The Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide To Increase Your Website Traffic

What is website traffic?

Let's define website traffic for a quick refresher.

Website traffic refers to users visiting a website. It is measured as "visits" or "sessions." To sum up, web traffic is an essential part of digital marketing.

Why? Because that's how you can measure how many people visit your website. Also, you need people to visit your website before taking other actions, like purchasing.

Now, let's talk about...

Why is website traffic necessary to your eCommerce store?

Website traffic can...

1. Transform into action

Before visitor turns into paying customer, the first thing they need to do is to visit your website. They can't purchase if they don't, right?

So, that's one of the things why driving traffic to your eCommerce website is essential and why you should think of an effective strategy.

Website traffic can also...

2. Help you find the most effective marketing strategy

How? Because you always need to analyze your insights. It will help you find which strategy is working best in driving traffic.

And when you know where most traffic is coming from, you know which strategies to improve and optimize to get more.

Getting a lot of website traffic also allows you to...

3. Showcase your eCommerce brand

After driving traffic to your website, the biggest challenge is making the visitors stay. So, this is your chance to showcase what your brand and products are capable of.

Also, don't forget... first impressions last. Your website should captivate your visitors and keep them interested. That way, they can decide if they want to take action on your website.

I'm sure you want to get to the best part of this guide. So, let's start!

Conduct a market research

You've probably done this already... even before starting your business. But doing it again for your digital marketing efforts will be helpful.

You need to understand your market. This is important because you can figure out ways to implement it to get more traffic. The first thing you need to do is...

Learn your audience

Answer these questions...

• Who are your target customers?
• What are the platforms they use?
• What are the kinds of content they enjoy?
• What are their pain points?

You can answer these questions by evaluating your business and products. You can also conduct a competitor research or check your analytics.

It's crucial to answer these to help you understand your target customers. Once you know the answers to these questions, you can have an answer to this question...

How can you attract them to go to your website?

Figure out the best platforms to use

You surely don't want your strategies to go to waste... right? So, the platforms you should use are those your target customers use.

For example, you want to target Gen Zs. Some popular platforms among that demographic are Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.

That will help you send your message across and reach the right people. Your efforts will not go to waste by doing this.

Define their pain points

This is crucial because you need to know their points to strategize. If you want to create content that will drive them to your website... you need to make them curious.

Show them that you know what their problems are. And your products can solve them. That's why you need to define their points when conducting research.

Once you're done with research, you should...

Optimize your website for SEO

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is an excellent way to boost your discoverability on search engines.

But what is SEO, anyway? Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving your website traffic with the help of search engines. The higher your ranking is, the better.

So, SEO should be one of your focuses because it will help you increase your website traffic. And in this step, that's what we'll talk about.

But before that... why is SEO important for your brand and website traffic?

Importance of SEO

1. Provides value

When customers search for keywords or terms... they're looking for an answer. They need something valuable. It can be an informational blog, a site where they can shop what they're looking for, etc.

And your website can be that page. When they search for the things they need, your website should be the most helpful in answering their concerns.

2. Drives relevant people

You're not just driving the most random people to your website. You're driving prospects who are interested in your brand or products.

You should know this because they are searching for your keywords. Let's say you're selling gifts. If they search "where to buy wallets for men," that means they have the intention of buying one.

So, you're driving relevant people to your website—those genuinely interested in your brand or products.

3. Increases your visibility

Of course, this is one of the most important benefits of SEO. It can increase your visibility if you rank higher on search engines.

Because when your potential customers search for specific terms, your website will appear on the SERPs or Search Engine Results page's first page.

SEO is probably the cheapest way to drive traffic to a website because it's organic. So...

1. Provides value

When customers search for keywords or terms... they're looking for an answer. They need something valuable. It can be an informational blog, a site where they can shop what they're looking for, etc.

And your website can be that page. When they search for the things they need, your website should be the most helpful in answering their concerns.

2. Drives relevant people

You're not just driving the most random people to your website. You're driving prospects who are interested in your brand or products.

