8 Strategies For Increasing Website Traffic and Sales RIGHT NOW!

What are the best strategies for increasing website traffic and sales?

How do you get out of the Traffic Doldrums and make more Sales without breaking the bank?

Above all what can you do to improve on your website conversion rate?

Some of the following strategies you may have heard of before – but several I hope, will give you new ideas for increasing website traffic and sales – RIGHT NOW!

8 Top Tips For Improving Website Traffic and Conversions

Increasing Website Traffic and Sales

Special Note before we get started:

Improving website traffic is the goal of every website owner – but what about increasing both traffic and conversions? Remember, while our goal is more traffic, not all traffic is equal. The only thing that pays the bills is CONVERSIONS. That is our No 1 focus.

#1 Make More Sales – Create a Search Assistant Tool

On a complex website with numerous products and options, a Search Assist Tool allows visitors to quickly choose the product or service that is best for them.

This is a simple software tool incorporated into your website that allows visitors to narrow down their preferences quickly based on their likes and dislikes (for example on a Travel Website – Do you prefer a beach OR a holiday in the mountains?)

One of the simplest tools like this and also one of the most successful, is the offering from LuckyTrip.co.uk

With this tool, you simply set your budget and it will make three suggestions based on your budget:

Destination & Flight, Hotel at that location and something fun to do at that location. You need to download their App to use the service and by all accounts it is proving very successful.

Their aim is a complete trip in just one tap – meaning you say goodbye to hours of planning.

They claim to make booking your perfect holiday as easy as booking an Uber.

The target market is those adventurous millennials.

Personally, I am not sure it would work for me – but if you like the “I’m feeling lucky” option on Google Search this may work for you.

increasing website traffic

Another good example can be found at https://tails.com/gb – this is a tool that allows users to work out the best dog food mix for their dog.

lead magnet search tool

Tails.com requires an email address to use the tool – which of course allows them to followup.

You could go even further and give the ASSISTANT TOOL a name – or make it a “Character”.

There is almost no industry where a tool like this could not be applied – especially in its simplest version, where the customer sets the budget and the Assistant Tool makes the recommendations.

A Tool like this will be shared by users and also it would be newsworthy – which can often create great PR.

#2 Improve Your Call to Action (CTA)

In my consulting business, I come across a lot of websites with poor Calls To Action.

When writing a compelling call to action – be direct!

Don’t beat around the bush, let your visitors know what you want them to do!

Simple, short and strong CTA’s are best.

Below is one of the best Call To Actions I have come across – from crazyegg.com

call to action CTA

There is plenty of Tips and Articles on creating a Calls To Action which you should investigate.

For Example:

=> 9 Simple Tips to Creating a Killer Call to Action

=> Hook, Line, and Sinker: 7 Tips for a Killer Call-to-Action

=> 5 Tips to Create an Irresistible Call to Action

#3 Increase Website Conversions With A Lead Magnet

What Is A Lead Magnet?

A lead magnet is an incentive that marketers offer to potential buyers in exchange for their email addresses or other contact information.

Lead magnets usually offer a piece of digital, downloadable content, such as a free PDF checklist, Industry Report*. eBook, white-paper, video, 7 Day Course, etc. [ * If you are looking for a report maker that will make your reports stand out, we recommend the Visme Report Marker ]

Example Lead Magnet from Roux Luxury Travel

Lead Magnet

Every Business Needs a Lead Magnet.

This is even more important in a long buying cycle.

Choosing Your Lead Magnet

In deciding what to offer, it’s important to consider two factors:

  • Buyer persona / customer avatar [age, experience, motivation]
  • Their stage in the buying process.

A customer avatar is a fictional character that represents your ideal prospect. It helps you understand the motivating beliefs, fears and secret desires that influence your customer’s buying decisions.

Craft your Lead Magnet to match your buyers stage in the buying process.

For example, a buyer in the consideration stage and just thinking about a purchase may find a free guide irresistible, but may not be ready to request a quote or a consultation.

Example Lead Magnet from Zegrahm Expeditions

lead magnet example

 

Sometimes business owners are reluctant to incorporate a Lead Magnet –  feeling that doing so, makes them appear too “salesy” or spammy!

Thinking like that is ridiculous!

Of course as an ethical business owner you should never abuse a visitors trust – but the reality is that many of your competitors will not have the same ethical considerations.

For this reason the Lead Magnet you offer should be of the highest standard.

Done correctly, a good Lead Magnet will elevate the perceived value of your business in the minds of website visitors.

In short – offer a Lead Magnet that is so good – users would consider paying for it.

#4 Create Specific Landing Pages for PPC Traffic.

Your PPC advertising copy and landing page should be complementary to each other.

Don’t make  the mistake of directing visitors to the homepage or a generic landing page.

Make the landing page specific to the keywords you are bidding on!

I have no idea on the accuracy of the following statement – but it is often quoted when praising the benefits of having specific landing pages. Personally I would say the trend is accurate – the more specific landing pages you have, the better the overall conversion.

“Studies have shown that business websites with 10-15 landing pages tend to increase conversions by 55% over business websites with less than 10 landing pages. And those with more than 40 landing pages increase conversions by over 500%.”

In short you should not be sending PPC Traffic to your main website or even dedicated pages within your main website.

The “leakage” from visitors clicking on links that will distract them from taking the action you are hoping your paid advertising will result in, is just too high.

A Landing Page for PPC traffic should be so simple and minimalist – that the most obvious action for your visitor is to enquire further (create a lead, buy a product)

I appreciate business owners often want to include links to About Us pages etc — if you must do that, then don’t let those links distract your visitors from taking the action which you really want them to take.

#5 Put Your Sales on Steroids – use Social Proof

Websites like Useproof.com allow you to show when a sale is made – allowing visitors to feel confident that you are an established business and people are already buying from you.

