How to Increase Traffic to Website for FREE
When I started my business back in 2007, I had no money for marketing or getting traffic to my website. I was running my business on ramen.
And not that fancy tasty Ramen they have these days, we’re talking 10 cent Ramen!
And back then, the opportunities that exist today with all these low-cost digital marketing options didn’t exist…this is where I tell you I walked to the bus stop in the snow, barefoot, uphill, both ways.
Today is an AMAZING time to be a business owner, with so many FREE ways to get your business in front of more people and more Traffic to your website.
You really don’t need crazy tech skills, stacks of cash, or a dedicated staff to market your business; you don’t even need ramen. What you need is to be smart.
And these low-cost marketing strategies are the smart way to drive Traffic to your website for free.
I’m Torie Mathis, long-time Marketing Agency CEO, previous bootstrapper, and I am always looking for ways to be smarter at marketing; and today, I have some amazing, effective traffic strategies that are totally free.
Increase traffic to website with FREE Strategies
And where ever you are at in your entrepreneur journey, it’s a good idea to start with some free marketing methods first.
- You may be just getting started and not sure how much you’d like to invest in your digital marketing.
- You may be a solo entrepreneur operating on a small budget.
- And really, free is the best price, and if you can reach your audience without spending money, you can use the money elsewhere.
So let’s jump into some free traffic strategies. Let’s get started.
1. How to increase traffic to website with Social Media
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow you to make a profile and connect with other people both personally and with your business. The most popular these days is Facebook.
There are major social media sites like the above-mentioned, as well as those that are small and cater to specific niches and groups of people.
When you create content, you can either post it on social media or share a link to your content with some text to draw your audience to it. Not all social media sites allow you to share long-form content.
For example, Twitter has a strict character limit. However, social media is especially good for sharing video and image content. This content often gets a great deal of engagement.
Advantages of website traffic from Social media
The main advantage of social media sites for your business is that virtually everyone uses them. No matter who your target market includes, it’s almost guaranteed that they’re on social media. Facebook alone has 2.91 Billion users worldwide. Crazy right?
One major advantage to social media sites like Facebook is that they allow you to create groups that focus on you as the main source of information, which helps to boost your authority in the eyes of your audience.
You can also use social media to learn more about your audience. When you share content, you can see what content gets the most active on social media. You can also research your followers on social media to find out more about them. It’s like a marketing goldmine.
Social Media Sites to Increase Website Traffic
Find out what social media sites your target market uses and create profiles there. For example:
2. How to increase traffic to website with Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, or “SEO,” involves things you do to your website to make it more search engine friendly. If you optimize your site for search engines, more people searching for information online will find your business.
One of the key SEO techniques is researching keywords and choosing ones with a high search volume that you can use in your website content. When people search for these keywords, they’ll then find your website in the search results. Other SEO techniques include designing your site in ways that encourage Google to favor it.
It’s not hard to learn some basic SEO. There are free tools you can use to find good keywords, such as Google’s own ‘Keyword Planner tool, Ubersuggest, or Ahrefs.
RELATED: SEO FOR BEGINNERS SERIES
If you’re not sure you want to do it yourself, you can also hire an SEO expert or agency to help you improve your site for better search engine results.
3. How to get more traffic to your website with Video Sites
Videos are extremely popular online, and there are a number of websites, like YouTube, where you can create a profile and post your videos for free. Many small businesses create videos that answer basic questions or teach their customers how to do things, basically sharing their expertise just as they would face-to-face.
For business marketing, videos should be short and to the point. Your videos can be as short as a few minutes long, and nothing fancier than you talking to your smartphone.
What’s important is for the video to offer unique value to the viewer. Of course, the more creative you get, the more likely you’ll have a video that goes viral and gets a lot of eyes on your content.
You’ll want to appear in your own videos whenever possible. If you make videos that show your face, this personalizes your content marketing. It is incredibly effective for your viewers to see you actively guiding and informing them. It is the best way to get them to know, like, and trust you.
In addition to posting your videos on video sites, you can also share them on social media sites like Facebook. Another good option is live streaming, where you produce videos your audience can watch live.
Best Video Sites for Free Traffic
4. How to increase traffic of website with Graphics Sites
Likewise, there are sites where you can post your visuals and graphics. Image sharing sites like Flickr offer a place to put your images where many people can see them. They can rank high in the search engines, and you can tag your content so that it’ll be found easily by search engines.
When planning or creating visual content, always seek to incorporate elements of your brand so that images are instantly recognizable as yours. Incorporate these brand elements consistently to create an image of your brand in the minds of your audience members.
Graphic Sharing sites to get more traffic
5. How to increase traffic to website with Blogging
A blog is a website or portion of your website that’s updated regularly with posts that can be news stories, tips, advice, personal stories, opinions, or whatever else the blog owner feels like sharing with their readers.
Blogging allows you to create and publish new content regularly. This increases the chance that you’ll gain new readers and keeps your regular readers tuned in to what’s going on. Your readers can comment on your blog posts and share your posts to help you widen your audience.
