Traffic is the lifeblood of your business.  Without it, your business ain’t goin’ nowhere and fast.  They say in business that sales solves all problems.  Online the precursor to sales is traffic, so it’s really traffic that solves all problems.

Here are all the ways I could think of to get more traffic to your site:

Paid Ads

Ad platforms all have ways you can buy traffic.  This is the most expensive and fastest way to get traffic – you pay to get them to come to your site.  The trick with paid ads is to make sure the visitors you’re paying for are targeted, in other words, they’re a fit for your product.  Otherwise, it’s a waste.  Here are some articles and resources:

1.  Facebook:

• Running Facebook Ads Course
• 5 Biggest Facebook Advertising Mistakes (and how to avoid them)
• Facebook “Likes” on Startup Q&A
• Facebook ad tracking on Startup Q&A

2.  Google Adwords

3.  Instagram ads – we’ve recently found Instagram ads outperform Facebook ads.  You can run both from the Facebook ad platform.

4.  Twitter and

5.  Pinterest ad platforms aren’t yet as advanced or useful as Instagram and Facebook, at least in our experience.

Content Marketing

6.  Make content that is original, creative and sometimes controversial, so you stand out.  There are a lot of websites in the world, so yours has to offer your unique take on things.  Don’t be shy about stating your viewpoint, even if…especially if, it’s different than everyone else.

7.  Mix up the format.  Try different types of posts – short form, long form, super long form, infographics, charts and graphs, pictograms, audio, video, slideshare…whatever you can think of to keep it fresh and different.

8.  Write content that goes very in-depth about how to do something step-by-step.  Make it instructive, enough that your audience will want to share it with their market.

9.  Experiment with headlines by testing them as much as you can.  Headlines are what get your content read.

10.  Guest post on other blogs.  Some say guest posting is dead.  It may not work as well as it used to, but it still works.

In short: the objective of every piece of content is to make it compelling enough that people will want to 1) share it and 2) link to it (good for SEO).  You may notice in this article I have linked to resources that have been useful for me (other than what we’ve written).  Do that on your own site and people will find it and link to it.

11.  Write a really long list of useful ideas on how to do something.

Video

12.  Search engines love video.  Google owns YouTube, after all, and YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.  Facebook video is also hugely popular.  Creating videos and distributing them on multiple platforms is a great way to get followers, engagement and site visits, which can be very engaging traffic.  That’s why all our podcasts are shot in video first.  That’s where it’s at right now.

• Facebook video is killing YouTube (this post was quite controversial.  What do you think? Which platform is better for video – YouTube or Facebook?)

Podcasting

13.  Podcasting has been big for a few years and continues to grow, partly due to its ability to drive traffic to your website.  More and more platforms are carrying podcasts and soon podcasts will be easily accessible in every car.  Publishing a podcast is inexpensive, takes time and a long-term time commitment that can build over time.  Some things to remember when creating a podcast:

• Interview someone who has a unique insight.
• Interview someone famous or very specialized.
• Record your own rants or thoughts.
• Do something completely different and unique (bonus points for this one).
• Go behind the scenes of your company.
• Explain and teach.
• Be a guest on a lot of podcasts.  Those shows will link back to your site, which is great exposure and SEO.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

14.  Write content for humans, not for Google.  Stuffing your articles full of keywords doesn’t work anymore.  Use a careful keyword strategy and write for the reader, not the bots.

15.  Google and people both hate slow sites.  Use Pingdom to test your site speed and get it as fast as possible (caching plugin if you use WordPress.

16.  Upload a site map in all formats (sitemap, sitemap.xml and sitemap.html)

17.  Integrate Google Webmaster Tools to see where your site is lacking.

18.  Building links from high authority site is vital for your SEO.  Don’t buy cheap links because that may harm, more than help.  Write valuable content and build relationships with other companies in your niche who would link back to your content because it’s so amazing.

