Digital marketing gives you many more opportunities to reach customers and grow how many users you reach than traditional marketing. Plus you have access to way more traffic statistics, and website traffic analytics, so you can know what's effective and how much traffic you're getting. However, running a small company or being a site owner often requires us to wear many hats and put out many small fires during our days. This results in us not having the time or money to take advantage of our opportunities to grow our average number of visitors.
We’re here to help you with both of those things. Well, specifically in this post, we’ll help you overcome the financial part. (You can always reach out to us to offload some of your marketing and web page work if you’d like to get some of your time back as well).
One of the brilliant things digital marketing does for small companies is it provides you with several ways to boost your web traffic for free. You can also use many different free website traffic checker tools available, like Google Analytics to really dig in and see what your traffic stats are trying to tell you. Website traffic analysis is a must these days, and no online business can afford to ignore using some type of analytics tool to produce a weekly traffic report.
You’re probably already doing some of the things on this list. But, if you learn even one new strategy or way to improve your rank on search engines, that can help grow your traffic stats and can snowball into many new website visitors.
Alright, enough from us. You clicked to see the list. Let’s get into the 25 ways you can promote your website, products, blog, and more.
Join Facebook Groups and/or create one of your own
There are many industries, locations, etc. specific Facebook Groups out there that you can join. Best of all, Facebook groups are a free tool you can use. These are excellent resources for small company owners. You can connect directly with others who have similar interests to your own. You can learn more about your industry or local area while becoming a trusted authority in your industry. These groups also are a great source of referral traffic. Win-Win!
Do Facebook Lives
The days of posting statuses or pictures are in the past. These days, engagement metrics and casual observance show that everyone is going Live on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. You don’t have to be a master at it, but you need to be authentically you. Pick someone on your team if you’re uncomfortable speaking in front of others, and have some fun.
Join Pinterest groups boards and/or create one of your own
Pinterest is still a fantastic platform for growing your organic search results and helping you climb the Google Search Rankings. It’s also a lot of fun to browse through images and create boards of your own full of things you love to see and examples of work you’ve produced or would like to produce someday.
Start a YouTube Channel
YouTube has grown into an entire entertainment venue for millions of people. For many, it is one of their most popular pages. Especially those that prefer getting most or all of their information in video form. If you are inclined to film yourself, your products, or anything else, you need to establish a company-specific YouTube channel today.
Comment on other’s Social Media Posts
Social media needs social interaction. When you get the conversation started on other people’s platforms, you might gain unique visitors, discover new traffic sources, and learn new things about your industry. Often as visitors interact, people will follow you back and come get started on what you’re posting as well.
Submit your blog posts to Reddit and/or Medium
Leverage how Medium's site ranks by submitting your informative blog posts through that platform. Leveraging these higher-profile sites is great for increasing traffic and improving your visibility online, and will help in growing your unique visitors. Of course, it will also help you build some valuable backlinks to your website, which is important for search engine performance.
Comment on other blogs
This one is similar to the social media posts, and the reasons and benefits are the same. But. You need to read the articles on other sites and add more value through meaningful comments that add value to what was posted. Do not just drop a “Yes!” Add a unique perspective or something that gets the users engaged and the conversation rolling.
Write a case study
If you’ve been in operation for any amount of time, you have fulfilled a customer’s request. Let future customers know how it went. Highlight what problems you helped solve and why your company is uniquely capable of delivering those results. Case studies help you build trust and authority, and improve your search traffic… and all they take is a little time to write them up!
Answer questions in Quora and/or Yahoo Answers
One of the biggest reasons people use the internet is to find answers to questions. If you’re not out there answering and helping people, someone else is and you're losing valuable search traffic. Now, you cannot shamelessly promote your own products. You do need to answer the questions in a meaningful way. But if you pick an appropriate account that’s easily recognizable, you can help boost your trust and authority in the community and your industry.
Create a Freebie / Lead Magnet / Opt-in incentive
Do you know your industry well? Why not share that information with others? People love gaining valuable information and insights. Creating an eBook or some other freebie, and sharing it on purpose-built landing pages, is a great way to promote yourself without coming across as too salesy or pushy.
Grow your e-mail list and send regular e-mails to your subscribers
E-mail newsletters are still an excellent way to reach out to your customers. Be sure to optimize your content correctly, as people get more e-mails than ever before. You want to make sure you get to the point, entice them to read more, and make it clear what actions you’d like them to take. Anticipate user behavior and save the lengthy prose for your blog. E-mails are about maximizing your customer’s time.
Promote a flash or limited-time offer
Customers LOVE discounts. Many times when customers sign up to follow your social media or subscribe to your e-mail newsletters, it’s in the hopes of future discounts. Give the people what they want and be sure to promote any special deals for followers. You want to always remember to reward your followers with extra perks and benefits. After all, they could be following anyone but chose to follow you.
