How to increase your website's traffic on your own, without a marketing company

As a small business owner, you may think boosting your website’s traffic requires hiring a marketing company. If you want to reach a certain level it definitely does, however, if your budget is small and you need to bootstrap your own growth there's a lot you can do. Here’s a simple guide to help you get started:

1. Create a Simple & Effective Website

Your website is the first impression many potential customers will have of your business. It should clearly communicate your products or services, be easy to navigate, and include authentic photos of your business. Several user-friendly website builders, like Wix, GoDaddy Website Builder, and Shopify, provide templates that allow you to design a professional website with little to no coding experience.

Pro Tip: Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. According to Statistica, over 58% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices, so having a mobile-responsive design is key to reaching more visitors. If you are looking for design inspiration, visit our Portfolio page.

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2. Improve Website Keywords

Optimizing your website with the right keywords can make a significant difference in driving traffic. Focus on adding a strong, descriptive Title (up to 60 characters) and a Meta Description (140-160 characters) for each page. These elements help search engines understand your content and show your website in relevant search results.

Ensure you only have one H1 title per page, as this title is the most important heading for SEO. Avoid keyword stuffing—focus on writing naturally while incorporating relevant phrases. Having location-specific keywords can also help you target local visitors and improve your local-SEO.

You can research the right keywords to use on Spyfu or Semrush.

Pro Tip: Add Alt-Tags to your website pictures for improved indexing by the search engines.

3. Optimize Your Google MyBusiness Listing & Other Listings

Optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile is a powerful way to increase visibility. Include a detailed description of your services, link your website, and regularly update your business hours and contact information. This will ensure you show up in local searches.

Bonus Tip: Apply similar optimization techniques to other business listings like Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing Places for Business to broaden your reach.

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4. Collect More Reviews

Customer reviews are a strong signal for search engines like Google. The more positive reviews you have, the more likely your business is to rank higher in search results. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp. These reviews can boost credibility and improve local search rankings.

Generally speaking, from our experience, Google will boost your listing placement when you hit the following milestones:

• 25 Reviews
• 50 Reviews
• 100 Reviews
• 250 Reviews
• 500+

As you gain more positive reviews, Google and other listing websites will assume your page is more important and provides better service. They will then display your business to more searchers and will expand the reach further. You don't necessarily need to have thousands of reviews, but having more will definitely help you more.

5. Optimize Social Media Pages

Your social media accounts are important traffic generators. Ensure your website link is easily accessible in your bio on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Every time you post, especially when sharing stories, link back to your website where applicable. This helps funnel social media visitors to your site.

In the following examples you can see some of our clients and their optimized Instagram & Facebook pages

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6. Increase Blog & Social Media Output

Creating consistent, valuable content helps build engagement and encourages visitors to return to your website. Whether you choose blogging or social media posts, stay consistent and link back to your website. Blog topics could include insights related to your industry, while social media posts can highlight product updates, behind-the-scenes stories, or customer testimonials.

Pro Tip: Use tools like Canva for simple content creation, ensuring your posts are visually appealing and professional. Use a professional camera or practice taking good pictures & videos with your phone camera before posting.

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7. Stay Consistent: Most Important Factor

Just like any other business tool, your website needs consistent attention. Regularly updating content, collecting reviews, and engaging with customers will help your website stay relevant and increase traffic over time. You may think it's tedious to post 1-2 times a week but at the end of the year you can accumulate hundreds of posts and content output if you simply post 1-2 times a week on your channels.

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You've got your website. What now?

If your budget is tight but you're looking to grow your business, there's always a way. Remember that a website is a tool and like any other tool it will not work if you do not use it. Growing your business may take some time but like anything else, with consistency, it's very much doable.

‍ With these steps, you can improve your visibility, connect with customers, and drive more visitors to your site, all by yourself. Remember, consistency is key—keep managing your website regularly to see the best results!

If you need help growing your business or are looking to take it to the next level, get in touch and let's chat about how we can help!

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