In this article, you are going to learn how to get website traffic fast.
This is for you if you just started your brand new site and looking to get people to read it.
So, let’s get right into it, shall we?
Why is traffic important?
And someone else might wonder;
Why should I direct people to my website, I thought I’d just build and they would come.
Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news.
If you heard from someone, that all you have to do is create a website and they will come, you’ve been lied to.
Without effort from your side, your new website will be a ghost town.
And that sucks big time, trust me because I have been there more than once with a couple of my blogs.
But why should you care about the traffic anyway?
One word; money!
Yes, it has always and will always be about the money, unless you are chasing other goals, which in this case, will still come down to money.
See, almost 99% of people building websites today are in it for the almighty dollar.
It is simple actually.
You are selling something, a service, or product.
So you create a website to promote it and for people to buy.
Without traffic, you won’t achieve that goal, right?
Let’s fix that.
Two ways to generate website traffic
There are only two ways to drive traffic to your website.
- Free traffic – here, you are leveraging free mediums to get people to your website
- Paid traffic – the complete opposite of the above. You spend a budget to drive people to visit your website
Here is the thing;
There is no free lunch when it comes to getting website traffic.
You either spend money or something else.
For example;
When it comes to generating website traffic for free, you aren’t spending money, yes, but you are spending your time!
Interesting, I know?.
Let’s get into details.
How to get website traffic for free
As mentioned, these are strategies you implement that generate traffic without you spending money.
But you will realize that most of the free traffic sources take a lot of time and patience to see results.
With that in mind, let’s discuss some of it and how you can apply them now to get website traffic fast.
#1 – sharing links on social media
This is the easiest way to get website traffic fast.
All you have to do is copy your website URL and paste it on social media platforms.
It is free and easy to do.
But there is a catch.
People are on social media to stalk their exes and like food photos. They are not here to click links.
See a problem right there?
Just ask yourself, when was the last time you clicked on a link to a random website on Facebook?
Rarely, right?
It doesn’t mean you never click, just not all the time.
This is valuable, so pay attention.
I want you to pay attention to those links to normally click.
What is special about them?
What made you jump one, two, three, and click one on the fourth?
Once you figure out why you can reverse engineer and apply to your own website.
Generally, people click on links that are interesting and relevant to them. I bet the same applies to you.
If you love relationship tips, you are more likely to click on an article about relationships.
How can you apply this?
Only share your links with people who are more likely to be interested in what you have to say.
As such, know where your target audience hangs out online.
Then go there and share your links. DO NOT spam.
#2 – Online Forums
This is another free strategy you can use to get website traffic fast.
Works almost the same as the previous one, but this time, instead of social media, you are joining forums.
Works like this;
You first figure out online forums where your target readers hang out online.
Then join those forums.
Once in, you start contributing as an active member.
And once in a while, you sneak in a link back to your website.
For example;
If your website is all about blogging as a side hustle, you can join forums like the blogging subreddit on Reddit.
When someone asks a question that you can answer, go ahead and help them out.
And if you have a relevant article back on your website, you can link to it within the post.
#3 – Guest posting
Guest posting is publishing your articles on someone else website to drive traffic back to your website.
This is how you do it;
- Find other website owners within your industry that you target the same audience and not in direct competition.
- Approach them to publish an article for free on their blog
- Write the article and make it super valuable.
They get a free article, you get free traffic.
Talk of a perfect win-win situation
The assumption is, if their readers like your content, they will definitely want to get more from where that came from, thus clicking to your website.
At the same time, it helps boost your credibility.
Why do you think most of today’s bloggers are bragging about been ‘Seen on Forbes, Huffington Post, etc?
Besides the traffic aspect, when you guest post, that link back to your website helps boost your SEO ranking.
What is that?
See the strategy on how to get website traffic fast.
#4 – SEO
This stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is the best way to get website traffic fast.
It is not only free but also targeted.
Here, you are preparing your website so that your target readers can find it on search engines such as Google and Bing.
How?
First, understand these terms;
- Title tag – also referred to as page title, meta title, or SEO title, this is essentially the title of the article or page
- Meta description – tied to the .html of a specific page. Helps to describe the page and attract users to click on links in search engine result pages.
- Headings – These tags can range from H1 to H6, with 1 being the most important heading tag and 6 being the least.
- Keyword – a word or a phrase that a user types into a search engine, such as Google, to find what they are looking for.
