Well, hello again 👋
In today’s post, you can learn everything you need to know about growing your website traffic during the 2021 pandemic. 📈
Pandemic has certainly changed every way we used to function.
Although we’re all looking forward to the pandemic’s end, it will take time for things to return to normal. Until then, many businesses will continue to operate remotely, relying solely on web traffic and online revenue. Therefore, for many companies, increasing website traffic during the pandemic is critical. So, in this post, I’ll give some simple strategies and tactics for increasing your traffic, including a few free bonus tips.
1. Improve Your Website Performance
One of the main steps in gaining more traffic is improving your website performance.
As of May 2021, there are the three Core Web Vitals as the newest Google ranking factors. And if you don’t want your website’s ranking to be affected (in a bad way), you must meet the minimum CWV threshold. So now, let’s take a looksy at what these Core Web Vitals are.
The Core Web Vitals include:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
- First Input Delay (FID)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Largest Contentful Paint or LCP refers to the time it takes for your website to load the largest content element in the viewport once someone requests your website’s URL. That usually is an image or video, or in some cases, a big block of text. Having a low LCP enhances the user experience by giving the impression that something is happening and the page will be loaded shortly, which is super important. And as Google suggests, your LCP should be 2.5 seconds or less.
Moreover, here is an example that will help you see how important it is to have a fast website. According to a Google case study, increasing your page load time from 1 second to 3 seconds raises your bounce rate by 32%, and going from 1 second to 6 seconds increases your bounce rate by 106%, which is insanely high.
First Input Delay or FID refers to the time it takes for your website to respond when your visitor first clicks on something or makes any kind of interaction with your website in some way. This interaction may include a click on a button, a link, or any other interactive element. And if you’re keeping your FID below 100 milliseconds, you’re good to go! And from the user’s perspective, clicking on something and then waiting a long time for an answer or not receiving an answer at all will almost certainly drive them to abandon the website.
Finally, there’s Cumulative Layout Shift or CLS on this Core Web Vitals list. CLS refers to the number of layout shifts that may occur during the entire lifespan of your webpage.
I believe that each of us has at least once visited a site whose content went up and down. When you’re attempting to read something and the entire text moves up, you know how frustrating it can be. You scroll to continue with the reading, and, suddenly everything moves down, and you need to scroll again and again… Well, this is because there is an image or ad that has not yet been loaded, and when it does, it changes the entire layout of the page. And we can all agree that this is frustrating! So, if you don’t want a bad UX, keep your CLS below 0.1.
Bonus tip: A fast website is always a good thing, both for Google’s algorithm and for your users, as it improves the UX. Thus you can follow our tutorial with 6 tips for speeding up your website.
2. Use SEO to Increase Your Online Presence
SEO isn’t something that you perform once, and then you’re done. You need to improve your website constantly, especially if you want to rank higher on Google. And on this subject, there are some basic do’s and don’ts that you need to follow: 👇
DO:
- create helpful content with appealing visuals;
- enable SSL certificate;
- fix any broken links through your website;
- create a fast and mobile-friendly website;
- use a reliable web hosting company.
DON’T:
- overuse your keywords;
- use spammy backlinks to your website;
- create duplicate content;
- use large file sizes.
You can conduct a website analysis to determine which issues require attention. For this, you can use tools like Google Search Console to help you figure out what needs to be improved.
Bonus tip: If you have a WordPress website, you can follow the ultimate WordPress SEO checklist, where you can find some great tips that will help you get more website traffic.
3. Make Your Content Memorable to Generate More Traffic
Put your effort into creating valuable content that is enjoyable and easy to read. Because no matter how much traffic you get, if you don’t have something valuable to give, you’ll lose your visitors before they can become your customers.
For starters, take your time in choosing the topic for your content. You can write about an issue that your target audience is experiencing and offer a solution to their problem. You can even pick a niche and try to write for them. Your visitors will appreciate you more if you provide helpful answers to specific issues instead of writing about something that everyone writes about.
