10 FREE Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website
We all know that to stand a chance of having a successful business, you NEED to have a well-designed, easy-to-navigate website. It doesn’t matter whether you run an e-commerce store, a service-based business or a brick and mortar establishment, getting more web traffic is the easiest way to tell people about your business, and gain new customers.
Getting organic traffic to your website helps improve your Google ranking, creating traction – which in turn generates more traffic. But you also want to make sure you’re getting the right visitors who will engage and convert to customers.
We’re guessing that you’re here because you’ve probably spent a lot of time, money and energy building your website, and yet no one is actually visiting it. WHYYYY?
Well, to put it frankly, they probably have no idea you exist. (Sorry!)
But not to fret dear one! We’ve compiled this list of easy and FREE ways to start driving organic traffic to your website, fast.
We wouldn’t suggest you do all of them, [aint nobody got time (or energy) for that] but chances are there is something here that strikes a chord and lights you up… go do that.
1. Create Content (BLOG)
Content creation is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your site, because each piece of content brings with it new keywords and fresh pages for Google to crawl and index. Websites with a blog tend to have 434% more indexed pages on search engines. This also means you have more content to share on your other platforms, and you’re more likely to get referrals from other sites too.
Creating valuable content establishes you as a thought leader: you’re showing your audience that you’re an expert in your field. You’re giving them a reason to trust and follow (and eventually buy from) you.
If you don’t have the skills, energy or time to create your own content, then OUTSOURCE to someone who loves it.
We suggest posting regulatory, and varying the length and format of your content to make it as appealing as possible to different kinds of readers. Intersperse shorter, news-based blog posts with long-form content as well as video, infographics and data-driven pieces for maximum impact.
Creating useful content is free, and is not as hard as it may seem.
Remember: you are the subject expert in your industry; your job is to simplify it for your audience.
2. Create Content (SOCIAL MEDIA)
This one is a no-brainer. Creating a business page on Instagram or Facebook (and even less used sites like LinkedIn, TikTok and Pinterest) is not only free, but has become one of the easiest and fastest ways to get noticed online. Plus, these sites also have great search algorithms and can be cheaper than building a website if you aren’t at that stage yet.
(Read more about mastering the Instagram algorithm here)
The key here is creating appealing and useful content that adds value to your niche audience. Choose your platform(s) and content carefully according to your desired audience and their needs. Create posts that encourage engagement, create call-to-actions that link to your site, and make use of hashtags to appear in wider searches.
We HIGHLY advise you to start creating videos as part of your content strategy. Apart from creating an instant connection with your audience, video is the easiest way to explain a product or concept. The rise of TikTok and Instagram (and now Facebook) Reels has made the creation of amateur videos easier than ever – the algorithm also loves it!
3. Engage online
Be active in online groups and websites that are relevant to your industry and community. Join groups on LinkedIn and even Facebook, contribute to forum-based sites like Quora by answering questions that are in your niche, and a provide detailed, helpful answers. Comment on blogs and social media posts and get involved in the conversation!
Remember: don’t be too sales-y. Be sure to engage moderately and sincerely – the direct interaction you can have with your audience should build trust and show how you serve with authenticity.
4. Master your SEO
The easiest way to feature on search engines is to obviously pay for Google Ads. But as this guide is for FREE traffic, we suggest getting familiar with some SEO best practices for your site.
Search Engine Optimization is a science. While it can get quite technical, there are a few simple tweaks you can do to ensure that your site is getting crawled in Google’s searches:
Register your site on Google Search Console
- Upload your sitemap
- Do a force crawl to force Google to index your pages
Create Keyword-relevant content
Use the functionality in Google Ads to search for popular search terms within your niche and create valuable content around those keywords.
- Make use of long-tail keywords. That’s just a fancy term for using search phrases (3 words and more) instead of single keywords. These will result in more specific search results for a niched audience.
- Use these search terms and phrases in your blog heading, the URL and scattered throughout the content.
- Drive traffic (paid or organic) to these keyword-relevant pages to help them feature higher on search results
Correctly name your images
- All images on your site should be correctly named (with keywords where possible).
- These can often feature in Google Image searches.
Install SEO Plugins on your site
- The most popular option for WordPress sites is Yoast SEO (we personally use this and recommend it). It’s user-friendly and automatically runs on all your pages.
- Platforms like Wix and Shopify integrate their own SEO tools which are very user-friendly (they do most of the work for you!)