- Indexing – is the process by which search engines collect, organize and process data on the internet.
- Links – Internal links – links to articles or resources within your website. External links (backlinks) – links from other websites.
- Search Engine Results Page (SERP) – is the page of results you receive after you search for something.
- Rank – getting your website to appear among the SERP.
There are more SEO terms you need to learn, but these should help you get the basic idea.
How to get website traffic through SEO
Step #1 – Find the keyword
So, to drive traffic to your website through SEO, you first need to figure out the keyword you’d wish to rank for.
To do that, you need to figure out the keywords your target audience uses when searching for your products or services online.
Lucky for you, there are a ton of free keyword research tools out there.
For example;
Google Keyword Planner.
Head over to https://ads.google.com/aw/keywordplanner
Click on the first option.
With this option, you can get a ton of new keywords based on one keyword you provide.
All you have to do is type your product or service, choose the country (if you are selling locally), or leave it blank if you sell worldwide, and hit get results.
And Google will give you a ton of keywords related to your product or service.
You also get the search volume. This is an estimate of the number of people searching for that keyword per month.
For example;
Between 10K and 100K people search for Prada boots every month in the United States.
Then there is the competition.
This is the measure of how many people ranking for that keyword.
High competition means there are too many websites ranking, thus harder for you to rank.
As such, you should look for low competition keywords. Your website can rank fast on the SERP
Step #2 – Optimize your website around the target keyword
Now that you know what keyword you want your website to rank for, it is time to optimize your site around this keyword.
How?
- Put it in your title tags, meta description, and article URL (slug).
- Include it in your image alt tags
- Sprinkle the keyword several times throughout the article.
- Link to relevant articles or pages within the website (on-page SEO)
- Link to relevant external resources (off-page SEO).
Once you’ve done that, start building backlinks to that page or blog post.
The more quality links pointing to the page, the more chances of ranking higher in the SERP.
Step #3 – Write valuable content
Your work doesn’t once someone clicks on your website from Google.
You must satisfy their wants by answering their questions.
If not, they will leave immediately (bounce) and that can hurt your ranking on search engines.
Once you have everything in place, go back to using the other strategies we mentioned earlier.
By doing so, you are not relying only on search engines to get website traffic.
Other free ways to drive traffic include;
- Email marketing – build a list and keep promoting your website to them
- Hold contests and giveaways
- Create and publish videos on YouTube and include a link back to your website in the description.
Now, that is how to get website traffic without spending anything.
Let’s look at the other side of this coin; spending money to get blog traffic.
How to get paid traffic to your website
The most popular way to get paid website traffic is through PPC ads.
These are the kinds of ads you only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
- Google Ads
Google Ads is where you pay Google to show your website on top of the SERP whenever a specific keyword is searched on Google.
It is simple actually.
Once you find the keyword you’d wish to rank for, use ads to shoot to #1 on Google instead of waiting for organic ranking (takes a lot of time and effort).
All you have to do is create a campaign and submit a bid (the amount you are willing to pay Google whenever someone clicks on your ad).
Remember, the more you pay, the higher you rank.
- Facebook Ads
Here, you are paying Facebook to show your website to more people within its audience network.
If you pick this method, make sure to use the traffic objective.
You will be charged per click (CPC, cost per click).
The good thing about using Facebook ads to get website traffic how targeted their ads can be.
You can instruct Facebook to show your ad only to people who meet specific criteria.
For example;
If your website is for only married women between 25 and 44 of age and employed, you can achieve exactly that on Facebook.
So cool, I know?.
- Sponsored posts
This is where you pay someone to publish your article on their website.
And since you are paying, you can make it as promotional as you want.
What I love about sponsored posts is the value it generates.
First, you get targeted traffic since you are only publishing articles on a specific website.
These are the sites you know your target audience reads frequently.
Secondly, you get exposure and a backlink to boost your SEO.
- Influencer marketing
Here, you are paying some famous person on social media to share a link to your website.
Yes, it may cost more, but if you do it right, you will get over 3X return on investment.
First, make sure you only work with influencers within your niche.
If you are a fashion website, approach fashion influencers.
This way, your audience match, increasing the chances of them buying from you as well.
Wrapping up
You have learned how to get website traffic fast.
Go ahead and implement everything you have learned today.
One more thing;
If you do not have a website, yet, here is how to create it for free.