Write a guest post
Getting the word out on your own platforms, blogs, etc., is excellent, but your reach is limited to those who have already found you. Landing a guest spot on another’s blog helps you gain their followers. Plus, when folks run across you’re writing elsewhere, it helps reinforce your status as an industry expert, and you get those valuable Google Backlinks back to your site.
Interview others and/or offer to be interviewed
Publishing written or recorded interviews are one of the easier ways to create new content. Even if you’re transcribing the interview, you only need to do a small amount of revision for clarity and typos. However, just because it’s easy to get information doesn’t mean it’s not valuable for your audience. Bringing new insights and expert opinions is a great way to give your readers something of value while also leveraging the networks of your guests to view your content.
Create a round-up post
Don’t know what to post or create this week? Have a handful of posts covering one topic? Or how about a few top-performing posts of the year? Like cartoons and TV shows of the past, the round-up post is a great way to fill in some content with minimal effort. But, if you don’t do it all the time, it’s actually very valuable to your readers. Some might have come in later and missed some articles and will love you pointing them in the right direction.
Start a podcast
Everyone’s doing it. Podcasts can be a great way to build a completely different audience. Many people prefer audio/video content to reading, and creating podcasts is a great way to reach them. You might think you’re not interesting enough to launch a podcast, but you’d be surprised what people will listen to.
Publish a free eBook or guide on Amazon
You might not realize it, but any small business owner is a subject matter expert. For everyone who actually started a company, dozens are waiting in the wings who are scared or feel they lack something required to get started themselves. Publishing an eBook or guide can help them get started and help you build your audience base. Leveraging Amazon’s extensive customer base is just icing on the cake.
Host a free training or webinar
Similar to the point above. If you’ve started something, you’ve done more than most. People will want to hear from you. They want to know what worked and what didn’t. Little details you take for granted in your daily operations could inspire someone else to reach their own success.
Do a Joint Venture
Have a friend or someone in your network with another local company? Why not join forces on a project, product, or something else exciting. Some of the craziest mashups and joint ventures have become runaway successes for both companies. Remember, the best joint ventures work when everybody wins from the partnership.
Host a giveaway
Engagement numbers lower than what you’d like? Hosting a giveaway is a sure-fire way to encourage immediate engagement from your audience and newly found members. People love a chance to get something for free. Use this to your advantage and also to help spread some positivity within your community. You can always ask anyone who wins to share their experience with your product or service for the extra content value.
Ask for referrals
People love sharing their knowledge and helping others, especially if you’ve been active and encouraging within your community and industry. Asking for referrals gives your readers a chance to share their networks and knowledge with you. You’ll be surprised by how quickly some will rush to help you out.
Ask for Testimonials
We’re sure you’re killing it with your customers, satisfying everyone, and blowing away their expectations. So, follow up and ask to make sure. When people respond with their glowing reviews, ask them if it’s OK to share their feedback with the world. Testimonials go a long way to helping you close deals with customers researching your company. Registering with a third-party website to host an anonymous survey or hosting it yourself both work. The main thing is that you want to get the testimonials and share them with the world.
Attend a networking event
Networking events are going on all the time in just about every city. They’re often way more open than their names might imply. Take the time to show up and really engage. Don’t be that person who’s just there to press business cards into people’s hands and move on. Really get to know people, participate, share, etc..….and then push that card into their hands.
Speak at an event
This one’s intimidating for many, which is why we kept it for the end. Speaking at an event cements you as an industry leader and expert. But many struggles with the idea of public speaking. However, we’re betting if you’re a successful small business owner, you at least know how to talk to your customers. So, you know how to speak in public. You just need to adapt what you’re already doing to a larger group of people. You can always start off in virtual meetings to get your feet wet and then work your way up to live, in-person events.
Host your own event
Want to really establish yourself as an industry or community leader? Hosting your own event is the way to go. Since we’re talking free, an event doesn’t have to mean Comic-con level events. Your event can be small, like a regular meeting over morning coffee. Just something that gets people out, active, and involved. The important thing is you’re the host and organizer, and your name or company gets the credit for creating it.
Final Thoughts
There are so many exciting ways you can promote yourself these days. Gone are the days of limited and expensive options like billboards and newspapers. People have rocketed to success entirely through guerilla tactics, with hardly any money spent on marketing or paid traffic. The sky’s the limit if you have the drive, passion, hunger…and a bit of luck.
Which one of these have you already done that’s helped you gain more visitors? Which have you never thought about? Let us know in the comments or suggest something we’ve left off the list.
Again, all of these can help your conversion rate, and are almost entirely free. We say almost because they will involve your mental resources to develop ideas and your valuable time. If time is in short supply, we can help you out. Reach out to us if you need any help, have any questions, or anything else. We’re here to help you find success and grow your total visits!
