re in my site right now), I will be sharing with you how I help my clients drive traffic to their websites. I also did some new research so that I can ensure that what I’m sharing with you here also match the current trends for increasing the number of visitors to your website.

But first, why is it important to drive traffic to your website?

Why your business must invest on website traffic

When someone goes to your site, search engines record that visit as well as the links an individual has clicked or followed to get to that site. Not only is the page visit recorded, but also the length of time that individual spent on your site. When these numbers are added, you will have a clear view of your website popularity.

Now imagine if you’re not getting enough visits to your website, especially if it represents your business? If your website is not attracting visitors, then it is on the verge of getting lost in the internet. Your website and business will be forgotten if it doesn’t have a steady flow of visitors from the right people and the right target market.

You need to remember three things here.

First, more targeted traffic always translates to more revenue. You need to realize that the success of your online marketing depends largely on your website traffic and its conversion. You can’t convert anything without traffic.

Second, traffic from those people who are interested in the products or services that you’re selling will stay with you and will also refer your website to their friends.

Lastly, a more targeted traffic that stays long enough to your website will most likely sign up for your newsletter or download your lead magnet (promotional content); just by enticing them to sign up, you get the opportunity to market with them for the long term.

So you see, what most businesses want is to increase sales. The only way to achieve that is to have an impressive website traffic that converts into a sale. That is why the main focus of any online marketing effort should be to get lots and lots of website traffic.

Simply put, website traffic is the lifeblood of a small business.

12 Smart Ways to Increase your Website Traffic

The key to driving traffic to your website is simple: implement time-tested and proven strategies for a website to get traffic. A decade ago, finding the right solutions would mean hiring expensive consultants to do the work for you. Today, you have tons and tons of information available with a few clicks. But the challenge is, how will you know which ones from what the gurus are saying are actually right for your business?

I will break them down for you in 12 ways. Each tip will be highlighted with the kind of mindset you need to develop followed by the steps you should take to implement it.

1. Engage on Quora

Mindset: “I should bring value to people by sharing what I already know on any given topic.”

Promote your professional brand and business by participating in a forum. Quora is a great example. This question and answer network allows you to help others on any given topic from A to Z. With 1.5 million users worldwide, you will gain an opportunity to bring eyes to your website. This is possible they see that your answers to a topic are relevant and useful in their lives.

What you should do:

• Create an inviting profile that highlights what you do, how you help people with what you do, and where they can reach you (website, social channels).
• Become an active participant by following topics in your industry. This is your chance to provide links to your website about the topic.
• Connect with people on Quora by looking at a popular topic’s answers. Search also by a topic’s followers.
• Contribute to boards on topics in your industry.

Don’t forget to encourage people to follow you on Quora using the Quora Follow Button.

2. Get invited to a podcast

Mindset: “I can speak about what I know for free as long as there’s mention of my website somewhere in the interview and at the end.”

What you should do:

• Do your own research of small podcasts that talk about topics that are related to your business.
• Email the host and just be nice in asking to have you as one of their future guests.
• When you have succeeded in getting interviewed by at least one small podcast, you’ll get the opportunity to mention your website at least twice while you’re conversing.
• Now imagine doing that for more than one small podcast.

3. Create slideshares of your best content

Mindset: “A great content will be shared if I put in the work.”

We know it’s hard to get attention in a sea of really skilled marketers. But if you put in the work on a whole new level, you will certainly be noticed. Try compiling your best content into a LinkedIn Slideshare.

What you should do:

• Find the right keywords. People basically want to buy, be better informed, or learn how to do stuff when they search for something on Google. Have a click-worthy title to your topic by starting with “How to….”, “Why you should….”, or “What is….”
• Create the slides off your blog post. Make it nice, simple, clean, and easy to understand.
• DIY your design, or seek professional help from a design team.
• Install an email popup on your blog post.
• Put CTA’s inside of your deck on Slideshare.

4. Host a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Mindset: “I can reach thousands of people at once by being active on Reddit.”

Reddit gets almost 600 million users per month. If you want to increase your website’s traffic without spending a dollar, then by all means use Reddit and host an AMA, short for Ask Me Anything.

What you should do:

• Get yourself familiar with Reddit. Browse through the pages, posts links and photos, reply to other people’s posts. For your AMA planning purposes, read through past AMA’s and observe what types of questions were asked. Just be familiar with the platform.
• Schedule and draft your AMA. Ideally you need to give yourself a few weeks to a few months to prepare. Make sure you have enticing post title and description of your AMA. The title should follow this format: [who you are] [what you do] [company name] [AMA!]. As for the description, give quick details about why you’re hosting the AMA and some relevant background information of yourself.
• Promote your Reddit AMA to your social media channels, email lists, and friends or family. Have some bucks to spend? Run social media ads and promoted posts on Reddit homepage.

