It’s the million dollar question — how do you get more people to visit your website? Well, in a lot of cases, you don’t have a spare million dollars lying around to spend on getting people to your website. You’re on a tight budget, and you need something affordable. Yes, you know that more visitors can mean more customers, but you need to do it on the cheap.
No question about it, it can definitely be challenging. There’s a lot of competition, and it can be tough to show up in the search results. Many of your competitors have big budgets, and you probably don’t.
We understand the struggle of digital marketing on a budget and with limited resources. You don’t have the time or money to spend too much on ad clicks, or hiring a marketing agency, but you still want to be able to compete effectively online.
The good news is that there are some simple things you can do, and you don’t need to spend a lot of money. With time and persistence you can start to see positive results. We’ve been in the digital marketing business for over 10 years, having worked with lots of different types of businesses, from small one-person sole trader businesses to large multinational companies, and the key is understanding what’s important and being consistent.
1 — Check your website
Before promoting your website, it’s important to make sure it’s working correctly and communicating the right message (see our note below). Visit your website as if you were a customer: Do contact forms work? Does it effectively explain what you do, and why customers should choose you? If you need help checking your site or making changes, just get in touch.
You can ask us if you need help with anything but here are the main things you should be checking:
- Contact form – Test it and check to see you get an email notification within 10 minutes (check your spam folder just in case)
- Links – Click through your menu and check each page is loading correctly. You can also use a broken link checker to scan your website for errors.
- Mobile – Visit your website on a mobile device and make sure everything is displaying correctly.
- Information – Check all your information is up-to-date and matches your business branding.
If you don’t feel your website is up to scratch, we can help. We build very affordable, mobile-friendly websites that will suit even the cheapest of budgets. We also build modern ecommerce websites, as well as converting from your existing website (Shopify, Rocketspark, Wix, Squarespace and lots more).
2 — Create a Google Business profile
It’s free to add your business to Google Business, and it’s a good way to get more exposure in the local Google search results and on Google Maps. You can invite customers to add a review, upload photos, list your business hours or share announcements and special offers.
Find out how you can add a Google Business listing for free.
3 — Share everywhere
Spread the word! Make sure you are sharing your website at every opportunity – email signatures, customer invoices, business signage or on social media. You can also add your website to online directories and business profiles.
Just remember to check your website is sending the right message before promoting your site, and everything is working (see point 1 above).
Tip: Give people a reason to visit your website, like a free guide or a discount coupon code.
4 — Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising
Google, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and other platforms offer the option to promote your business online, paying each time someone clicks on your ad. The advantage of these programs is being able to target locations or people with specific interests, and get instant traffic.
For a limited time, we’re offering a $100 discount on our Google Ads package.
5 — SEO, What is it and do you need it?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is work done to help your website rank for searches that can help you find more customers. For example, if you Google “affordable websites” or “affordable website design” you’ll find us on the first page. These are very tough keywords but over time and using SEO, we’ve managed to rank higher than big companies with bigger budgets.
SEO is something that should be part of your ongoing marketing, it’s a long-term project, but be very cautious about SEO agencies — there are a lot of scams out there. It’s a good idea to educate yourself first, start small and get familiar with the basics before ramping up your SEO efforts.
To get started, you can read our free 5-step beginners guide to SEO.
Bonus tip: Know your niche – Your best defense when it comes competing with other websites is really know your target audience, and make it as specific as possible. You can then update your website to reduce your competition.
Don’t give up – affordable website promotion is doable!
It might seem overwhelming at first, and a lot to learn but be patient and remember this is a long distance run, not a sprint (think tortoise vs the hare). You will get good results if you develop a plan and work at it consistently over time.
Avoid the temptation to look for shortcuts – in our experience these will often lead to falling prey to scammy SEO agencies, who’ll take your money and you normally won’t see a lot of positive long-term results.
So, stick to the basics, keep at it and trust the process.
And, if you need help on your journey, just get in touch.