Low traffic on your website and low inquiries now? Don’t worry, even if you are a marketing beginner, there are simple and user-friendly tools to increase website traffic for free. But before we delve into that, let’s address some common misconceptions about increasing website traffic.
1. Three Misconceptions about Increasing Website Traffic
(1) Believe that traffic will come on its own after the website is built
David: My website was recently built, and I’ve already spent a lot of money on its development. I don’t have any budget for marketing.
However, building the website is just the beginning; we need to figure out how to utilize marketing channels to increase website traffic. Unless your company website has been in operation for many years and has a large number of existing customers, and you regularly send out EDMs. Otherwise, new websites typically have no traffic.
(2) More traffic doesn’t always guarantee better conversion rates
More traffic doesn’t always guarantee better conversion rates. Sometimes, in order to catch trending keywords, we might post articles or memes related to current news trends or politics.
While this may bring a lot of traffic to the website, we may find that the conversion rate isn’t necessarily good because these readers may differ significantly from our true target audience. Therefore, it’s better to focus on using keywords that are most relevant to our products for content creation.
(3) Relying on one marketing channel won’t skyrocket website traffic in a short time
Indeed, we have seen a few cases where a marketing campaign led to a sudden surge in traffic to a brand’s website. However, in most cases, if you want to achieve long-term, stable growth in website traffic, you need to rely on multiple marketing channels.
Each marketing channel may require some cost, whether it’s time, money, or manpower. Below, we will share with you some common marketing channels to help you assess where your website traffic is primarily coming from.
2. “Organic Traffic” vs “Paid Traffic”
Website traffic sources can be simply divided into two main categories: “Organic Traffic” and “Paid Traffic.”
“Organic Traffic” refers to visitors who directly enter your website by clicking through search engines or other websites, such as links on social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. If a company has been collecting customer lists for a long time and sends out EDMs when new products or activities are launched, it can also generate good organic traffic.
The advantage of organic traffic is that it is free, but it does require some time and effort to accumulate. Additionally, optimizing organic traffic rankings also takes time to accumulate and rank on the first few pages of search results.
“Paid Traffic” on the other hand, can achieve short-term results very effectively. Through Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads, you can make your website appear at the top of search pages and be easily clicked.
However, while “Paid Traffic” can quickly make others find you, if your keywords are highly competitive and your customers are global buyers, your ad budget may quickly run out without results. Therefore, for companies with limited budgets, it’s still recommended to focus on “Organic Traffic” as a long-term marketing strategy.
3. Tools for Website Traffic Analysis
Once you know the sources of your website traffic, you can use the following two tools, Google Search Console and Hotjar, to identify the main channels of your current website traffic. For channels with high exposure, optimize by adding more content. Additionally, if certain advertising channels are not performing as expected, you can adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.
(Read More:B2B Content Marketing Strategy – 4 Marketing Tools to increase Website Traffic free and Customer Lists)
(1) Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool provided by Google. As long as you are a website owner, you can use Google Search Console to understand the effectiveness of your website. It provides insights into total clicks and impressions, with data available for up to 16 months.
One important feature is the ability to see which “keywords” users used to find your website. You can also see which “pages” are visited most frequently. For example, for our website, the most frequently searched keywords are “development email template” and “development email subject.”
This indicates that there is a high interest in how to write development email templates, so we can update content related to this topic to keep viewers engaged and increase website traffic. You can also write related topics to increase website traffic, such as “how to write the most clicked EDM template.”
You can also see the “impressions” of each keyword and choose high-impression keywords that are relevant to your product. For example, if you are a website design company, you can write articles on how websites can prevent hackers. By using relevant and highly exposed keywords, you can expand your website traffic and reach potential customers you haven’t reached before.
Additionally, you can observe the devices through which users are searching for you. If it’s primarily desktop, you can optimize the presentation of desktop web pages.
Furthermore, Google Analytics, another free tool, provides insights into the main sources of your website traffic through its “Traffic Development” feature. For our new website, it mainly relies on natural keywords. Visitors from natural search spend more time viewing pages compared to visitors from ads. Therefore, we can produce more content articles to increase website traffic.
(2) Hotjar
Hotjar is a website visualization analysis tool that monitors heat maps, conversion funnel analysis, online form analysis, website usability, and more. Understanding where visitors click most frequently and where they may stay or bounce on certain pages allows you to communicate with website design companies to optimize these pages. This improves the website experience for both new and returning visitors, leading to longer website visits and increased website traffic.
• Heat Maps
Hotjar’s website heatmap allows you to track visitors’ browsing paths, button clicks, and areas of focus. Hotjar visualizes data using colors, and from Figure (A), you can see that 78.5% of visitors viewed the introduction area of “Sales Automation Tool”.
