If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a bajillion times, your website will only work for you if you work for it. You can just sit back and expect the People of The Internet to find you, no siree! There are myriad websites that they could choose to visit, why would they choose yours?

It’s time to put the work in and start proactively getting people onto your site, where you can convert them to customers, make friends with them, or show them photos of your dog – whatevs. Here are my five favourite, tried and tested tips for driving traffic to your website, whether it’s a store or a blog, try these out!

1| Push them on social media to the ONE place you want them to be right that minute.

Got a new product? Written a new blog post? AH-MAZING! You go, girl!

Now’s time to pimp the SHIT out of that. Share it everywhere, twice! But don’t forget the golden rule: link directly. Don’t be sending someone to the homepage of your website to see your new creation, make it super easy by giving them the direct link. And once they’re there? Work your conversion magic!

In practical terms this might mean changing the link in your instagram bio to the URL of the product you just shared, or the blog post you just mentioned. 

And while we’re on the subject of social media, don’t forget to be interesting. No one wants to see a catalogue of your products over on instagram or facebook, they wanna see the real life behind the brand! Think of your social media as a lifestyle magazine, showcasing the 

2 | Old traffic is good traffic

Okay, so this isn’t driving new people to your website, instead we’re going to reengage the people who’ve been before and have proven interest in you and your website.

You’ve been building an email list, right? (Or, rebuilding after razing it to the ground thanks to GDPR amiright?). If you haven’t, get on that train and…

Bloody use it!

People didn’t sign up to your list to go months without hearing from you (er… sorry, everyone on the KLC email list, promise to write soon x), they actively want to hear from you, boo!

The majority of the site traffic I get for new product launches over on Finest Imaginary comes from my email list, and because I send out regular (almost weekly) emails, people are more likely to be engaged with my content and ready to click through.

3 | Make your content shareable, and share it yourself

Whether you write blog posts or sell products, making sure you’re set up for sharing on sites like Pinterest is really, really important. People are using Pinterest more than ever as a visual search engine, and having your content on there (even without a fully thought out strategy) will bring you nothing but good juju!

Make sure you’re sharing your own content on there too, create boards relating to what you do and add your products (along with loads of other interesting and useful content for your followers). As with all social media, don’t just use it as a catalogue for your own things, play nice.

Not sure if your website is set up for rich pins? Pinterest has a handy validator tool and a set of steps for you to follow!

4 | Make sure your website is mobile friendly

As of March 2017, over 50% of web users were accessing websites on a mobile device. Isn’t that INSANE? And it’s rising! The latest figures put mobile users at a little over 51%, and I think most of us would agree that evening thumb-scrolling makes for the majority of our casual internet usage.

If your website isn’t mobile friendly at this stage, you’re literally turning your back on over half the potential visitors to your site. Don’t be a dick, invest in a mobile friendly site and reap the rewards. Did you know Google actually penalises websites that aren’t mobile friendly?

“But mobile websites are haaarrrddddd!”

Yeah, no. They’re really not. Take it from me, your friendly neighbourhood web developer, mobile development is one of the easier parts of making websites. If you’re buying a theme for your Shopify store, your WordPress blog, or using SquareSpace, don’t settle for anything less than a decent experience on mobile.

5 | Collaborate and cross-pollinate 

Working with your peers isn’t just a really fucking awesome part of your job, it can be one of the best drivers of new traffic to your website!

I’ve worked on collaborations with several of my creative buddies, sharing our work on social media, in newsletters, and on our websites. With a small crossover audience, but an even larger new audience, a collaboration can bring you new social media followers, new email sign-ups and new customers.

It doesn’t just stop with blog and product peer collaborations, either. What about collaborating with larger companies? They appreciate your micro-audience just as much as you appreciate their larger one!

Your homework!

You didn’t think I was gonna leave you without something to do, did you? It’s all well and good me giving you a bunch of tips, but if you’re not going to put them into motion you’re not going to see any results. Here’s your homework:

• Update your social media bio link with a direct link to the last product you posted or your last blog post, make this a habit starting now!
• Send out a newsletter to your loyal subscribers, let them know what’s new in your world! Then, write a list of the next 5 newsletters you’re going to send out. 
• Check your website is set up for rich pins, if it is then AWESOME! Start a new board and pin 3 of your products! If not, install the Yoast SEO WordPress plugin, or contact Shopify support (they should work out of the box once you’ve validated them on Shopify!).
• Not mobile friendly? Uh-oh! Time for a website refresh! Contact your developer (or me, hiya!) and talk through your options.
• Who do you want to collaborate with? Write down some ideas and send out an email, you’re gonna make this happen!