I hear it over and over again: “I’m just not getting enough traffic.” Specifically, qualified traffic - people who need your content, products or services.

It’s true as a business owner that online livelihood depends on the amount of traffic you get. Even if you don’t sell anything online, you need traffic. We need more traffic so we can get more leads and so that we can turn those leads into sales.

We know we need it, but the fact of the matter is that many websites don’t get much at all. Luckily, you have the ability to turn that all around. But you have to put the work in. Below are 5 ways to increase qualified traffic to your website.

Here are 5 ways to Increase Qualified Traffic:

1. Build Your Credibility

Before people are going to take you seriously they are going to have to trust you. Your online credibility is something that you need to work on if you want the links you share to be clicked on. We like when people click on our links because that means more traffic. Consistency and quality is the best way to build your name and your brand. When people follow you socially or through your blog they should know what they are going to get. If you can deliver people will start to trust you.

2. Increase Your Social Media Usage

Social media doesn’t sleep, that means your social media usage shouldn’t either. I like to automate my social media so that my time is freed up for engagement. You should be posting daily and on the most important networks for your business. I like to encourage usage on the Big 5. The Big 5 consists of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google Plus. And sometimes Instagram.

3. Blog More Frequently

Blogging is the number one way to increase your traffic. If you don’t currently have a blog you are missing out on some serious traffic opportunities. Blogging works for a few reasons. The first reason is that the search engines like it. Each blog post contains new keywords to be found for. The more keywords you have the more likely you are to get found. It’s a pretty simple equation. Beyond that the more blog posts you have the more you have to share socially.

4. Create Relationships

This is all about strength in numbers. The more people you have sharing your content and backing you up online, the better traffic you are going to get. The key to getting the right people sharing your content is by creating relationships with them. That means you need to share their content, reach out and ask. Online relationships are no different than offline ones. They need to be mutually beneficial.

5. Activate Your Email Marketing

Once you attract people to your site, your best bet is to capture their email and keep the relationship alive. This way you can send them back to your website when you have a new blog post, special or deal. My favorite way to capture email is through a lead magnet. My lead magnet is an ebook about social media. In exchange for their email I give them a 33 page book on social media engagement.

About the author:

Stephanie Frasco is currently the VP of Social Media for ConvertWithContent, a content marketing company that specializes in blogging, social media, and search to help small businesses engage online, retain customers, and continue growing.

She is also the author of the popular Socially Stephanie column on SocialMediaToday. Stephanie graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a B.S. in Journalism.

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