The 5 Best Ways to Increase Website Traffic

Last Updated on May 15, 2020 by Taylor

Website traffic can sometimes feel out of reach, especially when you’re new to the online world. (But there are simple ways to increase website traffic – I’ll get to those shortly!)

I get how frustrating it can be when you know you have killer content and awesome products, but you can’t seem to get in front of the right people.

That’s where having a traffic strategy comes in. Because there are powerful ways to boost your traffic, as long as you’re willing to put in some work upfront. (Because nothing that’s worth it comes that easy!)

5 Simple Strategies to Increase Website Traffic

1. Grow traffic from Pinterest

Pinterest is my # 1 traffic generator for this website, and I don’t even spend much time on it.

It’s a search engine, just like Google, but it’s more visual-oriented.

And Pinterest traffic is highly targeted. Users on Pinterest are actively looking for their next product to purchase, or for a solution to a problem they have.

Check out these resources to help you dominate on Pinterest:

• 6 Steps to Optimize Your Pinterest Profile to Get Found & Make Sales
• 7 Steps to Harness the Power of Pinterest SEO
• 9 Proven Strategies to Get Your First 1,000 Followers on Pinterest
• How to Use Tailwind for Pinterest: The Ultimate Strategy Guide

2. Get media exposure

Leverage the power of digital media to get exposure for your business. I promise, it’s not as tough as it sounds!

I’ve been able to get featured in Business Insider, Inc.com, and other big media sites just by using these media outreach strategies.

Sometimes, all you need is a well-crafted email or a helpful tip to contribute. Journalists are always looking for content and products to discuss, so give them what they want! In return, you might see a nice jump in referral traffic.

3. Grow organic traffic with search engine optimization (SEO)

If you have your own website, and you create content (even if it’s just product descriptions), you should at least be getting your feet wet with search engine optimization.

Use a keyword tool like UberSuggest to find long-tail keywords that have a high search volume. That means people are actually searching for them!

It’s also best to compare how competitive that keyword is. Try to avoid keywords that are heavily used by high-authority sites, because your page may not show up high enough in the search results.

If you want to dig a little deeper into this strategy, consider boosting your domain authority. Here’s a guide on how search engine optimization works (and how to increase your Google rankings).

4. Use affiliate & influencer marketing

It’s not easy to grow a massive audience online. Fortunately, you don’t need to. You can reach out to influencers to market your products for you!

If you sell physical products, try partnering with brand reps to grow your brand awareness.

Essentially, you find influencers in your niche and offer to send them free products. In exchange, they recommend your products to their large audiences (who they’ve already built trust with).

If you sell digital products, creating an affiliate program for your products may be more effective. Most platforms allow you to set this up, but you can also use a site like ShareASale to do it yourself.

Bloggers and social media influencers can sign up to be an affiliate for your product. They receive a link to share with their followers, and in return, you give them a percentage of the income made if someone purchases through their link.

Not only can these strategies send more traffic to your website, but they can increase your sales and help your business get more exposure.

5. Drive website traffic with email marketing

If someone comes to your website once, wouldn’t you want to be able to nurture them so they come back for more?

By asking that person to join your email list, you can continue to build trust with them, and occasionally send them updates when you launch a new product.

So if you have your own website, make sure to add an opt-in form (with an enticing freebie) somewhere users will see it. (Here are 7 awesome opt-in freebie ideas for inspiration!).

You can even create a pop-up. But make sure to set it up so it doesn’t show to the same person every time they go to your site.

If you don’t have your own website (i.e. you use a platform like Etsy), create a landing page with a short URL. You can do this through your email service provider (MailChimp & ConvertKit both offer this), or with a service like Leadpages.

Then, promote that link to your audience through social media.

You’ll get the highest conversion rates if you offer a freebie in exchange for signing up. This could be a 10% discount on their next order, a free crochet pattern, digital planner pages – something that’s enticing, related to your niche, and easy to create.

All these methods have been huge for the success of both this blog and my online shop. I recommend starting with Pinterest, because that’s where you’ll see the most quick wins.

But the other methods are just as powerful. So once you’ve got Pinterest figured out, keep that momentum going!