You create a website to share your knowledge and experience. You develop great content for it. Traffic trickles in but you expected a lot more. Where are all the people and why aren’t they coming to the site? Don’t be discouraged. You just entered a new stage of your business development. It’s time to direct and drive traffic to your site. However, you don’t want just any traffic. You want targeted traffic.

What is targeted traffic? Targeted traffic is the portion of traffic that is a part of your target market and arrives at your site due to marketing strategies and offers crafted specifically to grab their attention. These pre-qualified visitors can turn into leads, which can turn into buyers, then become repeat buyers, and ultimately turn into loyal customers.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]With millions of websites on the internet vying for your target market’s attention, you need to actively attract and convert your ideal buyers.[/tweet_box]

Of course, before you started your online business venture, you created a persona of your ideal customer and developed a niche and perhaps a sub-niche, as well.

To refresh your memory a little, an example of a broad target audience could be women. Niching that down further, an example could be middle-aged women. Going one-step further, you could target single, middle-aged, women. As you can see, you can continue niching your audience down as needed. When you know your target audience well, you can successfully market to them by providing the information and solutions they need.

While knowledge of online technology and marketing is very helpful, you don’t have to be an expert. You can learn as you go. Implementing what you learn, as you learn it, can make a real difference to your bottom line. Consider beginning with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It’s not as scary as it sounds. In fact, it’s one of the easiest technology/marketing strategies to learn and implement. With a little knowledge about how to use keywords and a keyword research tool, you can get started right away. Just place the keywords in prominent places such as in your headlines, links, categories, descriptions, etc., in order to encourage your viewers to click, read more, and take action.

Once you have keywords in place throughout your site, make certain you create engaging content, including posts, images, and other items. Ask pertinent questions in the title or in the first paragraph to keep your audience engaged. Learn the difference between writing for your audience and writing at them.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]It isn’t enough to have great website content and targeted traffic. If you want to make money, you need to sell something, whether it is something of your own or an affiliate item.[/tweet_box]

While your website draws in traffic, it’s up to you to make the experience personal for your readers and profitable for your business. The best way to do both of those is by creating an email list where you can get to know your readers better and promote items they want and need. Once you have your mailing list set up, you’ll need to convert website visitors into email subscribers.

How do you get visitors to become email subscribers? Offer visitors something they just can’t turn down, in exchange for joining your list. This is often efficiently done with a “pop-up” reminder, which offers the reader something that is free only when they join by adding their email address in the email capture portion, below the offer. An email capture, marketing strategy works well on your site as well as on many social media platforms.

Social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, and others can help you gain targeted traffic. Once you discover the social media sites that your readers favor, share post teasers, and other info on those sites to bring more targeted traffic to you. Each social media platform caters and appeals to a slightly different group of people. For you, this means that some social media sites will be a better fit for your business and its goals than other social media sites are. Make note of the social media platforms that bring you the most traffic and try out new social sites to help you stay ahead of your competition.

Getting traffic to your site isn’t difficult. Search engines can do a lot of the work for you. However, the key to getting the right traffic is to make effective use of search engines and other options available to you. Here are 51 winning website traffic ideas to help you reach your target market and your goals.

1. Don’t be afraid of learning SEO. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of raising your position on search engine results pages (SERPs) by using specific strategies, techniques, and tactics. The higher you are on the results page, the higher your ranking is and the more targeted leads you’ll get.
2. Create interactive blog posts – Content is king, queen, and everything else royal these days. Your content needs to be interactive. Ask questions that allude to a problem and its solution. For example, a life coach that wants to find readers who need more money and a positive mindset could create a blog post asking something like, “How Are Negative Thoughts Limiting Your Paycheck?” Readers who can relate, that is those that have negative thoughts and want more money will click through to find out more.
3. Create a FB group – When you create a Facebook group related to your business, you essentially create a community where people with similar interests can interact with you and each other. We all talk about how busy our lives are but we often find time to “wind down” or “start the day” with social media interaction. A Facebook group can be a great way to find new leads and connect with existing customers.
4. Get a good pop-up for email capture – Having a good pop-up email capture in place can literally make the difference between being forgotten and making multiple sales. Since pop-ups can be annoying, especially if not used properly, it’s important to choose a pop-up that has a variety of options and features. When you have more control of how, when, and where the pop-up appears, you can gently remind your reader to sign up for your offer. Remember, your visitor comes for info. If the pop-up covers up or restricts viewing the info before they know it’s good, they may just leave the page, never to return. Use pop-ups wisely.
5. Create a special report – A free, special report about the most common problems your readers face will likely attract the right traffic. In exchange for signing up and giving you their email addresses, you will give them the free report. Once they are on the list, you can market to them via email providing more info and relative offers.
6. Run a contest or sweepstakes – Before you create a contest or run a sweepstakes, be sure to know the difference both professionally and legally. Every state has its own rules when it comes to what differentiates the two. However, a properly run and executed sweepstakes or contest can bring in loads of traffic and plenty of new list sign ups. Consider hosting these several times a year rather just during the traditional “holiday season.”
7. Create a forum – Creating a forum is a great way to build a sense of community. People can give advice, opinions, and input on your content as well as support each other. This is also a great way for you to get to know your audience. Listen carefully to what they say and what they don’t say. Keep members active and involved by asking open-ended questions and sharing your thoughts.
8. Include keywords throughout your site – If you are not familiar with keywords, the best place to start is with a good keyword tool. There are many out there. Some site owners prefer Wordtracker while others like to use SEO Book or Google Suggest. Try out several to decide what features you want and which tool works best for your bottom line.
9. Participate on social media platforms – If you haven’t jumped on the social media bandwagon, it’s time. The old adage, “Out of sight, out of mind,” applies when it comes to social media. Be active and involved. You need to pay your dues by liking and sharing posts as well as by leaving some words of encouragement on others’ timelines. Following people on Twitter or liking their Facebook Pages will return to you tenfold.
10. Use StumbleUpon – StumbleUpon is a social network, which acts as a type of search engine called a discovery engine. It uses individual readers’ preferences, likes, and dislikes, etc., to tailor search results by finding or discovering even the more obscure content the reader wants and likes. This network is popular among marketers for a variety of reasons, which include the ability to rate posts, share pictures, and add videos too.
11. Spread the word in your communities – Do you belong to a local community group? Word of mouth still counts today, especially when you are socially active. Make it easy for your fellow group members to find and share your business info by giving them a business card or two. Consider creating a special free product or service just for group members. This will help them to get a more personal feel for what you do and they will be more likely to share their “new find” with others.
12. Create a newsletter – Once your mailing list is set up, it’s time to create a newsletter. You may think these are too time-consuming or you don’t have the right skills. Don’t worry. Your newsletter can be as simple as an update or the notification of a new product. Constant Contact, AWeber, and Mail Chimp are popular email marketing platforms that help you stay connected with your prospects and loyal customers through autoresponders, newsletters, and other forms of email correspondence.

Want more website traffic tips?  Leave a comment below and I will send you a link to our new report 50+ Tips to Get More Traffic to Your Website,  increase your credibility in the marketplace and add to your bottom line.