How to Increase Website Traffic for Free
You’ve opened this article because you’re one of two people
You’re either a small business owner with visions of grandeur, but shallow pockets.
Or…
You’re a large business owner, but you don’t have a significant marketing budget.
Two different scales, the same problem - at least that’s what you think.
Now, you could also be a third.
This person is probably the most valuable out of the three.
You understand that marketing is integral to your success, but you know it shouldn’t cost a fortune.
A part of you knows that winning in business should never be a case of “he who spends the most on marketing, wins.”
I don’t think I’ll be pitching that to the TV corporations anytime soon.
Continuing Down the Wrong Path
Now, no matter which person you are, what happens if you don’t fix the problem of low online visibility?
Very simple - you get outpaced.
Your competition is but a dot, far out in front of you.
You look at your ever-shrinking balance sheet in a perpetual state of anxiety.
You wonder why, despite your ‘pioneering’ multi-functional, multi-modal, 10G-enabled, AI companion toothbrush buddy - your website traffic remains stagnant.
But, you’re hesitant to hire some bloated agency that promises to 10x your sales for the low, low price of £100,000 per ad. Understandably so.
You know there have to be easier, more affordable ways to achieve industrial notoriety.
The great news is that there are better ways to drive traffic to your website, without spending a penny. The only investment you need to make is your time.
Cost Effective Strategies
Here are three proven, free strategies you can implement immediately to increase your website traffic.
Post High-Quality Social Media Content
You may think the social media world is saturated. “How can I stand out?” you ask yourself.
I didn’t say the cheapest path would be the easiest.
The key? Post a variety of content styles. Visualise your idea in an infographic, record a video, provide a mix of storytelling, educational, and directional posts to enlighten your audience.
The secret? Post with a goal in mind. Don’t simply post for the sake of posting. To succeed in directing attention to your website, make sure every post has a clear path - just don’t be salesy or cheesy.
Start by identifying who you are talking to, then decide where you want to take them (your website). Design a series of posts to lead them there.
Action Steps:
Identify which social media platform your target audience uses the most.
Create a content calendar with a mix of engaging formats: video, infographics, stories, and educational content.
Ensure every post includes a call-to-action (CTA) that gently directs users to your website (e.g., “Check out the full guide on my website”).
This is precisely why copywriting is one of the most worthwhile skills in any business today.
Build Partnerships
Having trouble gaining traction? Why not work with those who have already laid the path you wish to follow?
Your best bet is to speak with accounts that are realistically similar in size to you. And importantly, you want to offer something before you ask for the collaboration.
Identify five businesses or influencers you’d like to collaborate with and offer them a few ideas for partnership. It could be a guest blog post, an Instagram takeover, or a joint webinar.
Action Steps:
Make a list of five businesses or influencers that have a similar audience to yours.
Reach out with a personalised offer that benefits them (e.g., “I noticed we both serve a similar audience. Would you be interested in a guest post or collaboration that offers value to both of our readers?”).
Consider joint ventures like co-hosting webinars or cross-promoting products through social media or email lists.
By collaborating, you expand your audience and leverage each other’s networks, driving traffic to your site.
Launch a Free Community
All too often, I hear “launch an email list, get them on your newsletter.”
Agreed. Once you’ve provided some small amount of free value - whether that’s a guide, a checklist, or an eBook - ask them to join your newsletter.
But before you do that, why not create a community that focuses on building connections with prospective and existing customers?
Capitalise on the innate human desire for community and amplify it with the interests that brought your audience to your door in the first place.
By creating a space where your audience can interact with both you and each other, you’ll not only foster engagement but also position your website as the go-to hub for your niche.
Action Steps:
Choose a platform to host your community (e.g., Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, or Discord).
Start by offering valuable content and discussion starters, and encourage members to engage with one another.
Promote the community through your website, social media, and newsletter. Encourage users to invite others who may benefit from the shared knowledge and discussions.