Blogging also offers great SEO benefits. Search engines like sites that update content regularly, and you have the chance to use a variety of keywords in. your blog posts.
How to Get Started Blogging for Traffic
To get started, you can create a list of topics that are interesting to your audience or brainstorm ideas on things you can teach to your audience. Turn each of these ideas into a blog post. You can also share news stories, opinions, or anything else you think might be interesting.
Branding and Blogging
When planning written content, consider the tone of your brand and incorporate this into all of your content. Create guidelines that establish a set tone that will be consistent across all your written content.
Blog posts offer an excellent informal method of communication and reinforce authority.
6. How to get more traffic to website with Blog Commenting
You can read the blogs of other people and businesses and comment on their posts. When you comment, other people will see your comment, and they can follow the link back to your website. If you comment on popular blogs, you can get a great number of people back to your site.
The Right Way to Leave Blog Comments
There are a few keys to doing this successfully. First, you need to choose blogs that have a high readership and a great deal of engagement. Look for ones where there are many comments.
Second, you need to say something insightful or interesting. The idea is to get people to visit your blog, so it’s not enough to just say, “Very interesting post, thank you.”
Mistakes to Avoid When Leaving Blog Comments
There are a few things to avoid when leaving blog comments. First, don’t leave a comment that is promotional. You’re going to look like a spammer if you do this, and your comment is not likely to be helpful, insightful, or interesting.
You should also be careful about leaving comments that are too controversial. You want people to like you and check out your blog. One exception is the case where your brand is to be controversial and provocative. But proceed with this with caution.
7. How to get free website traffic with Guest Posting
A great way to gain exposure is to write for other people’s blogs. The way it works is that you write a post and post it on another blog. In the bio box, there’s a link back to your site. When people read and enjoy your post, they will click on your link and check out your site as well.
There are many blogs that allow guest posting. Find some that have a similar audience to yours and pitch some ideas to them that will help their readers.
You can also write guest posts for blogs that are in a different niche than yours. You can show your expertise in your niche to a new audience for a different niche.
The key is to target an audience that will likely become your audience as well. Get into a regular routine of doing this, and you’ll see your readership grow.
8. How to get Free traffic by Inviting Guest Posts
You can get more eyes on your content by doing the exact opposite as well – invite other bloggers to write for your blog. Their audience will read their posts for you and check out your posts as well.
To make the guest posting process easier, put on your About Page or somewhere on your site that you accept guest posts and tell people how to pitch their ideas to you.
You can also seek out bloggers who have a similar audience to yours and invite them to write for your website.
9. How to Drive Free traffic with Forum Posting
You can spread awareness of your content and your business on online forums. Find forums where your target market spends time and become a member.
Focus on answering questions, sharing your expertise, and helping others. Build relationships on forums, and then there are several ways you can get more eyes on your content.
One is to put a signature on your profile. Most forums let you have a signature that appears at the very least on your profile, but on many forums, it appears on every post you make.
You can write a short blurb there telling people why they should check out your site, blog, YouTube channel, social media, or wherever else you have your content.
On some forums, you can share your content or advertise your content directly. Some forums have a dedicated category that’s just for members to share their latest content. But make sure it’s allowed. Some forums look down on any type of self-promotion.
10. How to increase traffic to website with Question and Answer Sites
Question and answer sites are sites like Quora, where people ask questions, and then experts chime in to offer answers.
You can position yourself as an expert on these sites and lead people who see your answers to check out your content.
Q&A Sites to Get Free Traffic
11. How to increase traffic of website with Tutorial Sites
Tutorial sites teach visitors how to do something.
You can create tutorials for people to read and then lead them to your site through your profile or bio. Again, focus on creating content that brands you as an authority on your topic.
Tutorial sites to get free traffic
12. How to drive traffic to website with Document Sharing Sites
Document sharing or file sharing sites allow you to publish and distribute all kinds of content, including text-based files like articles or eBooks or multimedia files such as videos, audios, or even images. People search for these websites to find content to download.
Document Sharing Sites to Increase Your Website Traffic
13. How to increase traffic to a website with Slide Sharing Sites
Slide-sharing sites work just like document-sharing sites. You can upload your files to the site for people to check out. The difference is that the format is a slideshow which is easy for people to view.
Sites like SlideShare allow you to put a clickable call-to-action link at the end of your slides to lead people to another page. This is a valuable feature to take advantage of.
For example, you can put a link at the end of a presentation where people can learn more about your business, products, or services. You could also lead people to other content of yours they might enjoy.
You can even use your SlideShare presentations to get people to opt into your email list. Create a slide with your call-to-action, the benefits of signing up for your email list, and a free offer as an incentive.
SlideShare presentations can be embedded on social media platforms and your blog. LinkedIn owns SlideShare, so it’s particularly easy to embed there.
