Getting Website Hits Started

Getting website hits can be as simple as running the right advertising & managing your search engine optimization a little better. Think like your consumer.

Target your marketing efforts and get better results without spending a lot of cash.

Stumped with getting website hits? Lots of people can build a website, but can they get you website hits? Here is an overview as to how to getting website hits started. You have to continue your efforts and be willing to change your site often to get the best results. Once you get a hit, you need to hold on to that reader. To get the absolute best results, you must be involved. Keeping the content rolling will keep your site fresh and appealing to your potential customers. Do I have a reason to want to visit your site again? If I’m a potential customer, you need me to keep coming back in order to make a decision to buy. For that reason, content is key.

 Google Analytics

When you have success, you want to be able to measure it. I really like Google Analytics. They now have real time results, at least in a beta stage. The account is free. We set Google Analytics up on every single website we do. You can see how, when and how long people use your site. You will also see how they got to your site. The data gathered is a wonderful tool in tracking your success and making adjustments. To setup a free Google Analytics account, click this link – http://www.google.com/analytics/.

Content

Website content takes many forms: motion media, text, pictures, snippets, downloads, and things still yet to be imagined. It must all entertain, inform, incite, or console. When you think about what your site offers, you should always consider your customers point of view… and what they will be searching for.

Typically, give as much info as you can about your products. Many people search the web looking for solutions. If your website also shows a consumer how to install a part, and offers support, then they have a better chance of becoming your customer.

Your best content will be created with your customer and search engines in mind. Also, give your visitor a reason to come back often. Consider a calendar of events, free giveaways, contests, humor and blogging.

Blogging

A blog is a collection of articles about a subject or series of subjects. It can be informal. It helps to be informative. If you sell real estate, your blog could be a series of articles helping people learn to buy or sell a house. It could include tools to use along the way. You have something to blog about, but you may need a little help figuring it out. Your blog is part of your content, and should be updated as often as possible. Over time you will build a huge repository of information.

Advertising

Good advertising is one of the best ways to ensure hits to your website. If you are running a special that is truly a good offer and you tell enough people about it, you will make sales. You already know about paid advertising. Give the newspaper money, and they will publish your ad. Buy a billboard, people notice your name. But even if you don’t have a lot of cash, you can still advertise.

Offering services as part of a prize package to a radio station or charity is just one free way to get advertising. There are many others, just be creative. Google and Facebook paid advertisements can be inexpensive and effective if you target your market right. But make sure your ad is effective. If you buy a Facebook ad, and have a limited number of impressions with which to make a sale, then you should make sure you get your message in front of the best prospects. Consider an ad to sell a music album. Your text could be “Music is cool. Buy our album.” You may get some hits. However, if you advertise, “Free Download from Indie Band,” you will be much more likely to attract a person who might buy your album. Getting a hit on your website is important, but getting a qualified prospect as a hit is more likely to lead to a sale.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization – this is the way to make other sites like you better, and the way you really cozy up to the search engines. The most effective method of SEO is through content. Write all of your content in a way that uses key search phrases in the body of the message and the page title.

Use strong meta-data (the info about the page in the HTML code) to make each page have even more power in the search engines. Each page should have its own meta-data that is relevant to that pages content. Put descriptive “alt” tags on each image. This also makes your site more accessible to people with disabilities.

To get the best search engine rankings, you need quality abundant content, frequent updates to your site, and people to link to your site. There is a lot more to SEO than this, but if you cover these simple bases you’ll have a head start.

Social Media

Today, if someone asks if you are online, they are really asking if you are active on the social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. To get the most from your internet efforts, you simply must be active in social networking. A bread shop can use the “bulletin” type messages to let people know what today’s specials are. A pawn shop might update customers on what new video games are in stock. This is a way to “push” your content to people in an effective forum. The big ones to work with are Facebook, Twitter, Network Blogs, StumbleUpon, and sometimes Myspace. Google Plus and LinkedIn may help you, too. Update your status each day to direct someone to new information on your website, or new specials in your shopping cart. Most of your content updates can be automated so that you don’t have to worry with updating your status on the social media sites daily.

There’s a lot more to share, but this is just an overview. Right? If you want to know more, contact us.

Posted in Education, More info, Website Design, Writing Help.