Creating this sense of community builds loyalty, keeps users engaged, and naturally drives traffic back to your website.
Conclusion
By following these three strategies - posting high-quality social content, building strategic partnerships, and launching a community - you can start driving traffic to your website today without spending a fortune.
The key is consistency and offering value at every step. Put in the reps, and you’ll soon see your traffic grow without draining your budget.
Done well, you should be setting the pace, looking behind you in pride, not chasing in anxiety behind.
SEO in the Age of AI - What has the Doctor ordered?! 8 ways to optimise your ranking
Want to keep the Doctor away? Eat a rock a day. Obviously.
Need to find a way to stick cheese to a pizza? Use glue...
What’s the best temperature to sleep? Try a balmy 600-670 degrees Fahrenheit. Mmm, calming.
Leo Varadkar (an Irish politician) is (in case you didn’t know) over 2716 feet tall, and more than 160 stories….You know, I thought he was.
The results of Google’s latest AI search summaries tests are... concerning…AI is taking over the world, right? Maybe not just yet.
Not only is AI found guilty of terrible advice, but there are also growing concerns regarding the frequency of ‘hallucinating’; AI fake news.
Is it likely to feature with these issues when finally released? I hope not, but it won’t take long for significant improvements to be made.
In principle, this has the potential to radically change how the world uses Google’s search function, which considering the extent of its usage, is fairly significant.
What does this mean for you as a business?
Essentially, your SEO visibility is going to decrease. The battle for higher ranking will become harder as blue links fall further down the page.
The cognitive load for users to scroll down below these summaries (provided the quality improves) will increase, while their need to crawl through the results will decrease.
To stand out, now is the time to optimise your online visibility so you can best compete for the hardest real estate to secure; your buyers' minds.
Here are 8 key ways to improve your SEO ranking, today:
Dive Deep into the Audience
Discover what your audience is looking for with a website like SEMrush, ideal for finding high-volume keywords aligned with user intent.
Use a keywords explorer such as Ahrefs, to get insights into the questions your audience is asking so you can tailor your content to answer these queries effectively.
Enhance Visibility with Data Tools
Validate your site’s structured data to ensure it’s correctly formatted and optimised for rich elements in search results. Google's Structured Data Testing Tool can be a helpful resource.
Build High-Quality Backlinks
Guest blogging on other reputable websites in your industry to build high-quality backlinks and drive traffic to your website.
Collaborate with influencers in your niche to create content to share with their audience, creating strong backlinks.
Focus on Creating Quality Content
Regularly update your website. Keep it clean, up-to-date, fresh and relevant. Go through your older posts to update them with current content, keywords and more.
Consistently produce quality content that provides value to address your audience’s needs whilst helping them reach their desires.
Grow Your Social Media Presence
Engage with your audience and key accounts. Regularly post. A greater reach will improve your SEO ranking indirectly.
Optimise for Mobile Search
Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool is to check if your website is optimised for mobile search.
Make your Website ‘Sticky’
Provide interactive elements to your website such as quizzes, surveys and infographics to keep visitors engaged and on your site for longer.
Capitalise on Voice Search Optimization
Find out what conversational questions people ask to better optimise voice search utilising AnswerThePublic.
ChatGPT: Surprised? You shouldn’t be. There are plenty of positives that AI can provide. Leverage AI, but use a discerning eye, like Gemini, Copilot and ChatGPT 4 and 4o to generate SEO-friendly content that answers complex questions in a conversational tone, perfect for voice search queries.
These are just some of the ways you can optimise your SEO to ensure your presence remains robust, adaptive and current in the rapidly changing environment that is our digital ecosystem.
AI summaries in Google Search may be just around the corner, but with a greater emphasis on the key elements to make your business stand out, you don’t need to feel threatened. Instead, you can be more confident in your ability to compete for a higher position.
Let's just hope you're not the one who gets blamed for suggesting a rock-based diet!
Thank you for reading!