You should know this because they are searching for your keywords. Let's say you're selling gifts. If they search "where to buy wallets for men," that means they have the intention of buying one.

So, you're driving relevant people to your website—those genuinely interested in your brand or products.

3. Increases your visibility

Of course, this is one of the most important benefits of ecommerce SEO. It can increase your visibility if you rank higher on search engines.

Because when your potential customers search for specific terms, your website will appear on the SERPs or Search Engine Results page's first page.

SEO is probably the cheapest way to drive traffic to a website because it's organic. So...

1. Conduct a keyword research

Keywords are crucial in SEO. Why? Because these are the terms, your prospects use when searching on the search engine.

Here is an example:

As you can see, these are the results when I searched for "smartwatch for women." There's an eCommerce site and a magazine for women on the top results.

And just imagine how many people will click on your website if you're on the top result. That's the position you should strive for.

Before anything else, let's discuss some types of keywords because these are important in finding the right keywords to use.

1. Short-tail keywords. These keywords consist of 3 words or fewer. For example, "affordable watches."
2. Long-tail keywords. These keywords have more than three words. Because of that, they usually have a few search volumes. And they include keywords related to your brand. For example, "affordable rose gold watches."
3. Short-term keywords. These keywords have been relevant for some time. Since that's the case, the search volume decreases once the relevance or trend decreases.
4. Long-term evergreen keywords. Evergreen keywords are relevant at all times. For example, "how to take care of leather watches." These keywords are still related to your products and brand.
5. Geo-targeting keywords. You should include geo-targeting keywords in your strategy if you have a physical store. As the term suggests, it includes your location. For example, "smartwatches in the United Kingdom."

Now that you know some keywords to consider, let's discuss how to conduct keyword research.

First, you need to make a list of possible keywords that are related to your niche and target market. For example, you're selling clothes. Some keywords are "clothes for men," "clothes for toddlers," etc.

Doing so will give you an idea of what keywords to consider when researching for the keyword volumes.

Next, use keyword research tools. This will make your life easier and give you accurate results. Some tools you can use are:

• Google Keyword Planner
• MOZ Keyword Explorer
• QuestionDB

Then list all the keywords you come up with and use them on your website, blogs, social media, etc. This way, you can increase your chances of ranking higher on the SERPs.

2. Update your web content

For sure, you already have a lot of existing content on your website. So, you need to update them to boost your discoverability and get more traffic.

These include:

• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• ALT texts
• Keyword placements
• Linking strategy

In doing so, you can make your content more discoverable by using the keywords you researched strategically.

3. Enhance technical SEO

Prospects can't visit your website if you don't enhance your technical SEO. Why? Because this is about how your website works.

If it doesn't work efficiently... how can they visit it, right? So, let's improve your technical SEO by...

1. Improving your website speed. How can you generate traffic if your website is loading slowly? Make sure to improve your website speed by removing unnecessary plugins and compressing large product images.
2. Securing your website. You should get an SSL certificate to boost your site's credibility. SSL certificates can also prevent interrupted session timeouts on your website.
3. Having a responsive website. You can't get more traffic if your website isn't working efficiently. So, you should ensure its responsiveness at all times.

Have you added these things to your checklist for increasing website traffic? Make sure to take note of all of these because there's more!

Leverage content marketing

Driving traffic to your website also includes leveraging content marketing. This is one of the most effective ways to attract potential customers to your website. Here are the reasons...

Why you should have an excellent content marketing strategy?

Great content marketing can help you...

1. Capture the audience's attention

Your potential customers are on different platforms before they come across your website. It can be through search engines, social media, and more.

If you don't get their attention, you won't be able to transform them into website visitors. So, your content must be captivating enough to...

2. Make the audience curious

You should create content that will make the audience feel something... and that can be curiosity. You have to make them want to know more about your brand.

That will also...

3. Encourage prospects to visit your website

They will visit your website if they're curious enough. And that's with the help of your content. So generating traffic is achievable if you put out valuable and promotional content.

You're probably wondering... how to create content your potential customers can't resist?