You can also emphasis the number of customers you have already served.

Perhaps create a “Customer Numbers Readout” that instantly updates every time a new customer comes on board. This type of social proof is most frequently referred to as “The wisdom of the crowd” – (when a large group of people is seen to be endorsing your brand)

Other forms of Social Proof you will see used in order to improve conversion are: Certification, Celebrity, Expert Endorsement, Testimonials and Awards.

Here is a Good Example of soundstripe.com using Social Proof…

A remarkable 667 Filmmakers have joined them in the last 7 days!

social proof

#6 Perfect Your SEO – Search Engine Optimization

I look at a lot of websites daily and even today it is staggering the number of websites that don’t implement the fundamentals of SEO

The content is good – but the basics of SEO are not covered.

For example images will not have “KEYWORD Alt tags” and when naming images – KEYWORDS have not been used.

Plus, many times there could be better implementation of the relevant Keywords within H1 and H2 Tags on the website.

This is simple stuff – that even a non-techy can understand.

This article is not about SEO so I am not going deep on the subject but if you are not getting enough Free or Organic traffic then you need to make the time to research the basics of SEO.

Top Tip:

New to blogging and SEO – Use Wordpress – it is great way for novice bloggers to take care of SEO.

This website is built using Wordpress.

Below are a number of links which will help – you could start by reading: 9 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Search Engine Traffic

Not sure what to write about?

Check out these content creation steps [inc SEO Tips]

A final thought on writing for SEO…

Aim for a minimum of 1500 words in any article – my ideal is 2000 words +

Recommended article related to Article Length

Related:

=> 10 SEO Article Publishing Steps You Must Not Miss Out

=> How to Write Epic Articles that Rank Well

=> 25 Of Best SEO Tools For Your Website

=> How to Audit Your Website for SEO and Higher Conversions

#7 Improve Website Conversions – Use Live Chat

live chat wine

Increasingly buyers (especially in B2B) are forcing businesses to change how they communicate with them. One of these changes is the desire to communicate with you in real time. This applies equally to new sales enquiries and ongoing support.

This explains the growing importance of Live Chat online.

Used correctly, Live Chat creates a positive first experience for your website visitor.

There are plenty of Live Chat experiences to be discovered online – some of the best Live Chat options can be found here.

I encourage readers to review them and adopt the features in them that most appeal to you.

My personal preferences in terms of features are below – but please note, this is not an exclusive list.

a) Design is Key in Live Chat.

A bland, generic design will not work.

Indeed, a poorly designed, awkward and clunky chat screen is potentially worse than no live chat at all.

Live chat does not have to always show a conversation box instantly – see example below.

Sometimes a nice pic with a ‘warm smile’ and a simple message that you are ready to help is all you need.

increasing website traffic

b) Always introduce yourself by name (and include a photograph)

If you are unable to use a name for any reason, at a minimum, include a photograph (not a Stock Photo) when speaking with a visitor.

Calling yourself Sales Support or Service Advisor without using your name is a big NO NO.

live chat photo

c) Use a typing indicator

This way, the customer knows you’re there and responding in real-time – rather than being left wondering whether you’re still actively engaged in the chat.

d) Don’t neglect grammar

It’s important to keep live chats as personable as possible, but don’t forget to be professional, too. Avoid bad spelling and Text Speak – even if the customer is using it.

e) When Using Live Chat for Customer Service – always clarify their issue.

To avoid any confusion and a long chat, make sure you understand the customer’s issue before giving your instructions or offering solutions.

Repeat back to them what you understand and ask them to confirm.

There are many ways you can ask for clarification politely – use this Live Chat Customer Service Cheat Sheet

f) Use Welcome Back when appropriate.

It is easy today to ‘recognise’ a returning visitor – someone who has visited your website before, such as in example below.

Live chat example

g) Incorporate Facebook Messenger into Live Chat 

Consider incorporating Facebook Messenger into Live Chat – this works perfectly if the user is already logged into Facebook – please see example below.

use Facebook Messenger for live chat

#8 Review The Pay Per Click (PPC) Keywords You Use

Search Engine Advertising is a great way to attract new customers but it is also away to waste a lot of money if not implemented correctly.

From experience, one way to have an immediate positive impact on your Return On Investment (ROI)  is to use  a Negative Keyword Tool to eliminate the Keywords you should not be advertising for.

As an example – search terms that incorporate the term “free” usually convert badly for a paid product.

Of course not all ‘negatives’ are necessarily negative – I have a friend who regularly pays for “free” related terms and manages to convert them into paying customers.

But he manages to convert because he has a landing page that targets the “freebie hunters” and converts them to paying customers.

Additionally there can be benefit in bidding higher for your best converting keywords – provided of course you are successfully tracking your best converting keywords.

The above is a very complex subject and the above is just two simple suggestions for implementation.

Related: 7 Deadly AdWords Mistakes That’ll Make You Broke (And How to Fix Them)

=> Increasing Website Traffic and Sales – Keyword Conversion

Every business owner, buying traffic should know exactly which keywords give the best return / produce the most sales.

Unfortunately far too many business owners are not successfully tracking these KPI’s and it is showing on their bottom line.

Being able to see what keyword actually resulted in a paying customer on your website is essential.

There are plenty of CRM Tools available that will allow you to do this – the one I am most familiar with comes from ZOHO

Recommended Reading:

Developing an Entrepreneurial Mindset

How to be More Productive Online

Author Bio:
“BarryBarry Dunlop is a lifelong Entrepreneur, Angel Investor, Speaker, Sales Trainer and business coach for entrepreneurs. Follow Barry on Instagram

Contact Barry Dunlop – Entrepreneur Coach