There are now 1.5 billion websites online.

The result? Competition – and lots of it.

To run a successful site in 2020 you have to stand out from this almighty crowd. Somehow, you have to convince search engines and users alike to prioritize your website over the rest.

The task isn’t easy, but it’s far from impossible. With the right tips and strategies up your sleeve, website growth is just around the corner.

Are you looking to grow your website traffic and authority this year? We can help you do it.

Read on for 7 top tips of driving web traffic in 2020.

1. Pay For It

Okay, so this might not be your chosen way to drive traffic this year.

You might prefer to exhaust all unpaid ranking and traffic generation strategies first. We get it, and have a bunch of tips coming up to help in that endeavor!

But paid advertising is one of the most basic ways to increase traffic levels out there. For that reason, it seemed like a logical place to begin.

Yet to experiment with social media ads, PPC campaigns, ad words and so on?

Well, it might be time to start. Make sure you choose a strategy that makes sense for you. Weigh up the pros and cons of each paid channel, and set your goals in advance.

From there, work out an ad budget and play around! Launch some campaigns, test what works, assess the data and iterate until you settle upon a well-honed ad strategy. Do it right and you can see a huge jump in traffic, with an ensuing boost in leads and conversions.

2. Leverage Social Media

Social media is another major potential source of traffic.

But you know that already. The hard part is making it work well for you.

It’s vital that you’ve chosen a platform that suits your audience.

Each social platform has different sets of users. Facebook is better for ‘older’ folks for instance, whereas TikTok’s got a younger audience. LinkedIn is prime-territory for your B2B needs.

Think about your content too. Work in a visual/aesthetic industry? Instagram and Pinterest will be perfect for promoting your beautiful images.

Post the right content on a platform with the right users and you’re onto a winner. You’ll grow a following and use it for driving traffic to your site.

3. Nail Your Keyword Research

It goes without saying that search engine optimization is pivotal here too.

Nail your SEO and you’ll enjoy huge amounts of organic traffic.

Keyword research is at the heart of producing quality SEO content. It enables the creation of content that stands a chance of ranking on Google and finding your audience.

The best way to do it? Long-tail keywords.

After all, short-tail terms are usually too competitive. Optimize your content all you like, but you’ll still struggle to rank well for them. By contrast, long-tail alternatives tend to have lower search volumes.

And they’re easier to rank for as a result. Focus your content around them and your traffic can really start to increase.

4. Write for Other Websites

Guest blogging has long been central to back-link strategies.

You write an epic post for another webmaster at no cost to them. In exchange, you pop a link or two aiming back at your website. Your bank balance doesn’t improve, but the link-juice that follows is more than worth it.

You’ll see your authority and Google rankings improve.

The perks of guest posting don’t stop there, though. After all, people who land on the articles can follow the links back to your site. You siphon their site traffic off to yours!

A steady stream of new readers comes your way.

5. Get the Site Right

A website can shoot itself in the proverbial foot in terms of traffic.

You might write incredible content around high-quality keywords. But it’s going to have minimal impact if the website itself is flawed.

For instance, slow-running websites jeopardize any and all attempts you make here.

It damages the user experience! People don’t want to wait for the page to load, so they click back and look elsewhere. Google takes note of their disappointment and pushes your site down the rankings too.

Likewise, websites that aren’t mobile-optimized will struggle to compete. Google’s mobile-first approach made sure of that.

Your website forms the foundation of any traffic-generation attempt. Make sure it’s functioning on all cylinders.

6. Focus On Value Generation

Put value at the top of your list of website priorities.

Every piece of content you produce, publish, and post about must be valuable. It should solve your audience’s problems, answer their questions, entertains them, and make their lives better somehow.

Provide detailed content that beats the competition. In return, you’ll reap the rewards in terms of longstanding traffic generation.

Providing value will make you an authority in your niche. It’ll also help cultivate a positive brand image. Both of these outcomes have a direct impact on your traffic (among other things).

For example, in time, you’ll rank more easily in SERPs and attract referral traffic from other sites too.

7. Update and Repurpose Old Content

Try to update and refresh your old content.

Maybe they got lots of traffic in the past but don’t anymore. Maybe the information is no longer relevant or helpful to your audience.

Like a fresh coat of paint, going back in and updating those articles can bring them back to life. Google registers the update and pushes you up in search.

Repurpose it too.

Turn that blog post in a video, or vice versa. Create a transcript of your podcast and post it as a blog. Convert your article into a slideshow and post on Slideshare.

You’ll be able to post it to new platforms and find new audiences.

Time to Enjoy Your Website Growth

Looking for website growth in 2020?

Hopefully, the traffic generation suggestions in this post will help you do it.

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