After you’ve decided on a topic, write a compelling headline that will entice readers to click and get to work. Keep in mind that you’re writing for people, not for the algorithm. Forget about keyword stuffing! Write naturally without much thought.
Bonus tip: You can use some free and paid online tools that can help you improve your writing skills, like Grammarly, Hemingway, etc.
4. Get Social by Using Social Media Platforms
Although it is easy to be tricked and lose track of time on social media, you can also try to use it for good and promote your business. And if you’re just starting, it may seem overwhelming because there are sooo many social media platforms to choose from these days, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube… I can go on and on.
The point is, you have to begin somewhere. For starters, do research to determine where your target audience likes to hang out and go from there. Then, share different types of content, find out what your audience wants, and, stay consistent.
Using social media can help you improve your website’s traffic, especially if you share helpful or entertaining content. Moreover, you can promote your latest products and services on any social platform you choose. But keep in mind that you should create your social media images and videos pixel-perfect!
Bonus tip: You can add social sharing buttons to your blog, so your visitors can share your content on their profiles with just one click 😉
5. Create Viral or Evergreen Content to Increase Blog Traffic
Creating viral content can help you increase your traffic right away. Unfortunately, there’s no secret formula for going viral. You can try and choose a topic currently trending in the hopes of seizing the moment (or, if you prefer, “breaking the internet”). Plus, you can create captivating visuals to spice up the thing.
Bonus tip: Using platforms like TikTok can also help you promote your content and increase the chances of going viral.
And if the thought of creating viral content is too risky and time-consuming for you, try creating evergreen content instead. Because, while viral content can temporarily improve your website traffic, evergreen content can provide steady growth over time. Evergreen content is timeless, and in some cases, it can generate traffic for years. You should choose your topic wisely if you want to create evergreen content. Select something that you are confident about and it will be good and valuable in the future.
I’ll make a comparison to help you understand what an evergreen post is. A few months ago, I wrote an article about the Best Web Design Trends for 2021, which is trendy only this year. And, we can’t call it an evergreen post. But, on the other hand, the article Unmetered HOSTING, WHAT Is It and WHY Do You Need It? is an excellent example of evergreen content. It can help our customers choose the right web hosting solution for their projects, whether it’s today or two years from now.
6. Use Email Marketing To Drive More Traffic
Don’t underestimate the power of an email! Although social media can bring you more traffic in certain situations, the traffic from email is more convertible. Your leads are already signed up for your newsletter. They are already interested in the type of content you provide, making them more likely to buy your products and services.
You can always use email marketing to share your new content to your leads, such as a new cool product feature or a service promotion you have. Begin with creating an interesting headline to enhance the likelihood of someone opening your email. Then, you should come up with engaging content for the body of the email and add links to your website. You can also include visually appealing images but beware of the file size. And if you think you’ve done a good job, it’s time to hit the send button!
Bonus tip: Follow these instructions to create a successful landing page for collecting leads and growing your email list.
7. Boost Your Traffic With Guest Posting
You can start guest posting or invite guest contributors to write for you. Guest posting means writing for others. Your article, together with your name and backlinks, will be published on someone else’s website as a guest post. As a result, you’ll be able to acquire new visitors to your website and improve your chances of ranking higher in SERP. Moreover, you’ll get more brand awareness.
You can also get more traffic by hiring a guest contributor. Because if someone writes for you, they’ll share the post on their profile which means you’ll get a ton of new visitors 😉
Bonus tip: If you want to start guest posting, you can look into different affiliate programs and see what works best for you.
When looking for guest blogging possibilities, bear in mind that you should not choose an unrelated site to your industry. For example, an online pet store, vet, or some form of pet organization will be suitable for guest posting if your business sells cat food. But choosing the website of an online sweets shop or a furniture company, on the other hand, would be a total blunder. It’s also a good idea to choose websites that already have a solid reputation in order to leverage on their success.
And that’s it. If you implement these tips, you’ll boost your website traffic for sure. But, you should know that there’s no overnight hack for driving quality traffic to your site. Remember, be consistent!
See you in the next post. 🤟
