Self-help

You have your website. Now what?

How to promote your website to increase traffic on it

Now that you have your website, do you feel like it doesn’t get enough visitors? How can you increase traffic to it? Here are seven ideas that can help you.

1. Collateral materials

As a business, you likely have other marketing materials that can help you advertise your website. Analyze and improve your website promotion in all of them, including voice mail, printed ads, product sheets, leave-behinds, business cards, product labels, calendars, notepads, etc.

2. Email signature

How many emails do you send every day? Use your email sign off area for advertising. Refresh the message frequently and based on your target audience with a corresponding call-to-action. Use it for seasonal specials, limited-time offers, free demoes, product launches, new blog or article posts, new updates or anything else that may get readers to your website.

3. Directories

List your service on directories. There are many available online. If your business is located in Canada, search online for "Canada business directories". You may discover that some already list your business. If not, try to add it to their directory. Some directories charge fees, but many are free. Search also under provincial, regional, local or neighbourhood directories, as well as for your specific business category (translation, graphic design, music lessons, restaurant, real estate, financial services, etc.). Here are a few to get you started: Canadian Business Directory, CanPages, CanadaOne, Canada Business Directory.

4. Link exchange

Exchange links with friends or other professional or business websites. Include their link on your website and have your link added to their website. If you are exchanging with other businesses or professional, choose non-competitive, complementary services. For example, if you are a graphic designer, printers, illustrators, photographers and web designers may be useful to you.

5. Social media

Use LinkedIn, Facebook and other sites to promote your business or service. Make sure to use it in replies and messages to other users.

6. Answers

Provide answers on professional answer exchange sites such as LinkedIn Answers or Yahoo! Answers. These are great, because they are related to your area of expertise. Don’t forget to include your website in all your answers.

7. Provide content

The greatest way to make people come back (and to come back regularly) to your website is to provide content. Determine what creates the most value for your audience: resource lists, references, case studies, book reviews, tools, templates, free trials, sneak peeks, educational material, tutorials, assessments, self help, tips, critiques, articles, videos, etc.

Posted on October 21, 2012