How to Increase Online Traffic Using Offline Promotion
Don't forget your business cards - they get the word out.
Increasing website traffic is always an urgent matter for any website owner. Small business owners in the brick and mortar world – after realizing the many benefits of a company website – can often be at an advantage for promotion techniques using the offline methods they’re already accustomed to. Letterhead, business cards, and printed media are natural places to include your website address – but what if your business operates solely online?
Any webmaster can increase traffic to any website using offline promotion techniques.
In fact, the most successful websites typically use a diverse selection of both online and offline methods to drive more visitors and increase profits. One of the easiest and most cost effective methods is mentioning your website address to family, friends, and colleagues. Add your URL to your business cards, letterhead, and email signatures or consider making business cards specifically for your website if you haven’t already. It makes sense that the more visible your website is, the more traffic it will generate.
There are several different ways you can use business cards, flyers, and other print to promote your online business in your offline world.
- Pass out your card at business meetings, dinner gatherings, or on the golf course.
- Include 5 or 10 cards each time you ship a purchase. Encourage clients to pass along your URL by offering a discount for referrals.
- Leave your card or business flyer on community bulletin boards at convenience stores, libraries, grocers, and other local sites.
- Search for offline businesses with similar clientele and discuss the possibilities of promoting one another. Many local companies will be glad to promote your website to their customers in exchange for an online ad on your website.
Get creative when you promote your website and watch your traffic levels soar – along with your profits!
Printed media isn’t the only place you should consider displaying your website address. Create a moving billboard by placing your URL on a decal for your vehicle; contract an affordable print shop to have your web address printed on pens, key chains, coffee mugs, stickers, or tee shirts.
Take these ideas to your audience.
“If you build it, they will come”…but only if they know it’s there. Promotional paraphernalia is completely worthless sitting in a box. The right techniques can increase your traffic with or without these additional tools.
- Find places where your potential clients gather – and join them. Conventions, workshops, and other public events are a great place to meet people with similar interests and can bring a number of new visitors to your website.
- Start a sticker campaign. A number of websites involve their members and current visitors to generate new traffic. Mail out stickers with your URL and hold contests for referrals, creative placement, and other categories.
- Don’t be afraid to approach your local radio stations, newspapers, or even television stations about possible opportunities to promote a community angle of your website.
Whatever methods you’re using to increase traffic to your website, remember that the key to any successful site is a functional, friendly design with informative, unique, and original content.