Slide sharing sites to get Traffic
14. How to increase website traffic with Podcasting
Podcasting is the modern version of a radio program. You create audio shows and upload them so that people can listen to them. People can also subscribe to your podcast and receive each episode when it’s published. You can also add your podcast to directories or other places people look for new things to listen to, such as the iTunes store, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.
It’s best to create a theme for your podcast that’s related to your content, niche, or your business. If it is focused on one topic, it’s more likely to maintain your listeners’ attention. Be sure to create a format and release regular episodes.
15. How to get more website traffic with Webinars and Teleseminars
You can also host webinars and teleseminars where you teach people or offer training related to your expertise. Think of something you know how to do that most people don’t, such as a task your students can complete.
If you’re a Social Media specialist, for example, you could offer a webinar on how to do Instagram for small businesses.
The key is to offer your webinar for free and, somewhere during it, promote your business and website. If your attendees enjoy the seminar, they’ll be likely to check out your content as well.
Platforms you can use to deliver your webinar include:
16. How to get free traffic with Interviews with Influencers
This is a technique you can use along with any of the ideas I’ve mentioned. You can interview someone influential in your industry and put it on your blog, broadcast it on your podcast, or create a YouTube video with it.
Interviews give you excellent content that is very useful to your audience. But best of all, you can trade-in on the influential person’s name.
People will find out about your podcast, blog, video channel, or whatever because you’re interviewing someone they like. It’s a great way to get in front of a wider audience.
17. How to increase website traffic with a Free Lead Magnet
You can get eyes on your content by creating a lead magnet and offering it for free. A “lead magnet” is some piece of content whose aim is to not only inform and provide helpful information but also to bring new people to your content.
Your lead magnet can be any type of digital content, such as a checklist, eBook, a guide, video or audio, or video, audio, or email series. Create a special page just for your lead magnet where you can drive Traffic to it called a landing or opt-in page.
You can also advertise your lead magnet on your website, blog, social media profiles, and anywhere else your audience will see it.
RELATED: 13 Free Canva Lead Magnet Template
The right way to use a Lead Magnet for Traffic
The key to creating and using a lead magnet effectively is to include a call to action within the content. This free gift offers a great way to lead your reader to more of your content, so make sure that you include a call-to-action with a link.
18. How to increase traffic to website with Press Releases
Create a press release and post it to press release directories like HARO (Help A Reporter). Try to think of something that’s newsworthy about your business or website.
It can be something like the launch of a new site or product, a change in your business, or something not directly related, like a piece of news in your industry.
19. How to drive more traffic to your website with Collaborations
If you know someone with a similar audience, collaborate with them. Create some pieces of content together. For example, you can write an eBook with someone you know. Their audience will check out your content, and your audience will check out theirs.
So what do you think?
We went over a lot of options for driving FREE Traffic to your website.
We covered:
- Social Media
- SEO
- Video Sites
- Graphics Sites
- Blogging
- Blog Commenting
- Guest Posting
- Invite Guest Posts
- Forum Posting
- Question and Answer Sites
- Tutorial Sites
- Document Sharing Sites
- Slide Sharing Sites
- Podcasting
- Webinars and Teleseminars
- Interviews with Influencers
- Free Lead Magnet
- Press Releases
- Collaborations
So now is the time for you to take some action and get started with some of these free methods.
Increase Traffic Action Steps:
- Pick a couple of these free content visibility methods that will work best with your market.
- Plan 1 piece of content for each of the selected platforms. You can even repurpose the same content for each platform.
- Then see what works and what doesn’t. You can do more of what works and try to tweak what isn’t working. If it still is a no-go, forget it and move on. If you find some of these methods work well for you, how can you scale it?
About Digital Marketing Expert Torie Mathis
Torie Mathis helps entrepreneurs, like you, use digital marketing to grow your business without wasting time, money, or your sanity. She is a best-selling author, Army veteran, speaker + trainer, and your digital marketing coach. You don't need crazy tech skills, buckets of cash, or dedicated staff to market your business. In fact, you don't even need a lot of time. What you need is to be SMART.
Torie hosts SMART AF, a show for non-techy entrepreneurs looking to grow their business, with her husband Sean and is the creator of SMART AF Magazine. Learn from Torie at the Smart Arsenal and on her channel.
What do you think? Let's talk! Leave a comment.
I help entrepreneurs learn digital marketing.
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help entrepreneurs (like you) use digital marketing to get more clients + make more money. And I make it easy!
You don’t need crazy tech skills, buckets of cash, or dedicated staff to market your business. You don’t even need a lot of time.
What you need is to be SMART.
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Hi, Torie!
Actually, I accidentally come to you from Smart Blogger. You know this post is really good for beginners to figure out how to increase website traffic.
In my opinion, the best method is SEO, and focusing on keywords. Well, social media is like a boon to get some extra advantage in your website ranking and traffic boom.
In the end, you have given your best in this article.
Thank you so much, Torie!
Thanks, Dipak! I agree, if you want long-term growth SEO and keywords are the way to go. 🙂