If you’ve already done the work to design the ultimate homepage, used marketing magic to write about your services, and optimized for SEO but you’re still not seeing visitors converting to clients, it’s likely you’re just not getting enough website traffic.

Think of it this way: only a certain percentage of people who visit your website will ultimately decide to work with you. With more traffic, you’ll increase that number of people who will be ready to click the “HIRE ME!” button once they’ve read through your fabulous marketing copy.

So how do you bring more folks in?

If you’ve been following along the last couple of posts, you already have a tool in your kit that’s perfect for this: Google Analytics. In fact, you might even already have an idea of where you can look…

…Did you guess “Channels”? You’re right! I previously talked about using the data from your channels to track whether your marketing efforts are working, and to find inspiration for content.

Today, we’re going to dive into each of those channels and how you can leverage each to bring more traffic to your website:

Direct Traffic

These are folks who you reached through offline marketing — they already knew your website’s address before going online, so they typed your URL directly into their browser without having to search for you.

Offline marketing is anything you do in person: flyers, lawn signs, car magnets, business cards, branded materials, etc. I always encourage people to get creative with these; if you’re a dog trainer, consider giving out branded treat bags or dog toys instead of the usual pen or t-shirt.

The most important aspect of using these types of marketing materials might seem obvious, but deserves a mention because I’ve seen it be forgotten…

Always include your website on your marketing materials.

If someone knows your name but doesn’t know how to find you, you’ve lost them before you’ve even gotten a chance to pitch your services to them!

Referral Traffic

These are other websites that link to you, such as when a blogger mentions you in a post.

On that note, any time you see your name or your business mentioned online — whether you’re featured on the website of a panel you’re participating in, being written about in a news article, or teaching a class where the registration exists off of your own website — make sure that it always links back to you. If you find your name somewhere without a link, such as in a news article, find the name of the person who wrote it and get in touch asking if they can edit your website into it. You’ll usually find that people are more than happy to!

Other places where you can look for yourself and your link include professional organizations such as CCPDT and IAABC, as well as your local Chamber of Commerce.

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to the people who find you through “organic” (ie. unpaid) internet search results. The only way to expand your organic traffic is by working on your search engine optimization.

I’ve covered the basics before, as well as tools you can use to boost your SEO. But the amount of information that exists on this topic is enough to fill several blog posts, so if you’re looking to expand your knowledge, I’ll direct you over to HubSpot’s SEO guide for more!

Social Traffic

You probably know where this one comes from: social media channels! If you’ve spent little (or no) time thinking about your social media strategy, let this be your sign.

Personally, I love using a scheduler tool. Buffer is a free website that allows you to enter multiple accounts you’d like to plan your posts for. Put aside some time once a month to fill up your calendar with posts (that’s frequently enough to allow for last-minute announcements).

You don’t need to start out with posts every day; start with two posts a week and build up from there. One thing I always like to remind folks to include on their posts is a Call to Action. Without this, people might just keep scrolling through your social media instead of visiting your website!

Email Traffic

…is exactly what it sounds like: people who click on links to your website from emails, such as newsletters.

If you’re not already using an email marketing strategy, here are some reasons why you might want to start (as well as some information on getting started!).

Paid Traffic

This is traffic that comes to your website by way of advertisements, such as through Facebook or Google ads. It’s likely you only think about these when you have something specific to sell, such as a new service or an upcoming class. And if you haven’t tried them, I’m sure you’ve wondered whether they’re worth the cost.

It’s worth doing some research about which makes the most sense for you, but ads can definitely be beneficial for driving traffic to your site!

Here’s a tip before you buy: Make sure to check out your paid website traffic stats on Google Analytics so you can compare the before to the after. This will help you determine what worked, and what you can improve next time.

Additional Considerations for Website Traffic

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to just dump some information in a Facebook post, or throw a few words together into a Google ad, to see increased traffic from these sources. You really need to spend some time aligning your messages with the intention of the person who will be browsing.

Think about it: What are you looking for when you visit social media websites, or when you’re searching for a business on Google?

If you’re typing a business’ website directly into the browser search bar or doing a Google search, it’s very likely you have a problem that you’re hoping to solve in the very near future with solutions offered by that business. Maybe you’re just looking for more information, narrowing down your choices, but not ready to commit yet… Or possibly you’re only a few magic words away from hitting “purchase.”

Social media serves a different purpose, though; if you’re falling down the Instagram/Facebook/Twitter rabbit holes, you’re looking for an escape or some entertainment. Think about how annoyed you get when ads pop up in the middle of your YouTube video or Instagram story browsing. No one likes having their entertainment interrupted.

Keep these thoughts in mind as you think about how to frame your messages for each of these channels, and you’re sure to see a boost in your website traffic.

Now go into your Google Analytics and read through your data! Which channels are doing the best? Which could use some love?