Digital Marketing Consultant

Traffic is of utmost importance in a successful internet marketing business.  It is not so different than it is for a tradition business offline.   A store built on  the corner of a major intersection will usually do better than a business located down a vacant alley.  Let’s take a look at the top methods to drive website traffic.

SEO

It is no secret that SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the best methods to get traffic to your online business.  In fact SEO should be instituted even before your website is designed. 

SEO should be woven into all fibers of your online business.  

SEO is the most effective way to get the attention of the search engines which is used for internet searches by your potential customers.   Understanding keywords and how to effectively use these keywords in content, blog posts, is a vital part of SEO.  

Keyword density is critical to find favor with the search engines and is part of setting up a "perfect page." 

An SEO consultant or expert can provide website optimization for your website.

Once you get traffic to your site you will want to turn the visitors to customers.  This process is referred to as converting or conversion.  Not all visitors will be from your target market but if the SEO is done properly the majority of your visitors will have been searching for your particular niche.

One of the best ways to convert a visitor to a customer is to make sure the services and products you offer are easy to locate and are easy to purchase.  Your site needs a conversion architecture.  A lot of conversions never occur simply because there are too many steps or clicks involved in completing the process.  

Providing incentives to encourage a visitor to make a purchase is another successful tactic that can be utilized. 

Provide content that gives the visitor valuable information (to build credibility) can also improve the conversion rate for your website.

So many factors are involved in SEO.  A serious overview of what is necessary can be found in our Wisdom Book.

The success of search engine optimization is recognized by specific measures for your website.   There is so much more to measure than just the sheer number when it comes to website traffic.  Do you know what takes place with the traffic arriving on your website?  If you have analytics, do you understand the reports?

Some of the things you need to be measuring for the effectiveness of your search engine optimization include:
•    Bounce rate
•    Time on site
•    Page views
•    Goal completion
•    Conversions

The above measures should be performed at the keyword level.  Doing this will provide the information you need to know, the value of specific keywords, and identify opportunities for improvement for other keywords.   Measuring use throgh surveys with customer input and on social media can help you make informed decisions regarding your content and optimization strategies.

Analytics provide an array of information and graphs, making it easy to get lost in the data and graphics without gaining much insight or direction from them.   Knowing what you need to look for will keep you focused on getting the information you need to make strategic decisions for your business and your strategic marketing plan.

Understanding analytics takes time to get your arms around, but the end result of increased business, satisfied customers, and improved search engine ratings will be well work the time you have taken.

There are tools and Digital Marketing Consultancies with experts available to help you with the analytics of your website.  Using these services can save you time and allow you to experience much quicker business success.  To get an idea of what you need to know, see our Wisdom Book.  The book is long and, if  you don't have time to look through the whole thing, just start from the back.

Window shopping is made easy on the internet.  Shoppers can do it right from the comfort of their home and they do every day.  Your website should convert window shoppers to buyers.

Here are some action steps you can take to increase your online sales.

Target Market

To generate more sales you need to attract more of your target market to your website.   You want to attract the visitors who are looking for your specific products. In order to attract a defined target market, your marketing plan must be very targeted to that particular market. 

Your targeted market must be able to find exactly what they are looking for on your website.  Not every customer will be looking for the same thing and you must make sure each visitor can find the exact thing they are in search of.

Conversion Architecture

Make sure your website makes it easy for your visitors to make a purchase or to request your newsletter.  If this process is difficult in any way, the potential buyer will leave without making a purchase.  Your visitor should NEVER have to think about how to navigate your site...not for a split second.  And it should be simple and  intuitive to take the action of downloading, asking, or buying.

Analytics

Understand your visitors.  There are different types of visitors that will visit your website.  Understanding your visitors will help you to sell to visitors other than just your target market.  If you don't know who is visiting your site and who is taking action on your site, the rest of your site is a wasted effort.

Some visitors get to your site by mere chance, but if the appearance of your site can get their attention in a postive manner, they may just stick around for a while.  If your site is intuitive, the visitor will not be distracted by having to think what to do next.  Making it easy to take action by complete clarity will give your site the opportunity to possibly convert what otherwise might have just been a window shopper. 

If you would like to understand more, visit our Wisdom Book.

You can spend a lot of money to generate traffic to your site, but if your landing page is not designed to convert the traffic to action for the financial good of your business, your time and money are wasted.

A landing page that has "conversion architecture" with a great design and includes a compelling offer can successful create the conversions you seek.  Creating a good landing page is done through experience and testing.  The landing page should navigate easily (or not at all) and the offer needs to be obvious to the visitor as they spend only seconds scanning your page.  You do not want your visitor to have to search for the offer.   The basic message or content is needed for the search engines, but your visitors will only be scanning and glancing.  The proper use of attention getters such as bullets, headlines, images, etc are natural eye catchers for the visitor.

Creating a good landing page is more than just good wording on a white page.  Some creativity is essential in building a compelling landing page.   There is an art involved with landing page development, and without it, you will not have an effective landing page.

The ultimate goal of your landing page is to gain conversions.  That is, you want your traffic to be compelled to take your offer, make that purchase, sign up for your newsletter, or download a white paper.  You only have a few seconds for each visitor to get this action before he/she is mosing on down the search trail to another website.

Your visitors landing matters to your profitability and financial success, so visit, carefully evaluate, and test your landing page to see just how creative and compelling it is for a visitor.

For a complete description of how to set up a landing page, see page 117 in our Wisdom Book.