Content marketing tips for generating organic traffic

1. Understand the buyer's journey

You can create compelling content if you understand the buyer's journey. This allows you to make the right content based on where they are. That way, you can lead them to take your desired action.

Here is an example of a buyer's journey or sales funnel.

You need to create content for each buyer's journey. For example, let's say you're targeting people who aren't aware of your brand yet.

The content you need to post must include an introduction to your brand... such as the problem you solve, the benefits of your products, etc.

Now, let's say the prospects have the desire to purchase your products. You can amplify that by posting customer reviews and testimonials to make them take the plunge.

Customer journey mapping can also help you map out content based on the buyer's journey. This can help you meet the customers where they're currently at.

2. Write blog posts

Blog posts are also helpful in driving traffic to your website.

Say you published a blog post with well-researched keywords... if a prospect used those keywords and saw you in the SERPs, they will visit your web pages.

Here are some tips for writing blog posts:

• Make it engaging. Write blog posts that interest your audience and will make them take action.
• Use attention-grabbing headlines and meta titles. That's what your prospects will see before clicking your web pages. That's why you should grab their attention by using captivating headlines.
• Use keywords within the blog. Yep, you should also use the keywords you researched within the blog. Place them strategically and make them natural.

You see, blog posts work wonders in driving more people to your eCommerce website... especially if you distribute them on other platforms. And we'll talk about it later!

3. Create thumb-stopping social media posts

Want to drive people who are casually scrolling on social media to your website? Then create content that will make them pause and take a look at your page.

The good thing about social media is you can redirect your customers to your website by adding the URL to captions, bio, etc. But of course, you should produce captivating content.

But how? Here are some tips for creating content that will entice prospects to go to your website:

• Create engaging content. Engaging content can help you increase your engagement. Your target customers will interact with your post if they find it interesting.
• Don't limit your content to one pillar. Don't be afraid to do other things! Since entertaining short-form videos are making rounds these days... feel free to create one. You should experiment to find the best content pillars.
• Showcase your brand identity. This isn't just limited to using your brand colors and typography. This also includes using your TOV (tone of voice) in your copy, posting content that aligns with your brand image, etc.

If you get their attention on social media, they will be interested in reading and learning more about your post. Then they can see your website.

But remember... always place your website URL in your caption and bio! And add a CTA or call-to-action to persuade them.

Creating content is one thing. But making sure the right people will see your content is another. So, you need to be mindful of your content distribution. Speaking of which...

Build a content distribution strategy

Building a content distribution strategy will improve the reach of your content. That means the more people can see and engage with them... the more people you can redirect to your website.

Before we get into the tips, here are some factors to consider:

1. Your audience. We talked about this earlier. It's important to know who are your target customers so you can build the proper strategy.
2. The platforms. You don't need to distribute the same content on different platforms. Choose the ones where your customers are.
3. Your goals. What are the goals of your content? You can create an effective strategy if you know what you want to achieve.

Also, here are some of the types of content you can distribute:

• eBooks
• Podcasts
• Videos
• Blogs
• Case studies
• Webinars
• Presentations
• Emails

Make sure to apply the content marketing tips when creating them! After that, distribute them properly. Here are the...

7 Ways to increase your traffic through content distribution

1. Choose the best content to promote

You don't have to promote all your content. You can choose the ones you think will make an impact. Why? Because even if these content distribution methods are mostly free...

You need to spend time and effort on content distribution when you could be focusing on your business. So, just choose the best content to promote.

Promote content based on the buyer's journey, the platforms you're using, and your goals.

For example... your target customers are already aware of your brand. And you want them to sign up on your email list so you can offer promotions and drive them to your landing page.

You might need to promote an eBook on your website or social media posts to get more leads. Email is not preferable because you want to target people who haven't signed up for your list yet.

The next one is...

2. Take advantage of email marketing

Send your content to your email list! This will increase traffic because you'll link your content and web pages in the email.

The best part is... you can see the results of your email marketing strategy! That will help optimize your future emails, too.

Don't forget to add a clickable button and CTA to encourage your subscribers to visit your website! That's how you can drive quality traffic to your website.