5. Get publicity by using HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

Mindset: “If I want PR for my business on influential sites, HARO should be my game.”

HARO is a popular website that connects bloggers and journalists seeking to meet their deadlines, with relevant expert sources on topics related to their expertise, industry, or experience. You get the chance to share your expertise, tips, and case studies by reaching out to these reporters and bloggers.

What you should do:

• Sign up for a HARO free subscription. This will allow you to receive three emails per day that show you PR leads by categories. Choose as many categories as you can on your email preference settings so you won’t miss out on any perfect PR lead.
• Read your HARO emails daily. You’ll get more success when you respond to a lead quickly.
• Delete HARO emails that you haven’t looked at in the last 12 hours.
• Write a pitch-perfect reply only to the best and most promising leads.
• Research the media outlet you’ve chosen.

6. Send content to professors for their students

Mindset: “A blog post from my website might help students in university. I’d reach out to professors who may find it useful in their lectures.”

Come to think of it. If you are in the fashion niche, or marketing industry, there might just be professors out there who don’t have the time to research on the recent trends for their future lectures. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could simply hand it to them? In return, these students will visit your website. That’s website traffic plus points!

What you should do:

Reach out to professors you know from college. This is a good start. Introduce yourself in person or via email, and let them know how your website’s content might help their students.

7. Write an expert roundup post

Mindset: “If I write an expert roundup post related to my business, the people I will contact to will most likely share them.”

An expert roundup post is significantly among the best practices content marketers implement to build traffic to their website. The premise is you are tapping into the network of people with huge followings on social media. If they participate and then later told that your post has been published, there’s a likely chance that they’ll share your content on social media. It’ll be an added bonus if they link to your content from their site.

What you should do:

• Research the top influencers in your industry. Find those who have already participated in other roundups.
• Head on over to the person’s website and look for their contact info.
• Email them a direct to the point email saying that you’ll be writing an expert roundup about a particular topic, and that you’ll be honored if they respond to your question with a short reply. Make it short. These people are busy.
• Once you have published your roundup, email them back to say thanks with a link to your blog post.

8. Use someone’s product and let them tell your story

Mindset: “There is a story behind a product that I love. Might as well share it.”

Been loyal to a product for decades? This is a great opportunity to share your story to the brand. Remember that brands are also on a lookout for user generated content.

What you should do:

Simply email the marketing team of your most beloved product. Let them know how the product has made your life better. If your story is good, they might want to write about it, feature it on their website, and include links to your own site.  

9. Write a guest post for a relevant website

Mindset: “Big blogs need an endless supply of content.”

Ever feeling that your blog is too small for a shot to be guest posting on the bigger blogs? Too bad if you agree! Let me tell you one thing. If your guest posts aren’t being published on the biggest sites, then you’re missing out a HUGE opportunity to drive traffic to your website or a chance to have your posts go viral.

What you should do:

• Choose the best sites related to your business and browse over how they write their blogs. Observe the number of words, paragraph length, use of bolding and italics, grammar, and more.
• Write a list of headlines you would suggest that those websites publish.
• Email the editor-in-chief for the possibility of guest posting on their website with a list of your headline recommendations. Keep it straight to the point.
• If they answer back and ask you to write, be on time. Respect their deadlines.
• Once your post is published, promote to your email list and social media channels.

10. Get featured on large publications

Mindset: “I can get traffic to my website by having my content republished, instead of having to write another one from scratch.”

Don’t like the time it takes for guest posting? If yes, then simply have your content repurposed on larger publications for traffic, subscribers, and backlinks.

What you should do:

• Find the websites related to your business that republish content.
• Decide on the perfect content for each publication.
• Write a short but enticing republishing pitch.
• If your content is accepted, set it up for huge success. Follow the editor’s guidelines.
• Include your bio at the bottom of your post.

11. Don’t forget to optimize your content

Mindset: “Making my content attractive to search engines and users is of utmost importance.”

Your blog content and any page on your website needs to be SEO-friendly and easily recognized once a user types in keywords related to your business. This way, you enhance the discoverability chances of your blog content. It’s all about using the right keywords, among many factors.

What you should do:

How do you optimize content? Follow this comprehensive guide by Hubspot on how to get started with optimizing your blog content for SEO. It’s great for beginners.

12. Interlink your blog posts

Mindset: “What better way to increase website traffic than including links on a new blog post from my own website, too?”

Help your search engine ranking reach the top by including links to your other blog posts. Want to know a secret? This practice actually makes readers stay on your site longer!

What you should do:

• Always go back to your other blog posts.
• Find the ones that were popular.
• Make an effort to include the links to those popular blog posts on your most recent ones.

Taking Action

Aim for best website traffic! You just learned the best insights for how to drive traffic to your website with few or no dollars at all! If this blog optimization guide felt awesome and informative, then make sure you share this blog post.