Now's the time to drive as much traffic to your website as possible. Businesses are feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Many companies will struggle until things get better and some may close. But organizations that can adapt may be able to leverage the internet for revenue. The key is knowing how to generate qualified website traffic fast.
We're seeing a significant increase in internet traffic as millions of people are staying at home to combat the spread of COVID-19. Akamai, a major content delivery network (CDN) and cybersecurity provider, reported a more than 50% increase in internet traffic. Other major brands like Netflix are experiencing a traffic surge too.
Businesses affected by COVID-19 should leverage the internet to survive the economic downturn. Yet, not every organization is in a position to do so. With that in mind, here are some effective ways to generate website traffic fast:
1. Speed up your website
Site speed is a strong search engine ranking factor publicly verified by Google. Improving the time that it takes for your web pages to load can increase your ranking positions. In turn, you’ll receive more traffic to your site.
Consulting with your web developer may be necessary for implementation. But here are ways to increase the speed of your web pages.
- Enable server-side compression using Gzip. The easiest way is to edit a file in your server called ‘.htaccess’
- Decrease the size of resources (e.g. CSS, JavaScript, and HTML) by minifying them
- Reduce the use of redirects
- Remove or cut the use of render-blocking JavaScript
- Leverage browser caching by setting expiration dates for common resources
- Improve your server’s response time by upgrading the current hosting package—you can also switch web hosting companies altogether
- Sign up for a content delivery network (CDN) like Cloudflare or Godaddy CDN
- Optimize your images by shrinking size
2. YouTube video marketing
If you’re not publishing any video content, now's a good time to start. If you’re already doing video marketing, then increase your output. Video consumption has risen because more people are staying home due to COVID-19.
Right now, YouTube may be the fastest way to generate organic website traffic for free. The platform ranks first in video sharing. Plus, every streaming platform is experiencing a surge in traffic.
Your company can leverage this trend. Use video in ways that provide value to consumers while increasing your traffic. With some ingenuity, that traffic can become revenue for your business.
Start thinking of ways to use YouTube. For example, a dance studio could use YouTube Live to run its classes. The audience still experiences the event live without having to leave their homes.
3. Leverage these social networks
More people will consume online content in general because of COVID-19. So, this is the perfect time to revisit your content strategy. You can ramp up content production on your website and social platforms. Right now, the following networks are the three biggest opportunities for website traffic.
There’s plenty of website traffic to gain by using Reddit. In fact, the platform recently saw a 20-50% increase in traffic to certain subreddits.
To use Reddit for traffic, you should take part in relevant subreddits. These are forums dedicated to specific topics. Engage with other people’s posts to increase your ‘Karma’ points. This is a Reddit points system for mitigating spam. You gain Karma points whenever your links and comments get upvoted.
Note that certain subreddits won't let you post links without some Karma points.
Here’s how to start using Reddit:
- Create your account
- Fill out all the details about your profile
- Find relevant subreddits and join them
- Participate in relevant subreddits for a few days by commenting on other people’s posts
- Start sharing your own content while continuing to participate on Reddit.
Facebook is seeing a surge in website traffic with 70% more time being spent across its apps. So, you may want to include Facebook ads to your strategy. You can also drive organic traffic to your site by posting and participating on the platform.
Quora
Quora is a Q&A network that is a superb source for fast website traffic. You’ll have to answer questions that relate to or support your brand’s products. Then, link to your website whenever relevant. Resist the urge to spam, instead, learn to use Quora effectively to market your business.
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4. Use untapped on-page SEO opportunities
SEO is a technical marketing discipline that isn’t well understood by many. As a result, a lot of companies don’t use the on-page SEO opportunities they have. The most common things organizations miss are as follows:
- No good use of meta title and meta description texts
- Web page content headings are not wrapped in proper HTML elements
- URL or web address doesn’t contain the target keyword
- Subheadings aren’t used
- The use of internal linking is minimal
Good on-page SEO can increase the traffic you receive from search engines fast. You most likely have untapped on-page SEO opportunities that you can use. Consider using a reliable on-page SEO checklist if you want to get this aspect of SEO right every time.
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5. Leverage high traffic websites
Websites that receive a high level of daily visitors (e.g. Forbes) should be seeing a boost in readership. You can reach out to these sites for collaboration. Both your business and the other party will gain website traffic. The flow of traffic will also continue for many years providing that the site doesn’t go offline.
Seeking out many high-traffic domains for collaboration works. Make sure every site you work with shares the same target audience but isn’t a competitor.
6. Double down on email marketing
Have you been generating leads from your website traffic with email marketing? If not, it’s never too late to start. If you don’t have a decent size email list yet, then you may want to focus on all the other suggestions in this article.
Your email list can be a quick source of traffic if you’ve been building it up. Some of the people on your email list may have converted to leads while others might still be on the fence. You should devise email marketing strategies for each of those segments.
One good email coupled with an irresistible offer can send many visitors to your website.
7. Use paid ads
Paid advertising can be an excellent method for bringing visitors to your website. This is because you can use targeting features to display your pages to people who are likely to engage.
Before you use paid ads, decide on the goal(s) you want to achieve and set a clear process. This way, you’re less likely to waste money. More visitors doesn’t always mean more customers. The medium you choose (e.g. social, search engines, etc.) and your target audience’s behavior will affect ROI.
Adapt fast
Now you have many ways to generate website traffic fast. This is something a lot of businesses need right now. Organizations have to maintain and/or increase their revenue stream. Start thinking of ways to use the internet to survive the temporary economic crisis caused by COVID-19.
For example, a hair salon could start selling online courses on how to do hair. The company can also start an ecommerce store to sell and deliver its digital products. Today anyone can open an online store within minutes using a platform like Shopify.
The entire web can become an extra source of income for your business if you can identify sound ways to use it. For many companies, survival is going to depend on how fast they can adapt and start seeing ROI. You can do this. Good luck.
About the author
Gabriel Nwatarali is the founder of Tech Help Canada and a digital marketing specialist with a passion for search engine optimization (SEO). He regularly contributes his knowledge of online marketing, business, and technology to online publications.