Another way to drive traffic is through...

3. Create social media posts

Did you just publish new content and want more people to see it? Drive them to your website from social media.

I mentioned earlier that you must create thumb-stopping content to entice prospects to visit your website. So, take note of that when distributing and promoting your content on social media.

You should capture their attention and make them curious so they can visit your website. If posting on your business account is not enough, you should also...

4. Utilize social media communities

This is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website because you're providing value to your niche groups.

For example, you're selling coffee, and you have a physical shop. What you can do is find relevant groups where you can share value... like a group where locals share some fantastic spots in the place.

You can promote your brand or share content to let them know who you are and your products. This is another fantastic way to gain relevant traffic because they are your target audience.

If you want more people to spread the word for you, you can also have an...

5. Create an affiliate program

Your affiliates will help spread your content for you! Isn't it amazing? You have many people spreading the word about you.

They can create content for you or share your content with a personalized code or URL that will drive their audience to your website.

For example, your affiliates can share your video with their followers. Then they'll include a link to your website, which helps in increasing your traffic.

You should also...

6. Try link building

Link building is gaining traffic by having other websites link to your website. The primary goals of link building are increasing traffic and ranking higher on the SERPs.

For example, a relevant website can use your blog post as a resource for its content. That's an effective way to tell search engines that your website is reliable.

This strategy is usually used for blog posts. So, this is a perfect strategy to have other websites link your content within their blogs.

If you have some budget to spare, why don't you try...

7. Dabble on paid ads

The good thing about paid ads is you don't need to go all in. You can set a budget and go from there; it doesn't have to be hundreds of dollars immediately.

Other great things about it? You can choose increasing website traffic as a goal and customize your audience.

Some examples of paid ads are:

• Banner ads
• Social media ads
• SEM or Search Engine Marketing
• Video ads
• Shopping ads

You can create ads on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. You must learn how to create effective ads and navigate the tools to achieve your goals.

You can also create ads on Google Ads. One of the most common forms of advertising on Google is through SEM or building a search campaign.

It allows you to be on the first page of the SERPs... but not organically. You're paying for the ranking in specific keywords and terms.

But again... the good thing about paid ads is you don't need to spend much money. You can do it if you want faster results and you have some budget to spare.

So, this is a perfect opportunity to promote and distribute your content. You can reach more people who are relevant to your brand.

After promoting your content and website on different platforms, it's time to...

Analyze the insights

You must know which platforms are giving all the traffic to your website. This way, it will be easier for you to improve and adjust your strategies.

So... how? There are different ways to check your insights. Here are some:

Google Analytics

You can go to Reports > Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition.

Then if you scroll down, you can see the specific traffic sources alongside other statistics, like Users, Sessions, Engaged Sessions, and more.

Google Analytics reports will help you identify how users engage with your website and where they come from. So, set up your Google Analytics for your eCommerce brand.

Social media insights

This is one of the easiest ways to see if you're driving traffic to your website is through social media insights. While it's not as detailed as other trackers or Google Analytics, it's still helpful.

Here's an example:

Let's say you included a link to your content or website on your Instagram profile. And you're posting amazing Instagram content to attract more visitors.

You can check the insight of each post to see how many people tapped your website link. If there are only a few people, you might need to adjust some aspects of your content strategy.

Link management platforms

You can track your insights or traffic statistics through link management platforms. Some examples are Linktree and Bitly.

The insights are simple, but they can show how many people are clicking and visiting your website or landing page.

No matter how simple these analytics look, they're still enough to give you insight into how well your strategies perform.

And, of course, the next thing you need to do after getting insights is...

Optimize your strategies

It's time to optimize your strategies based on the insights. Adjust your content distribution methods, create better content, and enhance your website.

See what changes you need to implement. Then on your next campaign, apply them. And recheck your insights. And then optimize again.

That's how to gain a lot of traffic and rank on the first page of the search engine. It's a never-ending process because your goals will get more significant for your brand.

So, if you want hundreds or thousands of people to visit your website, you must...