Figure (B) indicates that visitors coming from the homepage tend to first learn about the company’s background. After understanding this, they proceed to the middle page to click on the “Sales Automation Tool” service (Figure C). Therefore, using such heatmap analysis tools, we can identify the need to optimize the company introduction section to increase website viewing time and traffic.
• Visitor Behavior Analysis:
Hotjar records visitor sessions, allowing you to replay how visitors interact with your website. This can help identify issues such as errors or unresponsive buttons that cause visitors to stop viewing pages, enabling you to optimize the website in real-time.
(3) Similarweb
The two tools mentioned above are primarily used to analyze the sources of website traffic for one’s own site. Similarweb, which is introduced next, analyzes the website traffic rankings of competitors to determine which countries and marketing channels contribute to the increase in website traffic rankings.
Taking Delta Electronics as an example, we can see that the total website traffic for Delta last month was 717.5K, with a bounce rate of 32.73%. Similarweb shows that, on average, visitors to this website read at least 7 pages, indicating a high level of engagement between them and the website visitors.
The free version can only see the analysis of global website traffic rankings from last month, but I believe it is quite sufficient. There is a “VS” button in the top left corner of the webpage that allows you to compare your website’s traffic ranking with that of competitors, giving you insight into the differences in global website traffic rankings between yourself and your competitors.
For those targeting the global market, Similarweb’s “Geography & Country/Region Location” feature allows you to see that website visitors are mainly from Taiwan and China, with some from the United States, India, and Germany.
This gives you an idea of where their main potential customers are located. It’s worth noting that some companies target different language regions with separate subdomains, so it’s recommended to input this information to view website traffic rankings.
In Similarweb, searching for “Competitors & Similar Websites” will also display competitors with high industry similarity to Delta. You can compare these two websites to see what similarities contribute to their website traffic ranking improvement.
Additionally, from the “Popular Marketing Channels”, you can determine how website traffic is distributed through various marketing channels. For example, as mentioned earlier, organic traffic (including direct search, external website referrals, social media, and EDM) and paid traffic (multimedia ads).
You can also find from the referral traffic that Delta primarily connects its website with other system software vendors and consumer electronics product websites. This allows you to inventory your own strengths and see if you can follow suit to improve your website traffic ranking.
Of course, you can also identify which keywords contribute to the improvement of website traffic rankings from the “Popular Keywords” section and then incorporate them into your website. Since Delta itself is a well-known leader in energy management, it doesn’t run any ads. Otherwise, you could also learn from Similarweb that competitors advertise from Google, Facebook, Instagram, and other search engines and platforms.
Currently, Similarweb offers a 7-day free trial, and the advanced version provides more website traffic ranking analysis tools, such as industry analysis, company analysis, target audience analysis, and website traffic conversion analysis.
4. Three Methods to Increase Website Traffic for free
Earlier, we learned about the types of website traffic and how to analyze website traffic through tools. By now, you should understand that relying on a single marketing channel to boost website traffic quickly is challenging.
Content marketing is a long-term task that requires monthly monitoring of your website traffic performance and timely adjustment of marketing strategies. Next, let’s explore some methods that can help increase “organic traffic” to your website in the long term.
(1) Implementing SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. We optimize our website by understanding the rules of search engine websites to improve our website’s keyword rankings and generate organic traffic. Website optimization can be divided into “on-page optimization” and “off-page optimization.”
(A) On-Page Optimization
Improving website structure and speed
The core of SEO is to ensure that search engines can direct users to websites that provide solutions to their queries. For instance, if your website has excellent content but takes 30 seconds to load due to excessive images and videos, users might exit within 10 seconds of opening the page. Even if the content is valuable, search engines may not recognize it as helpful if the bounce rate increases.
Additionally, consider your website’s structure as a library. Clear categorization allows users to easily find the information they’re looking for, preventing frustration and premature exits. This aspect often involves some engineering and coding optimizations, so discussing with a website company is advisable. Here’s a link to test website speed, with a recommended score of 60 or above.
Optimizing webpage content
Webpage content optimization includes optimizing keywords, meta descriptions, H tags, internal links, adding descriptive terms to images, and regularly updating website content. For example, I once worked with a B2B manufacturer in an industry with very niche keywords, with fewer than 50 Asian competitors. They categorized and directed overseas customers to their website using commonly searched keywords, significantly increasing their website traffic in a short time.
If your industry keywords are highly competitive, don’t be discouraged. You can start by brainstorming other specific product categories or long-tail keywords. For instance, “LED Lighting Manufacturer” may be a popular search term, but ranking high for it could be difficult. Instead, try “Vehicle Lights Manufacturer in Taiwan” or “Recommended Universal Headlights Maker in Taiwan.”
(B) Off-site website optimization
External optimization refers to enhancing a website’s presence through external links, primarily through reciprocal linking with high-authority websites and publishing practical articles containing keyword-rich links.
