Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website
Rich Plakas
@RichP on Twitter
www.RichPlakas.com
A Little Bit About Me
★ IT Background going back to the days of DOS & Novell
★ Began “messing” with WordPress in 2007.★ Switched my focus from IT to WordPress in 2011★ I was tired of doing Windoze Updates & changing
Printer Toners :-)★ Joined the Austin WordPress Meetup Group In
2012.★ I love BBQ & Craft Beer.★ I run the 26th highest rated beer blog globally:
www.CraftBeerAustin.com
A Little Bit About Me
I run a WordPress Agency called Connected Systems.
We help businesses with all aspects of their Digital Assets including:
★ SEO/SEM★ Analytics and Website Optimization★ Pay-per-Click Ads(Google Adwords & Facebook
Ads) ★ Social Media★ Ecommerce (WooCommerce)★ Email Newsletters★ Lead Generation
Tracking Traffic
See “The WordPress Beginner's Guide To Google Analytics (with a side of Google Webmaster Tools)”
http://www.slideshare.net/richplakas/the-word-press-beginners-guide-to-google-analytics
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Your First Task:
Identify your target audience.
i.e.
Austin Area Males & Females 25-45 who drink Craft Beer & Eat BBQ
Where do these people spend time online?
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Possible Sources of Traffic:
Social Media (Facebook,Twitter,Linkedin, Youtube)
Organic Search (SEO -Google - Bing)
PPC Paid Ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
Email Newsletters
Direct Mail
Guest Blogging
TV/Radio
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Possible Source of Traffic:
Social MediaTwitter - Facebook - Google+ - LinkedIN - Instagram - Pinterest - SnapChat - YouTube
You do NOT need to invest in every available social media platform.
You will probably only have time to manage 2 or 3 social platforms yourself.
Find the platforms where your target audience spends time & invest
in those!
Social Media success is about conversations - talk with your customers aka
BE SOCIAL!
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Possible Source of Traffic:
Social Media
Website Forums
Facebook Groups
Google+ Communities
Make sure to adhere to each Groups’s Rules and Guidelines.
Most website forums user profiles have a field for your website, use it!
AKA Don’t Be Spammy!
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Due to the popularity of Facebook and the fact that many people are connected to it 24/7,many online forums have moved to Facebook Groups.
This group has 1745 Members
Group Rules & Etiquette are usually posted in the “Pinned Post’
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Your Tasks:
Identify 3 Social Media platforms where your target audience spends time.
Join at least 1 Facebook Group or Google+ Community where your target audience spends time.
Setup Social Sharing on your Website(Jetpack and SumoMe plugins do this.
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Let’s discuss some of your best Social Media platforms for
driving traffic to your website.
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Organic Search- SEO• Search Engine Optimization
• “I want to be on page 1 of a google.com search”
• It’s all about the “Content” (gone are the days of keyword “stuffing” meta tags)
• Google/Bing like RELEVANT Content that is Updated Regularly(such as a “blog”)
• SEO takes work!
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Organic Search- SEOSee previous slides to:
The WordPress Beginner's Guide To SEOhttp://www.slideshare.net/richplakas/the-word-press-beginners-guide-to-seo
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Organic Search- SEOYour Tasks:
Install the Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/
Read Yoast’s Plugin Guide:https://yoast.com/wordpress-seo/
Remember SEO is about good relevant content.
Do you have that on your site?
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Paid Ads - Proceed with Caution!
Google Adwords
Facebook Ads(Boost Post)
Instagram Ads
Twitter Ads
Linkedin Ads
These are some of the most common online paid ad platforms.
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Paid Ads - Proceed with Caution!
If you don’t know what you are doing, hire a professional.
You risk wasting a lot of money by venturing into Paid Ads.
Start with Small Budgets such as $5/day.
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
It’s creepy but Facebook knows a lot about it’s users…a lot!
Target your Ads to specific demographics:
Male vs FemaleAge GroupsZip Codes
Income LevelsInterests
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
When you get up in the morning and grab your
smartphone, what is usually the first things you check?
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
When you get up in the morning and grab your
smartphone, what is usually the first things you check?
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Email Newsletters
Your Tasks:
Find an email newsletter service that works for you and sign up for a free account.
Read “How I Grew WP Site Care’s Email List by 1,075%” by Rob Neuhttp://robneu.com/grow-email-list/
Install a plugin like SumoMe that enables the Popup to capture emails from visitors. They call it their List Builder.
We usually set the popup time between 45-60 seconds.
https://sumome.com/app/list-builder
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Email Newsletters
If you are using a WordPress based Mailing List plugin such as MailPoet(vs a service such as MailChimp), you will want(need) to invest in a service such as SendGrid to avoid having emails sent from your server flagged as Spam.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wysija-newsletters/
https://sendgrid.com/
http://mailchimp.com/
https://www.constantcontact.com/
Here’s a list of 13 Newsletter/Mailing List Services: http://blog.capterra.com/top-10-mailchimp-alternatives-small-business-email-marketing/
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Guest Blogging
If you an expert in your field, but just starting out a blog, Guest
Blogging is a great way to drive traffic to your website!
SEO Bonus: New backlink to your website from a higher authority
website.
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Guest Blogging
Your Tasks:
Identify 3 sites you could guest blog on and contact them all with possible blog topics.
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Direct Mail
Often forgotten, Direct Mail can be successful in driving traffic for local
businesses and/or in Trade Magazines.
Do any of your competitors advertise
in local mailings and/or in Trade Magazines?
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Radio, TV and other Media
On Social Media be sure you are following the TV/Radio Stations where your target audience might be watching/listening to.
Also, follow the Local Reporters.
Then…Be Social & Contribute when it’s appropriate!
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site
Radio, TV and other Media
HAROHelp A Reporter Out
(HARO) is a publicity tool available to you by simply starting a free account today. Reporters need expert sources for their stories, and HARO connects you with their queries.
You can segment out your specific expertise verticals and only get alerts tailored to your industry knowledge. Send unlimited pitches to over 30,000 influential reporters on a deadline who are partnered with HARO.
https://www.helpareporter.com/
Rich Plakas
@RichP on Twitter
www.RichPlakas.com
Q&Ahttps://www.connectedsystems.us/
Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website Site