3 Ways to Generate Web Traffic Without AdWords and Social Media

Web traffic is the most valuable commodity in the world of e-commerce. If your website generates traffic, you’ll earn money – generally, it’s that simple.

When you’ve just launched a new e-commerce site, though, it’s highly unlikely that the site will generate substantial traffic right off the bat. Getting your site to the point where it receives consistent traffic every day is a process that can potentially take months.

So, what can you do to start generating traffic and help your website earn income as quickly as possible? Most how-to guides for e-commerce will tell you that you need to spend money to make money. The experts will say that you need to jump on Google AdWords and start bidding on keywords, and they’ll say that you need to start promoting your content on social media. Together, those two strategies can drive substantial traffic to your site.

There are two problems, however, with paying to drive traffic to your e-commerce site. The first problem is the enormous number of companies competing for that same traffic. With so much competition, you could end up paying so much for traffic that making a sale actually causes you to lose money.

The second problem is that, in some industries, you can’t bid for traffic on Google or promote your content on social media. Websites in the vaping industry – like Simply E Liquid – deal with that problem. So, whether you’re in an industry that prevents you from bidding on traffic – or you simply don’t want to bid on traffic because you don’t think it would be profitable – this guide is going to help. Use these three techniques to bring traffic to your e-commerce site without using AdWords or social media.

Start a Blog and Launch a Content Marketing Campaign

If you’ve spent any time reading about online marketing, you already know how useful it can be to have a blog. If you post regularly, your site’s blog will eventually hold a huge volume of text – and text is still the primary tool that Google uses to understand what your website is about and decide what keywords you should rank for.

The problem, though, is that most new e-commerce site owners use their blogs in entirely the wrong way. When you start blogging, you’re going to naturally look for ways to link your blog to the commercial areas of your site. When your website is new, though, you’re going to have trouble ranking well on Google for commercial terms. That’s because your competitors are better established than you, and they’re all trying to rank for those same terms.

Many of your competitors, however, are ignoring non-commercial search terms – and that gives you an opportunity.

When writing blog posts for a new e-commerce site, focus on evergreen informational topics that generate consistent search traffic. Concentrate on providing real information and value with every article you write. Don’t worry about writing sales-oriented articles until later. Eventually, your articles will begin to rank for a variety of search terms, and your site will begin to generate consistent traffic. Sales will come naturally out of that traffic, even if your blog posts don’t focus on commercial topics.

Form Relationships to Earn Links and Raise Awareness

The next most common piece of advice that you’ve probably seen when reading about online marketing is that you need to get people talking about your business. Mentions of your brand will build awareness, and awareness leads to web traffic. What no one ever tells you, though, is how to actually do that.

The way to build awareness about your company is by building relationships with influencers and thought leaders in your field. Look for product reviewers, social media personalities and bloggers who write about your industry. Get in touch with them and strike up a conversation. Ask if they’re willing to mention your business to their readers – or ask if they’d like to receive a few products for a review. Ask if there’s anything that you can do for them in return.

There are many different ways for website owners to help each other out, and that’s how relationships are built. Every relationship is an opportunity for you to increase awareness of your business and connect with people interested in your industry. Relationships can also help your website gain inbound links, and high-quality links can help your site rank well on Google for more competitive terms. Sometimes, it really is as simple as saying “hello” and seeing where things go from there.

Bring Potential Customers to Your Site With Targeted Advertising

Some people have a fairly short-sighted view of online advertising and essentially see Google and Facebook as the only two places where it’s worthwhile to spend money. While those are certainly two very good advertising venues, they’re also extremely expensive because of the massive number of users that your advertisements can potentially reach. There are plenty of other advertising opportunities. While those opportunities may not allow you to reach quite as many people, they’re also less expensive and can potentially be much more profitable.

Regardless of the industry in which you do business, one of the most effective ways to advertise is by looking for websites whose audiences are likely to be interested in what you’re offering. One of the greatest things about the Internet is that it’s easy for anyone to read about the things that interest them and to discuss those topics with like-minded individuals – no matter how obscure their interests may be.

No matter what industry you’re in, it’s likely that you can find several related blogs and at least one industry-specific forum. It’s also very likely that anyone who spends time on those websites already spends money on products similar to yours and would be interested in hearing about what you’re offering. Blogs and forums sell advertising space to generate revenue, and you’ll probably find that purchasing ad placements on those sites will cost significantly less than what you’d spend bidding on keywords on Google or promoting your posts to disinterested Facebook users. It’s always worthwhile to go where your potential customers are, so purchasing ad space on websites related to your business will often deliver a great return on your investment.