One of the functions of websites is to drive traffic to your services or products. In addition to providing information about your business or products, it ideally also entices potential customers to try it out for themselves. Hopefully, that traffic then converts into sales. However, one of the challenges for every business is figuring out how to build organic traffic online. We’ll break down some of the best ways to make this happen for your business in this article. The more traffic you get, the higher the chance that a percentage of those will convert into sales. For example, if say, 1% of your traffic turns into a sale, having 100,000 visitors to your site is way better than 1,000. So let’s jump into the wide world of figuring out how to build organic traffic online and bolster your business’s online presence.
What Is Organic Traffic Exactly?
There are two main types of “traffic” in the online world. One is paid traffic, which stems from visits to a site because of advertisements that the business pays for. Organic traffic is essentially “free” — people come to your site because they’ve done an online search for a specific set of keywords that directs them to your site. There’s no third-party referral via advertisements.
Organic traffic is important because it gives you more control. Paid advertisements are an important piece of the pie, certainly, but by establishing a strong flow of organic traffic, you know that people coming to your website are doing so because of the keywords that have led them to you — keywords that describe your business, products, or services. It’s an important part of branding your business.
How Do I Build Organic Traffic Online?
One of the most important ways that you can boost organic traffic is by making good quality content and publishing it regularly. For example, businesses that release 16 or more blog posts a month see almost four times the traffic compared to companies who do four or fewer monthly posts.
Social media is also an important aspect. It can really help to get your business out there, and with over 70% of adults using Facebook (according to the Pew Research Center), this is a step you can’t afford to miss. Indeed, 70% of online referrals are generated from what’s called “dark” social networking (that is, one user sharing with another), through messaging apps, e-mails, and private browsing. You want to take advantage of that and provide shareable links and interesting content to promote your brand.
Being smart about your keywords is also important. When you’re building your content, you want to be sure to include keywords that are more geographically specific to your area and what you’re trying to promote.
Paying attention to content marketing, making good relationships within the online community of your industry, and staying up to date on trends (and adjusting accordingly) can all also be key when it comes to starting to build organic traffic online.
How Else Can I Strengthen My Business’s Online Presence?
If this all sounds a bit daunting — or you’ve started to build, but aren’t sure where to go from here — contacting a digital marketing agency or full service marketing agency isn’t a bad idea. They can help with specific areas like SEO services or social media marketing, but can also help develop a more comprehensive plan for your business going forward.
Having a good website is also important, so if you’re looking to revamp or update, hiring web design services can give your online profile a nice boost. Online users do judge a book by its cover, so to speak, so if your website is clunky to use or outdated, they’re much more likely to go elsewhere for the same information — something you don’t want!
In our digital age, having a healthy online presence is crucial when it comes to building a customer base, maintaining it, and growing it. Seek out a marketing firm that can help you expand and deliver with confidence.