Website traffic driving strategy

YOU have invested your time and energy to build your organisation a great new website, but you are not getting quite the results you were hoping for.

Few customers are visiting or interacting with you and rarely do you get prospects to contact you through the site. So what can you do to improve the odds that you are reaching your anticipated audience?

1 PAPERWORK

This is the easiest and most economical method of advertising your site. Make sure you place your domain name on every form that is generated by your organisation. Some of the forms to consider: quote, invoice, orders, bill of lading, purchase order, checks, statements, labels, letterhead, envelopes, fax forms and e-mail signature.

2 VOICE MAIL ANNOUNCEMENT

Announce your domain name and an attention-grabbing message on your corporate and individual voice mails. A great way to attract users to your site is to offer an incentive that is available only on the web. Some examples: “For additional and current specials, check out our website…” or “Check out our website for the article regarding the seven deadly mistakes people make when planning a party.”

3 E-MAIL SIGNATURE

Include your demographic information such as name, address, telephone and fax numbers, your web address and promotional information.

4 VERBAL

Make sure you and your staff are constantly promoting your website and its content and value to your customers.

5 NEWSLETTER

Develop an electronic newsletter to advise your customers and prospects of your products and services and all of the incentives available on the web.

Provide an easy link within the newsletter to direct the user to the appropriate web page. My recommendation is to strive for a monthly frequency distribution.

6 LINKS

Trade links (URL) with other business associates, customers and vendors will drive traffic your way. When providing a resource link on your site to take the user elsewhere, make sure to open that link in a separate session. Once the visitor is on your site, keep them on your site voluntarily and do not force them to leave your site by clicking on an outside resource.

7 MEDIA

Always include your website domain name when advertising or writing about your company in newspapers, magazines, trade publications, radio, TV, web and banners.

8 SEARCH ENGINES

Optimisation and Pay-perclickSEO and PPC is a huge growing segment of the economy and is the reason why companies such as Google, Yahoo, Overture and others have grown as much as they have.

The basic concept is to properly optimise your site using certain key words and phrases to increase the odds that people can easily find you when they surf and search the web. This area requires professional assistance.

Implementing the proper plan to drive traffic to your site is a complicated task that requires strategic and tactical planning. However, you may find that some areas I illustrated above are pretty easy to embrace and are economical as well. Don’t lose the opportunities that are out there. Finish building it so they will come.

– Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network