Before diving in though, you need to be really clear on why you need more traffic. Are you looking to grow your community? Sell more products? Drive a social cause? If it’s the latter, for example, there’s little point attracting shoppers who are looking to spend money and buy stuff, as they’ll soon get frustrated and leave.

Once you’re clear on your goals, you’ll be all set to start promoting your site, and growing your traffic.

Typically, website promotion can be broken down into three categories:

Paid promotions are when you pay to advertise on other platforms or websites (e.g. the Google results page if you’re using Google Ads).

Owned promotions could be a list of email subscribers you occasionally reach out to with news or offers.

Earned promotions are other websites that link to your site – like another blog or a newspaper article that mentions you.

Some approaches come under all three. For example, paid-for social media ads that encourage your followers to repost and spread your news/cause/products to other users. What all three rely on though is great content that draws people in, and brings them back again and again.

The key to great content

You can generate engaging content in a few different ways. If you’re a blogger on a specific topic – such as food – one option could be to interview local chefs on how to cook their favourite holiday dish. Or if you’re a wedding planner you could create unique content or stats that people can reference – like the number of weddings expected next year, or new bridal makeup trends. You could even run a Twitter poll and publish your findings.

Whatever your angle, ensuring your content is visually engaging and easy to digest will encourage more people to enjoy and share it. And remember, once you’ve updated your site with new content, be sure to add links to your old content – and vice versa, if relevant. Here are some more tips on creating outstanding content.

Ways to increase traffic

Now that your content is ready, here’s how to get it in front of the right audiences.

1. Organic social media

This can be a highly effective way to build your audience and drive traffic. The key is to do your research and find the social media platforms your audience uses the most. You could do this by asking your existing customers or community, or simply doing a Google search. You’ll soon get familiar with the kinds of content people like and where they typically go to consume it. For example, if you run a knitting blog, you may find they rely on YouTube for new tips, or enjoy posting and discussing their latest creations on Instagram.

If you decide to invest in social media, make sure you establish a consistent posting schedule, and tailor your content to each platform. With Twitter, for example, you’ll need to restrict your posts to 280 characters. YouTube Shorts also limits videos to no more than 60 seconds. The other important thing is to make your content as appealing as possible. So rather than just posting plain text, why not create a simple graphic that catches people’s eyes when they’re scrolling, and encourages them to share it.

On a related note, always use social media meta tags to influence how your site appears when shared via social media. More on that here.

Last but not least, don’t be shy. If people are discussing a topic that you’re passionate about or have expertise in, get involved and add your unique spin.

2. Email lists

As your site grows, you might consider asking users for their email address so you can stay in touch. Before starting though, it’s important to show people what they’ll receive in return – whether it’s a free guide, special offer, or just a monthly round-up of your news.

Whatever you decide to offer, always be consistent with your content’s style and frequency, and remember to include clear call to action buttons in your email which drive users back to your site. One other top tip: never spam your audience. Not only is it illegal in some countries, but it will probably turn your audience off and make them want to unsubscribe.

3. Search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO is a useful tool that can help you appear higher up in search engine results, and generate new traffic. Key to your success will be creating fresh and engaging content – and a good place to start is Google Trends. Simply type in your area of focus (e.g. “yoga”) to see how search interest in that topic has changed over time, and which other related phrases and words people look for (e.g. “yoga nidra” or “hot yoga”). You can then use these terms to base your articles or blogs around, so your website’s more likely to show up when people are looking online.

A top tip here is to make sure your site is set up so Google and other search engines can crawl and index it. Use this SEO starter guide, or watch our on-demand webinar . If you’re a publisher, we also recommend this webinar which looks at mobile sites, pagination, duplicate content, and much more.

As your site becomes more popular, you could also try gaining traffic by expanding into overseas markets – and this guide shows how to localise your content to these new audiences.

4. Free PR

Another approach you can try is free publicity. To get started, you’ll need to create a press release. It can be about anything your audience might be interested in, so long as you add your own unique spin or angle to it. For example, if you run a cooking blog and you’re launching a holiday cookbook, why not highlight the fact that all your recipes are vegan, or were designed by your grandmother.

Once you’re clear on your story and unique angle, you’ll then need to decide who will be interested in hearing about it. In this case, it could be food bloggers, cooking sites, or even a celebrity vegan on Twitter. If you’re unsure where to send your press release, try doing a quick Google search to find a free press release distribution service.

Top tips for creating a great press release:

• Write a catchy headline that grabs the reader’s/journalist’s/blogger’s attention.
• Get to the point. What do you offer? What does your product do? Why does it matter?
• Find a compelling angle or opener to your story (e.g. “This holiday season, 1 in 5 Brits will cook a vegan meal for their family.”)
• If possible, use quick bullet points instead of long paragraphs.

Above all with PR campaigns, try to be patient and don’t expect results overnight. It might take several attempts before your story gains traction, and you’ll need to invest time figuring out who the main voices are in your niche, and building relationships with them.

Ready to get more traffic?

While any of these strategies can help, we recommend choosing just one for now – then using your site analytics to track the impact it’s having. While some approaches can take longer than others, you’ll soon see what works for you, and what your audience responds to most. And, before you know it, you’ll be welcoming new visitors to your site, and on-track to achieving your goals.