How to Boost Traffic to Your Website
This post is an abridged version of the “How to Boost Traffic to Your Website” Formula in my Debug Your Business membership.
The membership includes step-by-step formulas that take the confusion — and overwhelm — out of starting and marketing your business. Members also receive access to website audits, Canva design edits, and more. There’s also a private Facebook group where you can ask me anything business or marketing related and get feedback from other members!
Boosting traffic to your website sounds like more of a task than it is.
For big business it is a task. Extensive SEO strategies, an enormous Google Ads budget, and teams dedicated to tracking analytics.
But it’s actually simpler for small businesses, especially those that are locally-based.
Think about it: If you’re traveling and want to find a great restaurant to eat at you’re going to Google, and Google is going to show you results based on your location or the location you typed in, such as “restaurants in Littleton, NH.”
But more on that later. Below are five steps to boost your website traffic with SEO:
Step 1: Determine Your Keywords
A keyword is a word or phrase people type into a search engine when they’re looking for information, products, and services.
There are two types of keywords:
Head: These are shorter keywords that receive a larger search volume, such as marketer, ice cream, and nail polish. Because a head keyword is very generic, it’s difficult to appear in a search result by relying on them alone.
Long-tail: These are more specific, multi-word phrases that people typically type into search engines, such as marketer in Boston, ice cream parlor in London, and organic nail polish. If your business has a location or service area, be sure to include it.
Step 2: Incorporate keywords into your website
SEO is all about repetition. Here’s where you’ll want to incorporate your keywords:
Page and Site Titles
The actual name of your website and pages. Your website name can include more than your business name.
Ex. Miss MegaBug | Your Zillennial Business and Marketing Mentor
Website copy
This is the text on your website.
Footer
Your footer appears on appears on every page of your website, thus your offers (keywords) and location will too.
Example from my photography days: Offering portrait, wedding, and commercial photography to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, including Sugar Hill, Littleton, Lincoln, and beyond.
Meta Descriptions
This is a description of what’s included on the website page. It’s ok if the text included in your meta description is repetitive across your website, it’s actually good because you’re using your keywords multiple times.
Remember that your meta description appears in search engine results so it should make sense and entice the viewer to click.
Below is the general meta description for my full website:
Example of a website meta description, as it appears in search engine results.
Image File Names
Name the images and graphics uploaded to your website with your business/website name, the page, and a descriptor.
Alternative Text
Alt text allows search engines to index images on a website and include them in search results. It appears in a box while hovering over an image or in place of an image if the image fails to load.
It also allows the visually impaired to understand what’s in an image or graphic. When a screen reader comes across a visual it reads the alt text aloud so the website user can understand what’s on the screen.
Alt text is very specific. Be sure to describe the image’s subject and context, use keywords sparingly, and refrain from starting your alt text with “picture of…” or “image of…”. Note that alt text is limited to 125 characters.
Step 3: Link
Adding links to different pages on your website, as well as to pages on other websites, is beneficial to building SEO. There are two types of links:
Internal Links - Links that bring the user to another page on your website.
Backlinks - Links that bring the user to another website.
Step 4: Request an Index of Your Website Through Google Search Console
To determine which websites will appear in a search result, search engines crawl each website for keywords that match the search.
When your website has just launched or you’ve made a lot of updates, you can request a crawl instead of waiting around for Google to get to it.
This is where Google Search Console comes in.
Google Search Console ensures updates to your website appear in search results sooner. Simply visit search.google.com/search-console/about to request that Google index your site, meaning Google bots will review your website.
Note: Your website may not appear in search results immediately as it will take Google some time to process your request. (But not nearly as long if you don’t request a crawl!)
Step 5: Set-up Your Google Business Listing
Claiming and optimizing your Google Business listing is one of the BEST ways to boost traffic to your website! It tells Google who you are and makes it easy for it to display your business in search engine results. You also get a professional looking information box.
To access the complete “How to Boost Traffic to Your Website” Formula - along with others! - check out my Debug Your Business membership.
It includes step-by-step formulas to take the confusion - and overwhelm - out of starting and marketing your business. There’s also a place to ask questions!
Hey there! I’m Meg:
LOVER OF CATS, ROLLER SKATING, AND VW BUGS
I also love business and share all kinds of tips and resources to help you grow yours.
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