Increasing traffic to your website is a key goal for a successful online business. But do you really want more traffic?
Or would you rather have traffic solely from your target audience?
There are three common mistakes you can make when investing in building website traffic.
Mistake #1: Getting traffic from the wrong leads
Imagine you have a store on Fifth Avenue, one block from the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree during the Christmas season. Hundreds of thousands of people pass through your windows and doors. Would you like all these people to come to your store?
If you said yes to “all” of these people, think again.
Why Attracting the Wrong People From Building Website Traffic Can Hurt Your Business
That’s because many of these people are not your target audience. And therefore, you would be spending resources on prospects with little chance of converting them into customers.
On the other hand, if you only attract your target audience to your store, your potential return on investment is much higher. Not just for the first sale, but for all future sales from repeat purchases.
The same goes for your website. Except the costs of attracting the wrong contacts to your website are much higher.
You see, when you attract traffic from the wrong website, it can slow down your site. That can affect how long people stay on your website, particularly those people who are your target market.
Kissmetrics reported that almost half of web users leave a site within 3 seconds if it doesn’t load completely. And about 4 out of 5 buyers will not return to the site to buy again. Additionally, more than 4 in 10 shoppers experiencing this slowness would tell a friend.
The bottom line is that slower speed due to increased traffic from the wrong visitors can cause many people in your target audience to leave your website, never return, and tell your social network.
Other problems can arise after the wrong people sign up for your email. These issues can include higher cancellations, lower email open rates, higher abandoned cart rates, and higher costs to maintain a larger database.
Mistake #2: Sending website traffic to your home page
A very common mistake is sending traffic to the home page of your website instead of a landing page.
You can learn more about this error here.
When this occurs, the visitor is likely to be distracted by looking at the content on the page, rather than opting in. As a result, the visitor judges your business based on what the site displays and claims and cannot opt out before leaving.
Mistake #3: Not having persuasive content on your signup form and/or landing page
Persuasive copy is the most vital element on your website. Persuasive copy can make your prospect take action, like opt-in or buy. However, very few websites contain persuasive text.
If you don’t have compelling copy on your landing page or signup form, why should a visitor opt in?
But if you can’t get your visitor to sign up, you have no way of recouping the cost of getting them there. And you can’t turn this into sales.
How to fix these 3 website traffic building mistakes
The good news is that there are easy ways to fix these website traffic building mistakes.
The first way is by attracting website traffic that is focused on your target audience. The more you know about your audience, the better the results. This includes demographics, psychographics, and purchasing behavior. The key here is to exclude those who do NOT fit your target.
Direct mail lists, advertising, co-registration, and affiliate marketing can allow you to focus on engaging your target audience. SEO and pay-per-click can do it, too, but these strategies have a much higher risk of attracting too many people who don’t fit your target audience.
A second way is to create a landing page that promotes a lead magnet, like a FREE quiz or report, in addition to a signup page. Your only goal here is to maximize subscriptions. That way you can develop a relationship with your visitor after they leave your website.
The third way involves persuasive copy. This is what can allow you to convert your visitor into a potential customer and opt in. But the copy should focus on the emotional needs and wants of your target audience. The more you know about your target audience, the better your potential results. Persuasive copy can help you increase response rates, so you can make more money.