Everyone wants more traffic to their online store. Here are 5 simple ways you can get more potential customers to visit, and with luck, they’ll stay to browse and buy.
1. Write a guest article for a popular website
Every blog, ezine and newspaper needs content; the big boys even pay good money for content. Spend time transferring your knowledge into a simple article, something YOU would enjoy reading, then give it to a blogger. The blogger is happy because they get free content and inbound links from others who pick up your article on their site. You get an inbound link to your site because it was included in your byline at the end of your article and people who want to know more about the author (you) will click on the link to your site. Truly a win-win for both parties. Get started guest blogging with the help of My Blog Guest, a community of bloggers looking for guest bloggers.
2. Use a killer headline
Increase the effectiveness of your guest article or any content you publish on your own site with a headline that “gets the click.” Practice writing 10-20 headlines using different formulas; then pick a winner that stands out. Viral videos and link bait become so because of a killer headline.
3. Create a useful or funny video
The success of YouTube is proof that people love watching videos and the most popular videos without celebrities are generally humorous in nature. Before you get overwhelmed at the thought of producing a video check out Hubspot’s 5 Video Projects You Can Do in 25 Minutes. Make sure you embed the video on your website or blog so that you get the SEO benefit. The traffic benefits from video include visitors from video sites (YouTube & beyond), universal search results and video search results to name a few.
4. Sponsor a contest or giveaway
Everyone loves free stuff! So give the people what they want to win them over. Although the resulting spike in traffic usually goes away shortly after the giveaway ends, long term, you have a good shot at gaining customers, generating inbound links and spreading awareness of your brand. Right now we are giving away 31 prizes from 31 sites over 31 days on the Miva Merchant Facebook page.
5. Participate in a forum
When you join and participate in an active user forum you get innumerable benefits. The most obvious yet often skipped benefit of forums is putting a link to your site in your signature. Most forums allow members to have a signature with links as long as you follow the community rules and guidelines. In addition to the link you get to take the pulse of the customer base, help people, and discover what’s missing from your niche that you can fill. Find a forum that fits you by searching Google with a keyword + forum such as “ecommerce forum”.
For those of you who are superhuman, overachieving, go-getters, leverage all five tactics at once for uber results. Voila, 5 simple ways to get more traffic.
