Change It Up
There is no magic recipe for success when it comes to increasing site traffic. Sticking to the same routine probably won’t get you too far. Vary the length and format of your content to engage a variety of new readers and to keep old ones coming back. If you haven’t already, consider adding video and infographic pieces to the agenda to shake things up and make your blog, website or social platforms visually appealing. Try some A/B testing with layouts, graphics and headlines to see which lead to the most conversions.
Make Your Headlines Matter
Even if your content is sweeping, no one will take the next step to read it without a compelling headline to grab their attention. According to the great advertising executive David Ogilvy, only 20% of the people who see your headline will actually read it. Make it count. You have to strike the right balance of unique, creative, and SEO-friendly. One great way to stand out is to add variety. The eye is drawn to the contrast of digits and text side by side, and readers want to know that there’s something valuable inside.
Words to try for list headlines include:
- Facts
- Strategies
- Tips
- Secrets
- Ways
- Techniques
Guest Blog & Invite Guest Bloggers
Securing a guest blogger to write a piece for your site not only helps build your brand, but it’s also great way to expose your content to new readers and appear more reputable. In addition, consider becoming a guest blogger yourself to expose your thought leadership among a new audience. Be sure to post valuable, relevant, high-quality and original content, however, as spam-like tactics and duplicate or copied content will receive penalties from search engines like Google.
Build Your Online Presence Offline
Always be on the lookout for opportunities to get quality inlinks back to your site. While backlinking and building citations offsite are not the only way search engines rank your websites, identifying local business listings and relevant industry sites to list your website on is always helpful. If an opportunity arises to write a column in your local newspaper or get featured in an industry publication, that can be a gold mine for your SEO since these publications tend to have high domain authority.
Don’t Neglect Speed, Accessibility & User Friendly Design
In this age of immediate gratification, no one is going to wait for you. The speed of your site can make or break readership. If your site tends to be sluggish, you’re looking at a major bounce rate. Technical optimization is your friend. Stay on top of page structure, plugins, and file sizes. A quick and easy tool to test out your page speed and get recommendations for improvements is Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Accessibility of your site to users on the go is also important to your lead generation. Make sure your site is “device agnostic” or responsive on any device you through its way. On desktop, mobile, tablets or any other devices, it is important to ensure you are following best practices to optimize conversions, such as making your text clear and using BIG LOUD calls to action.