5. Contribute & Collaborate
We’re all in this together, right? We’ve touched on the necessity of creating your own content, but there is huge benefit from being a guest contributor on other people’s networks.
Try finding related bloggers and podcasters in your field and reaching out to see if they’ll accept a guest post or feature from you – reaching a new audience can really pay off.
You in return can offer to host others and give them the exposure of your audience. **Group hug**
Additionally, there are loads of free platforms out there that are great at driving traffic to your site and place you as a thought leader in your niche or industry. They also have the benefit of a different – but established – audience that you might not otherwise be able to tap into. These include free content sites like Medium, or even create articles on LinkedIn, providing you more opportunity to showcase your expertise and knowledge. This also allows you to build your business network and easily reach an audience outside of your usual contacts.
Remember: It’s important that the content of your articles should fit the style and intention of the platform you’re posting on and the audience you’re hoping to appeal to.
6. Start email marketing & build your list (like, yesterday)
Your email list is one of your most valuable assets for your business. It’s a repository of existing connections who know you and are loyal to you and your brand. Your list brings the joy and ease of a warm audience that you don’t have to introduce yourself to from scratch, whew!
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work hard to keep them: it’s a fine balance between sending updates and adding value and not spamming them. Tread carefully and respectfully and your conversions should be a breeze.
There are a few ways to build up your list, but be mindful that this can be a long game;
Give people an incentive to sign up to your list. Tell them what’s in it for them and how they’ll benefit. Cheat sheets, checklists, freebies and How-To’s work well here
Add a website sign-up form to your website and make it prominent above the scroll line.
Run Facebook ads about the incentive / freebie / opt-in offer (note: this obviously isn’t free)
Send emails regularly and ensure they direct traffic back to your site
Remind your audience of what you sell and any promotions you’re running
Add value!
Make sure your e-commerce site is linked to a CRM platform (like Mailchimp, ConvertKit etc) and that you are creating a great after-sales experience directly with your customers
7. Optimise your Google Business profile
If you’re still not sure what this is, search for a business in your area. A top search result appears on the right hand side of the page with a logo, description, images and location added to it. Voilá. A Google Business search result.
This is a pretty important step in getting your business on the map. LITERALLY. Not only is it free and relatively straightforward, but an optimised Google My Business listing gets 7x more visits than an incomplete one. 💥 Boom. It also means your business will feature in location-based searches and will also appear on Google Maps.
Your listing links to your website, so this is a great way to get more traffic. If you provide all of the information a potential customer needs to make a decision, they might contact/visit your business directly—even better than a website visit!
8. Record a Podcast
Podcasts hold a special place in our hearts – they’re a fantastic medium for reaching your audience in a personal way. You can provide optimum value while forming a connection, and the power is placed in the hands of the listeners.
The great thing about podcasts is that:
- They are relatively inexpensive record and host
- You have the potential to reach a far greater audience than you would otherwise
- They allow you to produce long-form content (content that has a long life-span, unlike social media posts)
- You can build a personal connection with your audience, and cultivate lasting relationships and trust
- Podcasts and social media work hand-in-hand to help promote awareness and drive traffic
As with any type of content, find a topic that you can talk about easily, add some value, find some time and go create!
9. Create a free eBook / audiobook
This may sound daunting, but creating an eBook or whitepaper can be a brilliant way to drive long-term traffic to your site. First, putting together enough information to make an in-depth, valuable, and interesting book will mean that you’re condensing a LOT of useful information in one place. Secondly, it is evergreen content – meaning it has a long lifespan – and will give you enough subject matter for many social media posts over a period of time.
And finally, you can distribute it by promoting it to your followers, giving it as an incentive to people who sign up on your website. All of these options are ways to drive (and retain) engaged traffic, but if you decide to start selling your eBook, you may even get some passive income!
10. Utilise Analytics
We also want to remind you that there is NO point in going to all this effort to drive traffic unless you are going to measure your results. Zero. Nada. Zilch.
You want to regularly check your website analytics to help you identify which strategies and types of content work, which ones need improvement, and which ones you should not waste your time on.
So: set up Google Analytics or any other measuring tool onto the back end of your site, allow 24 hours for the data to pull through, and off you go!
Conclusion
These are free tools and ideas to help promote your business and drive traffic, and ideally you want to create a loyal following as well. Your long term goal is return visitors, brand loyalty, and loyal customers. As with everything, consistency and value is key.
Let the magic begin!