Technology develops so swiftly today that it is nearly impossible to keep up with every change and development. Therefore it is critical that you don’t simply let your aging efforts to set up your website become stale. Because we have become so reliant on our web presence for our businesses, we must be vigilant in ensuring we don’t kill our traffic and therefore potential customers. Because knowing is the first step towards help, here are five ways you may be killing your own web traffic.
1. Overly Reliant On Software
Most people use WordPress for their websites. Within WordPress there are “plugins” and other hosting services like Squarespace and Shopify have similar type applications. Some of the most commonly used plugins are designed to “optimize” your content.
This is an attempt to signal that the words you use create the signals you want to search engines. These plugins and other supportive software are fine tools, but they are no substitute for a real SEO campaign.
Real SEO campaigns include link building from external sites to your site, keyword optimization and internal links. Only keyword optimization is improved by this software. People often think because they have activated these plugins and follow their guidance, they have optimized their site and will be found in search engine results. This is not true and fails to understand the complexity of SEO.
2. Dead Links
When sites grow, they often have broken internal links. If those broken links are attracting search engine results, people might be finding pages that no longer exist. This can drive searchers to other sites.
When they don’t find your site due to broken links, you might be driving potential customers into the waiting site of your competitors. These broken links can be discovered and fixed, so don’t let them linger in hyperspace, costing you traffic and revenue.
3. Stale Content
People get frustrated when they are looking for something and what they find hasn’t been updated or doesn’t reflect new information and innovation. The best way to avoid this is to have a blog on your site and keep the content fresh.
By doing this, your site will increase its subject relevance, make your site easier to find in searches and position you as an authority. When you don’t your site simply looks like a cash register. Continuously update your content and provide new posts that keep visitors coming back. If you don’t update your content, they have no reason to return.
4. Lists
Take every opportunity to get people to sign up for notifications. Direct email is still the most effective way to communicate with potential customers. It is targeted because the list is created by engaging from desire. Therefore, the emails sent out get read and absorbed.
This is still more effective than using Facebook or Twitter. People are using social media more and more, but have developed blind spots for business outreach. Email lists, however, get people to read your messages.
Email lists also allow you to create subgroups so you can refine your message. An email designed for one product isn’t necessary right for another. By creating specialized lists, you can better target your audience and ensure the best results. Email also allows you to schedule your emails so they can be sent out automatically, reducing your own work.
5. Social Media
Most of us use social media, but are you using social media to promote your site? Are you using your site to promote your social media? These things are promotional tools that must be leveraged to expand awareness of each other. Reference your site, articles and topics on your social media to gain traffic, but keep the 80/20 rule in mind.
The rule is eighty percent of your social media engagement should be non-promotional. Twenty percent should be promotional. When this ratio is respected, people are more receptive to your promotional message, because you aren’t merely broadcasting self-serving messages.
Also, cross platforms. When you Tweet a message, duplicate that on Facebook, Linkedin etc. Most people have different followings across their social media profiles. Make sure you give each group the opportunity to see your message. Sometimes this is as easy as clicking a button. Blog posts often have shortcuts to share to various social media platforms. You can link your Facebook and Twitter to reduce duplication effort.
Ultimately, your site needs traffic. It is important to build that traffic, but your efforts to build traffic shouldn’t be one step forward one step back. If you aren’t looking out for resistant forces to your site, you could be undermining your efforts. Make sure you are not killing your traffic as you work to grow it. These five tips can help those efforts.
