30+ ways to get visitors to your website

So you have a great website with lots of good information.  But how do you get people to see it? 

And specifically, the people you WANT to see it - the people that will buy from you or engage your services.

This post provides a whole bunch of ideas on how to get those all important visitors to your site, using off-line and online tactics.

A challenge particularly for new websites is getting visitors (ie traffic).  Not only will you not be getting any sales or enquiries, you won't be getting enough data to know what is or isn't working on the site (other than 'not enough visitors!)

Online traffic generators

1. Free traffic from Google - what's not to like?  Google can be an immensely important source of visits to your site - but you have to be on the first page of the search results for the right search terms to acheive it.  But wishing it won't make it happen, and we've got a whole section of this blog dedicated to SEO: Search Engine Optimisation.  Don't overlook Bing and Yahoo as well.  The only issue with search traffic is that engagement can be low because there is no engagement with your brand (at least, not yet)
2. Pay per Click advertising – e.g. Google AdWords. One of the simplest and most effective ways.  It can get expensive and you do need to keep an eye on it for maximum return from the investment.  It can also be a great way to find out what search terms people are using as input for your SEO efforts.  If you don't have the motivation or resources for an SEO strategy this is a great way to go, and you can target phrases that people who want to buy use.  Try and avoid information gathering phrases like "best...." or "how to....".
3. Banner advertising on high traffic sites such as news sites.  This can also get expensive and is generally considered a good way to raise awareness of your brand, rather than for it's great return on investment.  Consider if you have a good creative team and a decent budget
4. Affiliate marketing (pay others to market your products and they clip the ticket on the way)
5. Video marketing - Google shows video in the search results, just make sure you have your website address on your videos!  Create a YouTube channel and go from there. Video can also be syndicated.
6. Blogging - a blog on your own site makes it easy to add content regularly, or you could have a separate blog that refers people back to your main site.  A blog is a game changer from an SEO perspective and it doesn't have to be opinion pieces.  It can include tips, FAQ's etc.  To support your blogging efforts you'll also need a social sharing plan to get your content out there
7. Article submissions. There are many article sites that you can submit content to free to drive traffic back to your website, although these have fallen out of favour recently due to people submitting (and getting accepted) low quality, plagerised content.
8. Smart phone applications (and their embedded advertising) - these can also be expensive to develop and you'll need to come up with something people will actually want to download and use.  You can develop an android (or iPhone) app or a web app that runs within a browser.
9. Email newsletters - it's easier to get business from people you already have a relationship with, than trying to find and attract new prospects.  Newsletters keep your name in front of potential customers who can easily get wooed away by someone else offering incentives to move to them.
10. Social media – claim your social stake on the most popular networks and use status updates to link back to your site, build connections etc.  Go for the social sites that your audience actually uses and makes sense for your service or product.  Instagramm is big for those who have something visual to share (travel, gifts) but like any network you need to dedicate time to build your followers and post things they are interested in.   You can also invest in advertising on social media sites.
11. Podcasts (don't forget to mention your site and why they should go there!)
12. Listings in online business directories - Google online business directories and you'll find a whole pile of them.  Some have free and paid options, but if you are goig to pay for listing make sure they have some way of quantifying what you'll get out of it.  No point paying for a listing that just puts you in amoungst dozens of listings for your competitors.
13. Guest blogging, opinion pieces or interviews for news media and other high profile third party.  If you are a thought leader in your industry or have something to say, others might be interested in publishing it.  Typically you'll need a good blog to show off your stuff, otherwise you'll need to have built a name for yourselve in other more traditional ways.  The standards for guest blogging is high, so make sure it's good!
14. Email signatures - make sure your website address is there, or perhaps include a special offer
15. Links from partners, suppliers and client sites - in the form of testimonials, case studies or just recommendations.  Works well for people in similar industries, but can be hard to get- typically you'll need a real word relationship with someone before they'll promote your business on their website. 
16. Participate in online forums and communities, or answer questions on sites like Quora.  Be careful though - this can be very time consuming!  And comment spam just doesn't work anymore so don't bother spraying a comment like "Great site" with a link back to your website, all over the place.
17. Provide a useful tool that saves time, money or effort - people will link to valuable content.  Like any content, it will need to be optimised and you'll need to promote it so it gets picked up in the search results
18. Simple games, quizzes etc (i.e. entertain) - same as tools, build it and they will come doesn't work
19. Create lists – top 10's, useful links, extensive resource lists - these will also need to be shared and promoted to get visibility.  Try turning them into a presentation and share it on Slideshare.
20. Share links to your content via aggregator sites - like Reddit or Stumbleupon.  But it will need to be quality content as always.

Offline traffic generators

1. Include website address on t-shirts, pens and other promotional items
2. Include your website address on business cards and stationary.  On your business card, include a call to action or special offer
3. Vehicle signage
4. Radio advertising
5. TV advertising
6. Support a business, cause or event
7. Print catalogues, brochures
8. Press releases
9. Direct marketing/telemarketing
10. Hold seminars and offer guest speaking
11. Attend conferences - if you hand out your business card include a call to action for an offer they have to go get off your site (like a free report or tool)

Above all create fantastic content that is interesting, useful or outrageously entertaining.