Download - 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

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Page 1: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014
Page 2: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

Table of contents

21 proven ways to increase your website traffic

with Your Blog 3 with Link Submissions 4 with E-Mail, Press Release and Article Marketing 4 with on page Search Engine Optimization 5 with Social Media 6 with Pictures 9

Other ways 10

Bonus Tips (2013 Update) 11

In Closing 12

21 proven ways to increase your website traffic

Copyright ©2013 Sarah Santacroce

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from Sarah Santacroce. For more information please contact [email protected]

Page 3: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 2

Introduction Dear Fellow Entrepreneurs,

Imagine there is a great party, but nobody knows about it. The organizers spent a lot of money on the venue, the decoration, the hors d’oeuvres and the DJ. With excited anticipation they open the doors at 10pm but – only 23 people show up. The party is a complete flop! See where I am getting at? A website is like that party. One can have the fanciest website on the market, but if nobody knows about it, it won’t get any traffic. And that’s where this report should come in handy. You will discover some of the most important tools and tricks to increase your website traffic, attract more potential clients and boost your sales! Are you ready to get this party started?

If you find valuable information in this report, please let your network know about it by sharing the e-book on Twitter HERE . Thanks Best wishes Sarah Santacroce Simplicity

Page 4: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 3

21 proven ways to increase your website traffic

With your blog:

1. Regular blog posts (1 or more per week)

In blog posts you can share your expertise about your industry and

create trust towards your company. Blog posts are very well indexed

on Google and if the blog is hosted on your website, they create big

traffic to your site. If on the other hand you are using a hosted blog

version (such as blogspot.com) there’s less direct traffic to your site

but it does present an advantage from the link building point of view.

If you haven’t started your blog yet, consider getting my e-guide

‘Wordpress Basics: From 0 to publishing your 1st Blog Post’. Doesn’t

cost much more than a Grande Latte at Starbucks.

2. Use Google Alerts to find interesting blogs to comment on

Set up a Google Alerts account and start monitoring your keywords to see what other

people blog. Leave relevant comments on other blogs to increase traffic to your site.

Read this post about other benefits of commenting on other blogs.

Page 5: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

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3. Write articles as a guest writer on other blogs

Ask colleagues and friends if you can publish a post on their blog. Don’t forget to add a

short bio, contact details and an anchor link one of your keywords with a link to your

website.

With Link submissions:

4. Submit your website and company info to local directories

Google Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages etc. Research which ones are the most relevant in

your area and submit your company info. Read this blog post on how to build the perfect

listing on Yelp. Also consider submitting your website to Directories

The biggest one is DMOZ directory. You can find your own niche directories on the

Directory Critic.

With E-Mail, Press Release and Article Marketing:

5. Write a monthly press release and distribute it online

Before web2.0, press releases were just for journalists and only big company changes

were announced to the press. Today press or news releases can be used even by small

companies, and the whole wide world has access to them. By distributing your press

releases online (for example on pitchengine.com) you will be reaching out to a

hugeaudience and therefore increase your website traffic (and hopefully your sales!)

check out the App store for the Pitchengine App

6. Create a monthly newsletter and send it to your list

Keep your potential customers informed what is new in your industry and

on your website. This way they will turn into return visitors! Download my

E-Mail Marketing Basics e-book. It’s FREE !

Page 6: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 5

7. Submit articles on article submission sites (such as ezinearticles.com)

Another great (and free) resource to increase traffic to your website is via article

marketing. You write compelling, informative articles and post them on article marketing

publisher’s sites (such as ezinarticles.com). They get free content that can be employed

by others looking for great information to post on their websites. Every article contains a

so called “author resource box” where you post a short bio and a link to your website or

a free e-book. .

8. Scribd

Last but not least there is Scribd. You can upload pretty much anything: PDF, Word or

Powerpoint and share them with the world’s largest community of readers. Scribd is

ranked highly in Google searches.

With on page Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

9. Create a unique meta description for each page

The search engines index the meta descriptions to learn what your page is about and

some will display your description in the search engine results. The meta description

should not be more than 150 characters.

Page 7: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 6

10. Use unique title tags (containing your keywords) for each page

When you look at your website in a browser, you’ll find the title tag on the top left hand

side of the screen. Each page should have a unique title tag that tells the search engines

what that page is about.

11. Use Alt text for images and integrate your keywords in the image file name

When inserting images into your website, make sure you use your keywords in the Alt

text attribute and in the image file name. Example: if I upload a portrait of myself I would

name the file:”Sarah Santacroce, Small Business Internet & Social Media Marketing

Mentor” and put the same text in the Alt attribute.

With Social Media:

12. Open a Twitter Account and start networking

Twitter is an extremely powerful microblogging social network. Every message you send

out cannot exceed 140 characters. You create a whole new audience where you get to

share your knowledge and expertise. The trick is not to sell, but to engage and then

create a desire for action. AIDA = Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. Overselling on

Twitter is a big faux pas.

If you are already on Twitter, let’s connect. Find me at @sarahsantacroce.

