Anchoring a website or blog in the United Kingdom is a great way to gain brand awareness, drive traffic to your content, and eventually gain qualified leads and customers. To do this you need to have a specific set of metrics in mind, such as:
- h1>How much traffic do I need to achieve my objectives?
- h2>Compared to other similar sites, how is this site performing?
- h2>What is my cost-per-acquisition (CPA) for this traffic?
- h2>How much money am I making/how much money can I make based on this?
In this article, we will outline the basics of generating targeted website traffic and profitably monetising a UK website. We will also give you some practical advice on how to get started.
Why Do I Need Targeted Website Traffic?
In short, to generate more leads and grow your business. When someone comes to your website, you want them to do something – maybe they’re interested in your product, maybe they want to learn more about you or your brand, maybe they just want to leave a comment or like your page. Whatever the case, you want them to take some action so you can grow your business.
In order to achieve this goal you need to have a clear idea of what actions your visitors are taking (or not taking). This way, you can modify your content to better match your audience’s needs and desires. You can also use this data to better target your marketing efforts and make more money in the process.
In addition to this, if you’re running a free blog or website, you’re going to get a lot of anonymous traffic. While there’s nothing wrong with this traffic, it’s unlikely to be valuable or effective. The truth is, when you do get very, very high traffic, it can be a bit like gold dust – very easy to get, but useless in many cases.
What you need is targeted traffic, and the ability to convert this into paying customers and qualified leads.
What Types of Traffic Do I Need?
Like most things in life, there is more than one type of traffic you need to consider. When developing your strategy, you need to have in mind several key metrics including:
- h1>ROI (return on investment)
- h2>CTR (click-through rate)
- h2>conversion rate
- h2>value per visitor (CPC, CPL, CPLN, CPCN)
These are all important metrics, and they determine how valuable your traffic is, and how much you should charge for your services/products.
In this case, you have three options:
1. Direct traffic
This is the simplest and most cost-effective way to drive traffic to your site. You can either buy website traffic or you can hire people to click on your links, and make sure they’re always ‘fresh’.
There’s a lot of difference between buying website traffic and getting quality qualified leads. The first is expensive and the second isn’t. So, if you’re looking for a long-term, stable source of revenue, go with the second option.
2. Organic traffic
This is traffic generated naturally by SEO (search engine optimisation) or PPC (pay-per-click) methods. When people search for your products and services on search engines, your website will appear in the results, because you’ve optimised it to match the key words people are using.
There are a few different ways to gain organic traffic:
- Rank in search engine results for relevant keywords
- Create content that is informative and helpful for your target audience (infographics, for example)
- Use social media to promote yourself and your products (Instagram is a great place to do this)
- Attracting and engaging with influencers to collaborate with you (YouTube SEO)
Whatever method you choose, make sure that you always keep your customers in mind when you’re generating content. If you provide value, you’ll gain value in return. This is called ‘paying it forward’.
3. Hybrid traffic
This type of traffic is a mixture of the two aforementioned types. When someone comes to your website, they may be looking for a product or service that you offer, but they might also find a way to connect with you on a personal level. This is where content becomes vital, and a powerful call-to-action (CTA) could prove to be the difference between a sale and an opportunity.
You need to create content that is valuable, and that provides an opportunity to the reader. If you can do this, even if they’re not a potential customer, they will still become a valuable associate or brand advocate. Your next step is to follow up with them, and see if they’re interested in anything else you offer.
The best part about hybrid traffic is that you can measure its value using a variety of metrics, like:
- CTR (click-through rate)
- conversion rate (unqualified leads to qualified leads)
- value per acquisition (CPA)
- associate value (the total revenue this person brings in because they’re associated with your brand)
- brand value (how much money this person is worth because of your brand)
Measuring and adjusting your content strategy to get the most out of your website or blog is an ongoing task, but it’s critical for your business’s long-term success. By using metrics to monitor and assess your progress, you’ll be able to determine if you’re headed in the right direction, adjust your strategy, and continue to improve your performance.