In the domestic context, you can seek exposure by submitting articles to internet media that are relevant to your industry, thereby increasing website traffic. For example, platforms like Digitimes, Inside, TechOrange, The News Lens. When submitting articles, it’s advisable to write original content to avoid overlap with existing company publications. Since these platforms have good SEO ranking, duplicate content may hinder exposure. If your submissions aren’t accepted, some internet media offer paid options for publishing articles.
If your products are exported overseas, the same principle applies. For instance, if you’re in the curtain industry, you can publish articles in electronic magazines or news outlets related to interior design or commercial architecture in specific countries. Additionally, you can advertise your products and website on B2B platforms like Taiwan Trade Associations and KOMPASS. If you have subsidiaries abroad, listing your company on local directories like EuroePages (Europe) or Superpages (USA) can increase website traffic.
(2) Increasing Online Reviews
(A) For B2B Businesses:
If your clientele comprises B2B companies, encourage customers or employees to write reviews on Google Maps and LinkedIn. While Google Maps reviews are typically associated with local retail or dining establishments, it’s essential to accumulate positive reviews even for B2B businesses to prevent potential customers from encountering a lack of reviews when searching for your company.
Moreover, ensure that the images are modified to reflect the company’s image, including photos of the corporate facade, products, production lines, or staff, to facilitate recognition. Since Google Maps allows external links to your official website, this practice can also boost website traffic.
The former, Google Maps reviews, primarily focus on reviews of the company itself. In contrast, LinkedIn, which is being discussed later, revolves around personal reviews. How can this help boost traffic to a company’s website? LinkedIn, known as the world’s largest professional B2B social networking site, particularly popular in Europe and the United States. It is not just a social platform for business professionals but also serves as a channel for human resources consultants to find talent and for procurement professionals to find suitable vendors.
Creating a company page on LinkedIn is entirely free. You can include the company’s URL and a brief description. If a customer searches for relevant product keywords, they may come across your company page. Having a company page allows employees to link it to their personal profiles, indicating their positions within the company. Procurement professionals can search for “XX Company + Position” on LinkedIn to find all relevant job listings. Typically, procurement professionals prefer to see complete profiles with reviews, allowing them to gain a better understanding of you and your company’s services.
(Read More: 7 Methods to Develop B2B Customer via LinkedIn! (Includes Tutorial Charts and Videos)
(B) For B2C Users:
If your products are electronics, cosmetics, or fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), focus on accumulating reviews on forums and B2C platforms abroad. When posting on forums, consider compiling product comparison guides rather than only discussing your products, as this approach is likely to garner more responses. Before posting, familiarize yourself with each forum’s posting guidelines to avoid having your articles rejected.
(3) EDM Marketing
If you’ve published a new article or product and want to attract more clicks in a short period, email marketing (EDM) is a great option. This is especially true for suppliers who have collected email lists from around the world. When recipients click on the promotional emails sent by your company and are directed to your website, it not only drives traffic but also benefits SEO as these clicks come from different countries’ IP addresses.
The key to successful “EDM Marketing“ lies in collecting effective email lists from various channels. Generally, the open rate for EDM campaigns is around 10-15%, with a conversion rate (such as filling out company forms or replying) ranging from 2-5%. Since the cost of EDM marketing is relatively low compared to other marketing tools, the task of collecting a large number of potential customer lists becomes crucial.
(Read More: 2 Tips to boost your sales by writing precise subject on B2B cold Email)
5. Four Ways to Collect Customer Lists Free
(1) Providing Free Industry Information on the Website
Offer free industry trend reports, product catalogs, or specification sheets on your website or LinkedIn profile. If customers are interested, encourage them to leave their email addresses and mention the benefits of becoming a website member. For example, offer free machine testing or priority access to samples of the latest products.
(2) Encouraging Visitors to Subscribe to Your Website
Consistently write high-quality articles related to your industry, and visitors will be more inclined to subscribe to your content. For B2B manufacturers, share insights on new product technologies and applications. Sharing experiences of collaboration with government or academia also adds credibility to your presence in the industry.
(3) Dealfront
Dealfront allows you to see which companies have visited your website by identifying the company’s VPN and IP addresses. Once you identify the visiting company, you can use “Email Finder” to find potential leads within that company. You can also see which pages the company visited and how long they stayed, enabling you to tailor your outreach based on the content they viewed. Currently, a 14-day free trial is available, and the user interface is straightforward and easy to use.
(4) B2B Leads Generation Tool
No time to make industry reports. Don’t worry!
If you want to quickly receive hundreds of customer lists in a short time, you can also use our“B2B Leads Generation”by entering product keywords, you can search for customer lists in 220 countries at once.
We also collect potential customers through “Customs Data”, global yellow pages, exhibition, and map searches. For more information, feel free to Whatsapp or Email us.