If you are new to Twitter, read this Twitter 101 guide by Mashable.

check out the App store for the Twitter App

Page 8: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 7

13. Create a Facebook page

If you don’t already have one, you should create a

Facebook page for your business. Again, it’s another way

to engage with your audience and every once in a while

you can post a link to your website. Check out Simplicity’

Facebook page and feel free to download my “Facebook

Marketing Basics” e-book.

check out the App store for the Facebook App

14. Create your profile on Linkedin, Xing or Viadeo and update your status regularly

If you haven’t already done so, it’s time that you create or complete your Linkedin profile.

Linkedin is no longer just a network to find a job, it has become part of the Social Media

scene. You can now share content and links in your status update, which makes it an

extremely valuable tool if you are trying to increase traffic to your website. If you are

European, a profile on Xing and Viadeo is a must as well!

LinkedIn is more than just an online CV. If you’d like to get more

leads with LinkedIn, be found & contacted and grow your business,

check out my LinkedIn for B2B e-book which helps you optimize your

LinkedIn profile, grow your network and increase your reach. It doesn’t

cost much more than a Grande Latte at Starbucks !

check out the App store for the Youtube App

Page 9: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 8

15. Create videos and post them on Youtube and Tubemogul

The new trend is to create videos and distribute them on Youtube or Tubemogul.

Youtube is owned by Google and of course very well indexed on search results. Another

benefit is the “viral” aspect of this marketing tool. Videos can be shared and even

embedded in somebody else’s website. One thing is for sure, it will definitely increase

the traffic to your website..

Come and have a look at my Youtube channel & make sure you subscribe to always get

the latest video tips

check out the App store for the Linkedin App

16. Create your Google+ Account

Even if you don’t plan to actively participate in Google+, I highly recommend you create

an account and simply submit your blog posts there. Hey, it’s Google, right? Here’s the

link to create your account: www.accounts.google.com/NewAccount

If you’re new to Social Media you might also like this free e-book about

Social Media for Small Business, written by John Jantsch of Duct Tape

Marketing. It’s a 42 page book, explaining all the ins and outs of Social

Media. It has helped me a lot when I first started out!

Page 10: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 9

With Pictures:

17. Create a Flickr account

Flickr’s photos are also listed in Google’s search results, Technorati, as well as various

other portals, websites and blogs which pull in and display public Flickr pictures via RSS.

All these sources direct visitors to your individual photo page and can then be funneled

to your website.

check out the App store for the Flickr App

18. Use Pinterest to drive traffic

Pinterest is a virtual pin board. It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you

find on the web. Consider the marketing potential: popular images (with links back to the

original source) can get repinned on hundreds of other users' boards. So this can prove

to be a major traffic source for any business who sells visual appealing products. Create

your Pinterest account here: https://pinterest.com/join/signup/

check out the App store for the Pinterest App

Page 11: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 10

Other ways:

19. Create a quality business card and distribute whenever you can

Don’t be cheap when creating your business card. It reflects the style of your business.

check out the App store for the Business Card Reader App

20. Join 1 or 2 industry related forums & participate regularly

There are probably hundred forums related to your industry, but you just won’t have

enough time to actively participate in all of them. So I suggest you choose 1 or 2 of

them, and then interact regularly.

21. Every now and then send a message with a link to your latest blog post to all your

contacts on Skype.

Listen to this tip via Audio.

Page 12: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 11

Bonus tips for the 2013 update

With Local Search: As you know, phone books have basically become obsolete. Most searches take place on

Google (or Bing and Yahoo). So that’s why it’s important to have a presence on these sites and

optimize the listings to make sure you get ranked on the first page. Here are a few tips on how

to do this:

1. Make your website local friendly

You can do this by adding Geo content (your address, a link to Google maps, name of

your city in the meta tag and description or even add a local landing page to your site)

2. Claim your Google Places page and optimize it

Go to Google Places and claim your listing. Google will call you and give you a code to

confirm that this is really your business. Once confirmed, you can then start to optimize

your page:

- add a description

- add pictures (you can even add video)

- under “details” you can add links to your web pages or service brochures

3. Get reviews

Once you have updated your listing you are ready to receive reviews. I recommend you

ask some of your friends to give you a couple of reviews to get started. This encourages

other users to leave theirs. Monitor the reviews closely and respond to them – especially

the bad reviews.

Page 13: 21 ways to increase your website traffic 2014

21 Proven Ways to increase your Website Traffic – Copyright © 2013 Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

www.simplicityadmins.com [email protected]

+41 22 534 9294

Simple Small Business Solutions

Page | 12

Thanks for a good party!

I thank you for you kind attention. I really hope that this collection of tips has been valuable in

helping you build your website and attract more visitors. Please join the party and share your

thoughts with me and fellow entrepreneurs on Facebook at facebook.com/Simplicityadmins

And do me a favor and share this e-book with your friends on Twitter. Click here to share it !

Cheers to your success!

Sarah Santacroce

Simplicity

Let’s connect:

Send me a tweet @sarahsantacroce and let me know if you liked this report!

***

Sarah Santacroce is a certified Social Media, Internet Marketing &

Virtual Event specialist. She helps small business owners and individual

entrepreneurs to find their place in today’s online world: increase their

visibility and brand awareness, understand the ins and outs of Social Media

and how it can increase their leads and help them understand the

complexity of Internet Marketing. Sarah is passionate about everything

online and likes to share her knowledge with others. She is a Swiss national,

but thinks with a global mind. Her services are available in English, French

and German. Find out more about Sarah.