19.  Link out to content you find valuable to your readers.  Not only is it a great value for them, it could get you noticed by that website, which could lead to future collaboration.

Social

These videos have some amazing insights on how to do social right:

• How Nike, Vivent and others build their brand with social media
• 4 elements of high social engagement keynote

20.  Join or start a Facebook group or post in a forum. Facebook groups are very popular and being a member or some or hosting your own is a great way to build an audience.  Take care to focus on providing value and building relationships over selling and promoting all the time.  More in this article:  Facebook groups are taking off.

21.  Start or participate in a “Follow Friday” or “Favor Friday.”

22. Instagram: How to make your Instagram feed pop. How to stand out in a crowded world

23.  Twitter Courses

24. Snapchat

Webinars

25. Hosting your own or being a guest on someone else’s webinar.

IRL (In Real Life)

26. Join HARO (Help a reporter out) and get interviewed by reporters who need someone with your expertise. If they quote you in your article, ask that they also put a link to your website, which is a more effective way to drive traffic than just having your name mentioned.

27. How to add value with relationship marketing.

Attend Conferences

28.  Conferences and in-person events are always a great way to build relationships in a way you can’t do online.  It’s worthwhile to attend some every year to meet those people you’ve been talking to on social in real life and to make new connections.  You’ll meet people and they will naturally want to check out your website, which means a bit more traffic. It’s not a bad idea to get away from your computer for a few days either.

• 6 top tips when attending events and conferences
• Don’t miss the opportunity to connect 

Speak at conferences

29.  It’s not easy getting speaking gigs, but if that’s something you’re comfortable with, it can make a conference much more worth while because networking is much easier when you’re a speaker.  Being a speaker you get a platform, you stand out and it gives you some authority.  When you speak, be sure to video it so you can use it for your own marketing, as a digital resume to get more speaking gigs (big conferences often ask for video submissions so they can see your speaking ability), creating content with it and share it on your social media.

Be interviewed on TV

30.  Much like speaking at a conference, being on TV gives you authority and is great content for you.  Being on TV immediately gives you a halo effect – people think you’re cool just because you were on TV.

Get them to return

31.  Once you’ve got someone to visit your website, make it easy on yourself and them by hooking them with social media or giving them a reason to join your email list.

• Ask visitors to opt-in to your email list or bookmark your content, so they come back.
• Ask them to follow you on social.
• Give them a reason to opt-in or follow.  Don’t just say “Join our list for updates”.  That’s not specific enough.  Give the something specific like access to exclusive content.

Focus on Design & Function

32.  The look of your site matters, so make it easy to read with large clear font, plenty of spaces between lines, double spacing and extra space between paragraphs.  Don’t clutter the pages with too much info or too many graphics and links.  Keep it simple and clean so the visitor feels at home.  Just like inviting someone to your home, you would be embarrassed if it was dirty and cluttered and no one would stick around.

33.  Each page should have 1 purpose.  One thing you want them to do on that page and everything on that page should point to that 1 purpose.  Check out Zappos.com.  Notice all the orange.  They want you to click on the orange.  Everything on each page leads your eye (and mouse finger) to the orange.

34.  Make it easy for people to share your content with clear “Share” buttons.  The best amount is 3-5.  You don’t need to put a link to every available social network.  The more you add, the less likely it is someone will use it.

35.  Use social proof.  Social proof shows people that your site isn’t a deserted wasteland.  Show comments, follower count, when the last article was published or anything else that shows activity.

Convert visitors

36.  Define what your site does on the top of every page of your site.  Far too many sites don’t clearly state what they do and people won’t take the time to figure it out.  Have a very clear benefits statement.

37.  Ask for the conversion.  Every page should have one purpose and ask the visitor to do something like opt-in to your list, buy your product, comment, share, like or just to read the next article.  BTW…why don’t you read this article.  See what I did there?

Ask the reader to share it with his or her friends.  So, will you share this on Facebook? I’d appreciate it.