All the effort you’ve put into designing your website will go to waste if no one sees it. So, naturally, the next step is to grow traffic. But how do you get the word out about your new online venture?
With the evolution of digital marketing, many different advertising methods have emerged. However, not all of them are equally effective. And what may work for your competitor may not work for you. The best way to find out which marketing methods are most practical for you is to try them out. Let’s look at five marketing methods that have stood the test of time and are worth exploring:
Ways to market your WordPress website in 2020
Paid Search: Get noticed with a small budget
If you have a marketing budget, paid search is a great option. Paid search marketing involves you paying to advertise on a search engine, a partner website or a social media platform. The most popular forms of paid search are:
- Paying each time someone clicks on your ad (Pay per click)
- Paying when your ad is displayed (Cost per thousand)
With paid search, using relevant keywords in your ads is extremely important. The more often people search for the keywords you use, the more often your website will be displayed.
Social media: Get social
The rise of social media has brought about plenty of potential to gain quality traffic. And if you’ve already spent a large portion of your budget on website design, social platforms are an excellent free marketing tool. The best platforms to start with are:
- Facebook: For interactive content
- Instagram: For visual content
- LinkedIn: For professional content
Social media allows you to tap into a bigger audience, interact with followers and promote products and services. It is easy to start by creating a unique page for your website on any of these platforms and posting curated content. Share links to different pages of your new website often and ask your audience to interact in creative ways.
Remember: Anything you share on these platforms, including voice, tone and media, should complement your brand.
Linking: Gain traffic elsewhere
A great way to increase trust and authority for your website is to have other trusted websites link back to yours. There are several ways to get this done. The most popular methods include guest blogging, news articles and partner content. For any of these methods, it is key to create quality content; Focus on creating something relevant for readers and always implement keywords. To start, contact news websites and businesses that complement your website to enquire if they offer any link building opportunities.
Note: Linking from low-ranking, poor-quality sites can also harm your website. So, it is advisable to do thorough research before building links.
Newsletters: Email your network
Email may be 40 years old already, but it is still a highly effective way of boosting traffic to a website. With the help of newsletters, you can tell your story and get the word out about your new website fast and efficiently. Creating a newsletter may seem like a straightforward task, but there are plenty of aspects to consider. Keep these points in mind when developing your first newsletter:
- Focus on the subject. People typically only scan their inboxes. If you have a striking, memorable subject, more people are likely to open your newsletter.
- Keep it simple. These days, people’s inboxes are flooded with work emails and adverts. Keep your newsletter simple, focussing on the most important parts and including a powerful call to action.
- Never spam. It is essential to have the consent of anyone you want to email first, before sending out promotional content.
Blogging: Create quality content
Blogs were big around the mid-2000s. So, is it still worth it today? Yes. Blogs are valuable platforms that can be used to post quality content to improve SEO, but also to get the word out about a new website. Blog posts are also easy to share on social media. When creating a blog, keep the following tips in mind:
- Post content that brings value to your audience.
- Use quality images and video.
- Incorporate the right keywords.
- Add striking call to actions.
- Share posts often on social media.
You’ve invested in eye-catching WordPress website design, now get noticed
It’s an exciting experience to launch a new website. And with good reason: You’ve taken the first step to promote your business online in South Africa. However, it can take a lot of effort and time to get traffic to your website. The best way to find out which methods work for you is to try a few. Keeping an eye on your traffic stats, you’ll soon find out where you should be spending your valuable time and money.
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
