But when you come to think of it, Google and other search engines are just one of the numerous ways you can increase traffic.
But sometimes, Google might not even be your best option keeping in mind your competition and target audience. For instance, Upworthy, a popular site which has a reputation of sharing feel good viral videos gets less than 19% from search and almost 43% of their traffic is derived from social.
That being said, we all use social media differently. While some of us gain our content from friends or influencers, the others solely depend on trusted newsletters to tell them what content is actually valid. Other consumers might also use alternative search engines like Youtube or even Facebook.
Here we’ve listed a bunch of other alternatives you could use to boost your site visits:
- Create a YouTube Channel
YouTube is the world’s second largest social platform with 1.5 billion active users every month. According to statistics , over 30 billion users log on to watch 5 billion videos every day. And let’s face it, these numbers are massive.
Now you must be wondering how it is possible to drive even a fraction of the traffic with YouTube when it is done with Google with so much ease. The answer to that is YouTube allows you to share videos. If you’re marketing to younger generations, create youtube content as it reaches more people from the ages of 18-49 compared to any other network.
- Start conversations on Social
If it is done correctly, social can rival google as a rival source. When users scroll through their timelines and newsfeeds, they will literally click on anything that will pique their interest. Moreover, it gives you the opportunity to directly engage, something that you would otherwise struggle to do on a search engine. Produce something that is of high quality. Take for example Buzfeed TASTY: they provide a video, great content and also links for the recipe, everything on one platform. Another way to begin a conversation is Twitter threads where you could share insights, tips and thoughts in order to gain viral attention.
- Partner with Influencers
With upcoming businesses on the internet, customers become extremely wary as to whom to trust. To build a loyal following, you can team up with an influencer. By paying for your advertisements, it is sure to give you more control as a brand. However, if you have a small business and are in the in initial phases with a restrictive marketing budget, this wouldn’t be advisable. Even if you don’t have money to invest in influencer marketing, you could try featuring them on your content and appealing to them.
- Take advantage of your email subscribers
Whether email is dying or not – this debate has been happening for the ages and a lot of marketers are quick to support mobile apps or social over email marketing. According to a recent survey however, email was the only contact method that drastically improved between 2016 and 2017 with the average click through rate being much higher, especially when it comes down to personalizing email bodies. Optimize your emails for mobile if you want to improve click through rates further.
- Provide assistance on forums
People always have a lot of questions and they don’t necessarily turn to google to get all their answers. Most of them prefer getting answers from people’s personal experiences, which means they turn to Reddit or Quora. By participating in conversations here, you can easily attract individuals looking for answers beyond what google can provide.
- Take advantage of guest posting
People always desire something new, and in order to keep their attention , many business bloggers use guest posting as a part of their content strategy. Some major brands also used this technique to get their platforms off the ground. When looking for appropriate guest posting opportunities, ensure you find sites that are within your niche and are not direct competitors.
In conclusion, pay close attention to your target audience and customers by providing what they’re looking for and traffic will automatically flock to your page.