Developing and sustaining web traffic

How to maximise your investment in your website
So, you’ve invested money in your website and got it up to scratch, but you’re concerned about the number of visitors you are getting? For many small to medium sized organisations this is a typical concern. Here are some basic steps you can take to drive and sustain web traffic.

Website content:

• Ensure relevant, useful, high quality content with easy navigation to meet the needs of the all audiences you are addressing – with separate areas for each audience.
• Ensure the content is dynamic and changing. Not just the home page. Adding new information will freshen content and increase usefulness for returning visitors.
• Advice and downloads. Naturally enough your website probably only provides information about your company and the products and services you offer. But if you are able to offer free advice without comprising the service you offer (in much the same way as what you are reading now) you will give existing and potential customers more reason to visit your site and increase the potential value you offer as a supplier.
• For example you could develop a free guide about some aspect of your marketplace, launch this via a press release and provide a free download from your website to drive site traffic.
• Always ensure you have a facility to show or link to third party endorsement and media coverage – to build credibility

Search engine optimisation:
• Your web master should set this up to ensure your company name pops up in relevant online searches. It’s worth brainstorming this. Imagine yourself as a potential customer – what search terms would you be using?
• Google Adwords – these offer another option but in many cases this is an unnecessary investment for SME’s.

Company correspondence

• All communications from proposals, to invoices should include your website address. This should be built in to your procedures – an automatic action. You can vary the address you use, to steer visitors to your home page or specific areas of your website, where you might have seasonal promotions or special news.

Email signatures

• All employee email signatures should include a link to your website. Again this should be built in to your company procedures. And you should vary this at regular intervals depending on what new information you have added to the site. You could link straight to the home page, to the news section or to a specific landing page. Email should be set automatically to ensure this happens.

Online networking

• Using Linked In, Twitter and E-cademy is a great way to widen and sustain relationships with key contacts. Set up profiles for senior management and post regular updates and comments with links to the website for further info.
• For example on Linked In – post regular views and comments (weekly) and link to every news story you announce with a link back to the specific web page
• Linked In has many different industry groups. Join groups that are relevant to your market and use it to open discussion topics and invite comment as a way to increase your visibility, again with links back to your website.

Marketing materials, Email campaigns and Newsletters
• All your marketing materials, whether they are printed, digital, press releases or brochures should include your website address for further information.
• Regular Email Newsletters providing a digest of news and information linked to each relevant story will help drive visitors to site.
• Discrete email campaigns targeting specific audiences that you are trying to do business with should link back to specific landing pages addressing the services you offer, with onward links to other relevant area’s of your site, for example this could be a case study, or hints and tips.