Are you concerned that your website isn’t bringing as many visitors as it could be? I promise you’re not alone in this. Even if you had your website made by a professional web designer, you might not have had a discussion on marketing. So, let’s set the record straight!
This article will explore some cost-effective ways to bring more visitors to your website. We’ll cover social media, SEO, and engaging in online communities relevant to your niche. By implementing these budget-friendly techniques, you can effectively grow your online presence and gain the traffic and sales you deserve.
In my years of experience in digital marketing, I’ve learned quite a lot about how to deal with this. Way back in the early 2000s when I was a baby marketer, I too, struggled with getting website visitors. But I overcame this by educating this, learning what works, and keeping up with the ever-changing internet marketing landscape.
So let’s tackle this together and ensure you’re building an online presence that lasts into the ages!
Here are some of my favourite, and potentially cheapest ways to drive traffic to a website:
Email Marketing
Email marketing involves creating a database of audience members who are interested in what you sell. You can use email newsletters to periodically direct them to your website when there’s something new to see, or if you’re having a sale!
In terms of cost-effectiveness, it’s proven to be one of the best! As people who subscribe to your emails are more likely to see those rather than your social media posts. When you calculate the traffic gained from time and money spent on email newsletters, it becomes one of the cheapest ways to drive traffic to a website.
However, please ensure that you build your list ethically and with consent! The last thing you want is a damaged reputation because you sneakily or unlawfully signed them up for emails without their awareness. Also, if too many people report your emails as spam, you may spoil your chances of reaching people who keenly want to hear from you.
Social Media Marketing
Nothing gets better than free, right? And while you certainly can set up a free business profile on the most popular social networking websites, there is a catch: You can’t just yell, “visit my website” or “buy my stuff” without first establishing a rapport with your audience.
In other words, the most common reason why posting on social media doesn’t work is because you don’t have a strategy. The second most common reason is because there’s simply not enough demand for what you’re selling.
In a nutshell, with social media you must do the following:
- Entertain your audience,
- Educate your audience,
- And create affinity with your audience — that is to say, a sense of, “ah this brand/person is like me!”
Social media is a cheap way to drive traffic to your website. But you will never get the website traffic and sales you want if you don’t nurture your connection with your audience.
Search Engine Marketing (i.e. SEO)
SEO might seem a little mysterious, so I’ll give it to you straight: It’s a process of making your website more appealing to search engines and humans.
The reward for good on and off-off page SEO is having your web pages appear higher in search results.
- On-page SEO involves making your website fast, user-friendly, and including good cues to tell Google what your page is about. (Some of this involves knowing what to put where in HTML code.)
- Off-page SEO is any kind of PR you can do for your website. Get linked, get talked about… The more organically and ethically you do this, the better. As buying a bunch of random backlinks or followers could actually penalise you!
You’ll want to play your cards right in order to get the best position on Google. What this means is you have to match up the best of what you offer to what people are looking for. You’ll need to figure out what keywords people type into Google that relate to products you offer, and problems you solve.
Offline Marketing
By attending trade shows, conferences, and other networking events, you can drive people to your website simply by engaging with people.
People are generally curious about you and what you do. Especially so if you show interest in them. In other words, don’t make your participation all about you and what you can gain.
If you’re disabled, chronically ill, introverted, or otherwise lack the spoons to go out much, that’s okay! Online networking events, such as those run by the Alternative Business Network could be an option for you.
Facebook Groups
There are a plethora of business networking and promo groups available on Facebook.
Just be mindful about their rules, and seek to create genuine connections with group members. Nobody likes a spammy Sam who likes to dump their post and run. In fact, if you only show up to post on designated promo days, it’ll reflect poorly on you, your algorithm, and could result in a ban.
One of cheapest ways to drive traffic to a website is by joining online groups and sharing your site there.
Whether or not the rules are clear, always err on the side of giving more than you take.
Are paid ads a cheap way to drive traffic to a website?
Notice how I didn’t mention paid ads? Because if you’re not doing any of the above, paid media ads should not be your first option (unless you’re prepared to see a lot of money disappear)!
Trust me. As someone who’s been doing this since 2019, I’ve seen this go wrong so many times. This is why I’m so passionate about helping businesses — Because when money is already tight, you don’t want to see it go to waste!
Typically with Facebook or Google Ads, you’re paying for clicks. And, while indeed you can find ways to lower your CPC (cost-per-click), that often comes with a decrease in the quality of your website visitors. In other words, while it may be nice to see your traffic numbers go up, I think it’s even better that those people are also ones who are more likely to buy, yeah?
Conclusion
In summary, getting more people to your website doesn’t have to be an expensive endeavour. By focusing on organic methods like SEO, content creation, and social media engagement, you can ensure you’ll always have new people coming to your website. However, consistency and patience will be your keys to success. Typically, those who put effort in over the long term will get better results than someone who expected a quick win from paid ads. In the end, slow and steady wins the race.
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