actionable ideas for driving traffic to your website

Actionable Ideas for Driving Traffic to Your Website

Rich Plakas

@RichP on Twitter

www.RichPlakas.com

http://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

Tracking Traffic

https://analytics.google.com/

Google Analytics!

https://analytics.google.com/

Tracking Traffic

Google Analytics!

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

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?


Best Sources of Traffic:


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


Possible Source of Traffic:

Social Media



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!



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!


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’


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.


Let’s discuss some of your best Social Media platforms for

driving traffic to your website.


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!

http://google.com/


Organic Search- SEOSee previous slides to:

The WordPress Beginner's Guide To SEOhttp://www.slideshare.net/richplakas/the-word-press-beginners-guide-to-seo

http://www.slideshare.net/richplakas/the-word-press-beginners-guide-to-seo


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?

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/

https://yoast.com/wordpress-seo/


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.



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.


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


When you get up in the morning and grab your

smartphone, what is usually the first things you check?


Email Newsletters


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

http://robneu.com/grow-email-list/

https://sumome.com/app/list-builder


Email Newsletters


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/

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wysija-newsletters/

https://sendgrid.com/

http://mailchimp.com/

https://www.constantcontact.com/

http://blog.capterra.com/top-10-mailchimp-alternatives-small-business-email-marketing/

http://blog.capterra.com/top-10-mailchimp-alternatives-small-business-email-marketing/


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.


Guest Blogging

Your Tasks:

Identify 3 sites you could guest blog on and contact them all with possible blog topics.


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?


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!

KEYETV.COM We Are Austin

http://keyetv.com/


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/


http://www.RichPlakas.com/

https://www.connectedsystems.us/

https://www.connectedsystems.us/

actionable ideas for driving traffic to your website

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