You should be thinking about your website as a shop, one that’s accessible to anybody with an internet connection. But how do you turn your quiet internet shop into a bustling online marketplace?

Not set up a website yet? Check out our article on how to create a website for your business

‍

Easy ways to increase website traffic

Whether you’re just setting up shop or running a well-established enterprise, mastering the art of driving traffic to your website is the secret sauce to success. After all, it doesn’t matter how great your website is if nobody can find it!

Here are 15 easy and effective strategies to increase website traffic and turn your digital storefront into a lively, crowded shop!

Do you need E-commerce business insurance? Find out here.

‍

1. Optimise your website for search engines (SEO)

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential for getting your website found online. To do this, you need to be making sure you are optimising your site for keywords. For example, if you sell shoes, some keywords you might want to optimise your site for might include “cheap shoes”, “women’s trainers” or even “black shoes under £10”. 

To optimise your website these words should be on your key pages, in blogs and articles, in titles and even in your meta descriptions and image names. This means that people will be more likely to find your website when they search for those keywords.

‍

2. Create high-quality content

The old saying is ‘content is king’, and it’s not wrong! Make sure that you are regularly creating and publishing high-quality, informative, engaging content. Not only does this help make your site more discoverable, but it also helps convince users to buy from you. 

Try to publish a variety of content as this will help your site attract a wider audience. Think of things like news posts, articles, infographics, videos, and webinars. 

‍

3. Never neglect your social media

Social media platforms when used right can increase website traffic hugely. There’s a reason why products often sell out when they go viral on social media. 

But even if you’re not producing viral content, it can be a great way to reach and engage with new audiences. According to recent research, more than half the world uses social media (62.6%) with the average daily time spent being over 2 hours! So it makes sense to leverage that when you’re looking to increase website traffic.

‍

4. Collaborate with influencers

Partnering with the right influences can significantly boost your website traffic. Influencers come with dedicated followers who trust their recommendations. So often, by collaborating with influencers in your niche, you can not only attract more website visitors but often boost sales too. 

{{cta-ecommerce-calendly}}

5. Use paid advertising to increase website traffic

Paid advertising like Google Ads or Instagram ads are a great way to get new customers to your website. These platforms allow you to target specific demographics or keywords to reach potential customers who are interested in your products or services. A well-optimised ad campaign can quickly drive a significant amount of traffic to your site. 

‍

6. Take advantage of online communities and forums

It can be extremely beneficial to participate in appropriate forums or online communities. Sites like Reddit and Quora already attract thousands of users every month - so doing things like answering questions or offering expertise and tips can hugely increase your website traffic. 

‍

7. Think about offering free tools or resources

Providing free tools or resources such as eBooks, templates or calculators is another great way to attract visitors to your websites. Because these resources offer so much value to your audience, you can even set them up as gated content. This is where a user enters their details in exchange for access. You can then use this contact information to engage with them directly using promotions, newsletters or even to let them know about other resources you have available. 

‍

8. Look into holding webinars or live events

Hosting webinars or live events is a great way to engage with your audience and drive traffic. These events can be promoted via social media and your email list. If you’re an E-commerce business, consider doing live product launches or unboxes as they can be hugely popular. Not only will you attract new users to your site, but many will come with a commercial intent to buy from you too. 

How to sell items online like a pro in 202

9. Make sure you’re leveraging local SEO

If you have a local business, optimising your website for local search can increase website traffic from potential customers in the area. 

Make sure you are:

• Claiming your Google My Business listing as this can hugely increase your online visibility. 
• Using local keywords e.g. shoe shops in Swansea, Brighton coffee shops, or even yoga classes near me.
• Get listed in local directories to enhance your local SEO efforts. 
  ‍

10. Engage in email marketing

Building and nurturing an email list is a great way to drive repeat traffic to your site. After all, you worked hard to get them to see it the first time, make sure they keep coming back!

How to capture emails

As an ecommerce website, the easiest way to capture emails is to entice them with an offer. The typical ones people use are signing up to get 10% off your first order. Other ways you can do it are by enticing users to sign up to a newsletter, offering gated content, or allowing users to request an update when out of stock items are available again.

What type of regular emails to send

Regularly sending newsletters, promotions or updates can keep your audience engaged and bring them back to your site. Just make sure that your emails are providing value and include clear call-to-actions that direct recipients back to your site.

{{tax-guide}}
‍

11. Leverage video marketing

This is a hugely popular marketing strategy to drive traffic to your website. It can be a great way to capture attention more effectively than text or images alone. It's also a great way to showcase what you offer without the user feeling overloaded.

Ideas of videos you could use:

• Informative content related to your niche,
• Tutorials,
• Product demos,
• Behind-the-scenes footage,
• Or even customer testimonials.

Sharing these videos on platforms like YouTube, TikTok or even Instagram can be a huge traffic driver.
‍

12. Consider guest blogging for another site

Guest blogging involves writing articles for another website or blog in your industry. It usually includes a link back to your own site. The reason it works so well is that it reaches a new audience who might not have discovered your site otherwise.#

Additionally, guest blogging on authoritative sites can enhance your credibility and improve your search rankings through valuable backlinks.

How to do it:

• Look for blogs or websites in your industry that already accept guest posts and have a good reputation.
• Pitch your ideas to showcase your expertise and the value you could offer to readers.
• Make sure everything you write is high-quality, relevant and provides real value.
• Include a strategic link back to your website. Make sure it feels natural and relevant.
• Once published, make sure to share the guest post on your own social media channels and through email marketing to maximise its reach.
  ‍

13. Implement internal linking

Internal linking involves creating hyperlinks that point to other pages within your own website. It helps navigate users across your site more easily and keeps them engaged longer. It also helps distribute your page authority (important for SEO) across your site, which ultimately helps you rank better.

How to internally link like a pro:

The first step is to plan your structure. Identify key pages or blog posts that are relevant to your audience. Using this, create a hierarchy or structure that supports the user journey.

Make sure that when you're linking to other content though that it's actually relevant to the content on the page. For example if you're writing about ecommerce accounting, linking to another article on ecommerce marketing strategies makes sense. And ultimately it's more likely to be valuable for that reader.

Our last tip is to use descriptive anchor text. An anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink that often describes the content. So using a descriptive anchor text such as "how ecommerce accounting works" rather than "click here" will give users a better idea of what they'll find when they click the link.

Which strategy is best for increasing website traffic?

Getting more users to your website is a continuous process that often requires a combination of strategies. The unique combination will likely depend on your business, what you’re selling, and also your target audience. For example, if you’re an E-commerce business who targets Gen-Z then TikTok will feature heavily in your strategy. Whereas if you’re a coffee shop who typically caters to clientele in the immediate area, then you’ll see the biggest difference from leveraging local SEO. 

‍

How Crunch simplifies your finances with expert accountancy and software solutions

At Crunch, we understand that running a business involves juggling many tasks, from marketing your online website to bookkeeping. That’s why we offer comprehensive accountancy and online software solutions tailored to your needs.

That way you can focus on what you do best for your business, while we Crunch the numbers for you. Whether you’re looking for accounting solutions for E-commerce businesses or you’re set up like a sole-trader, we’ve got you covered!

‍