With your 2024 goals in hand and the AI revolution looming you might be wondering – “how do I increase my website traffic?” Here’s 10 quick tips to get you started! First, here’s the TL;DR version for anyone short on time:

1. Content creation
   1. Blogging, creating product/service pages and publishing research & data
2. Search engine optimize (SEO)
   1. Making your website more SEO-friendly will more often than not increase your organic search traffic
3. Get backlinks
   1. Getting links pointed to your site, or backlinks, will drive referral traffic and help your SEO
4. Social media
   1. Share your website content on social media channels and/or pay for social media ads
5. Paid search
   1. If you’re having a tough time ranking organically you can always pay for search traffic
6. Display media
   1. Display ads can be a great way to generate brand awareness at a low cost per impression
7. Traditional advertising
   1. TV, radio & print are all still relevant in today’s marketing mix and can be great for driving website traffic
8. Email marketing
   1. Email marketing is great at bringing people back to your site and the right messaging can attract new users
9. Word of mouth
   1. Don’t forget to tell people about your website!
10. Build a brand
    1. Building a brand is a long-term investment that will increase your website traffic and help your business grow

#1: Content creation

Content is what gives people a reason to visit your website.  Even if your website is ecommerce focused, people need content about your products to inform their decision. Consistently publishing unique, high-quality content is the best way to increase your website traffic. Content creation comes in many forms. One of the most commons ways to create content is by blogging. Other options include creating product/service-specific landing pages. In some cases, it may even make sense to create landing pages for each use case or benefit to using a particular product or service. And publishing any available original research or data is also great for creating content. Performing keyword research will help you determine the best topics to focus on when creating content. Learn how to do keyword research for free.

Content creation is also the best way to improve your website’s SEO – which is #2 on our list.

#2: Search engine optimization (SEO)

Optimizing your website for search engines is a great way to drive more website traffic. Organic search traffic is the largest channel for most websites. According to some studies, organic search is responsible for 53% of all website traffic.

It’s important to remember that no one can promise additional traffic from doing SEO. And even when optimizations do work, the impact isn’t immediate. But more often than not, optimizing your site to follow even basic best practices will increase your traffic long-term. Best of all, incremental organic search traffic doesn’t come with incremental costs. Learn what SEO is and how to get started and make sure to check out these 2024 trends to watch for.

#3: Get backlinks

Getting backlinks through content creation and outreach is not only great for driving referral traffic – but it will also help your SEO. Backlink building can be view as three distinct categories:

1. Links you create (e.g. social media and map listings)
2. Links that your content naturally attracts
3. Links you earn through quotes, guest posts and outreach

Links you can create are important, but unlikely to help your SEO as much as those you earn. It’s important to avoid paying for backlinks or engaging in link networks as it can result in penalties.

#4: Social media

Building a following on social media is a great way to drive incremental website traffic. Sharing links to your website and including relevant call-to-actions (CTAs) can help not only drive website traffic, but also convert followers to customers. Aside from organic social, there’s also advertising options for most major platforms. Here’s some resources to get you started if you’re interested in going the paid social route:

• Facebook (Meta) Ads
• Instagram Ads
• TikTok for business
• YouTube page for Google Ads
• LinkedIn ads

#5: Paid search (PPC)

Organic search and social not cutting it? Then maybe paying for traffic is needed. Paid search, or pay-per-click (PPC) ads are the paid listings you see at the top of Google and other search engines. Google Ads and Microsoft Ads are the two largest and most reputable paid search vendors.

#6: Display media

Display media, or banner ads, are often focused on driving impressions. While clicks and visits might not be the goal for most display campaigns, they can drive traffic. And aside from the immediate clicks, using display media can help drive brand awareness.

#7: Traditional advertising

Few TV, radio or print ads end without mentioning the company’s website. In many cases, the primary call-to-action is driving viewers to visit a website. It should be no surprise then that traditional advertising can be a great way to drive website traffic.

#8: Email marketing

Email marketing is great for getting existing visitors and customers to return to your website. Sending out a periodic newsletter or sales update is an effective way to encourage users to return to your website. Using opt-in email marketing, where users sign up themselves, often builds brand loyalty and trust. And with the right messaging, you might even be able to attract new users through opt-out email marketing (restrictions apply, e.g. CAN-SPAM Act in the US)

#9: Word of mouth

When building a website for your small-medium business it’s important to remember the value of word of mouth. If you already have a customers or a following it makes sense to share your website with them. Alternatively, if you’re just getting started make sure to share with friends and family. It might not “move the needle” on its own, but every little bit helps.

#10: Building a brand

Building a brand is a great way to invest in your business and to drive more traffic to your website long-term. The key here is the long-term piece – which is why I left it for last. Building a brand doesn’t happen overnight – it could take years. Also, executing well on the first 9 tips for driving more traffic will help in your journey to building a brand. Check out Adobe’s step-by-step guide to learn more about building a brand.

Conclusion

It’s important to remember that driving website traffic is only part of the equation. Unless you’re monetizing traffic (like ads on news site) you also need visitors to convert. Ensuring the traffic being driven to your site is relevant is the first step to making sure they convert.

And as you may have noticed, many of these channels work together like a tide raising all the ships. It’s important to take an omnichannel perspective on your marketing for the best results.

• Mail
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Instagram