You Launched Your Website Now What?

Congrats! Launching your website is a HUGE accomplishment and I bet it feels so good to finally check that off your to-do list. A website is a must have for any business in this day and age but unfortunately you can’t stop there. Just simply launching a website doesn’t ensure that people will find you and your business. The infamous “if you build it they will come” line is just not true when it comes to your business website.

If you have a physical location you have the benefit of people walking or driving by and seeing your storefront but that doesn’t mean you can or should ignore your online presence. Most people, me included, love finding a new business and checking them out online to learn more about them before they actually engage and hopefully make a purchase. If you're online only it’s even more important that you make sure that your online presence is on point.

*This post may contain affiliate links to products I recommend. I may earn a small commission when you click on the links or make a purchase, this is at no additional cost to you. Thanks!

Before you go live you should start thinking about what marketing strategies you can put in place to drive traffic to your newly launched website. Below are some tried and true marketing strategies to get traffic to your website so it can start generating leads and sales for you on auto pilot.

1. Website SEO

   An essential part of launching your website is ensuring that it is set up to be found on search engines. This includes adding meta descriptions to each page using appropriate keywords, alt tags on images and using the correct keywords throughout your website content/text. Tip: sign up for a Google console account so you can make sure that your site is being indexed by Google and see how you are ranking for your keywords.

2. Content Creation

   There are many ways you can tackle this (Podcasting, YouTube Videos etc.) but blogging is the most popular. The goal here is to create content that your target audience wants and needs so you can draw them in and work on the know like and trust factor. Tip: Be consistent with your content, stick to a few topics, go deep into those topics and post consistently. Doing keyword research to ensure that your content has just the right keywords for those would be a great next step once you have a consistent blogging strategy in place.

3. Social Media

   Make sure all of your social media accounts are optimized to link back to your website. Post updates on your social media accounts when you go live with new content. Find some groups or communities online where your ideal audience hangs out, offer valuable information, link to content you have created that lives on your website, answer questions and be responsive to the needs of the community. Little by little people will notice your expertise, they will start to tag you when others have questions or need assistance with your area of expertise. From there people will check out your profile(s) and link to your website to get more information.

4. Paid Ads

   Paid ads are a great way to get just the right people to your website/offer. You can do this via search engine ads, display ads, or social media ads. Your targeting abilities will differ from platform to platform, search engine (Google) vs social media (Facebook, YouTube etc) but they all offer a great level of targeting, both geographical and demographic). Tip: Have a compelling offer to send them to and make sure you capture their email address! You don’t want to have to pay to get in front of that same person again in the future.

5. Collaborations

   Working with others in your industry is a great way to get in front of your ideal customers. You can do this by guest blogging, podcasting or video blogging, providing content for a course, or even guest speaking at an event.  Find others in your industry that provide a supporting service or product that already has a sizable audience and offer to provide their followers some extra value. It’s a win-win for everyone involved, you get in front of people you wouldn’t normally have access to, the person you collaborated with gets help with content creation and providing value for their community and the followers get even more helpful content. Tip: Create a freebie that supports the content you provided so you can collect email addresses or provide a link to your website for next steps or additional support. 

I get it, it probably took you a good chunk of time to get your website live and now you’re thinking great, now I have to add even more to my to-do list. The good news is that you don’t have to do “all the things”, pick one of these strategies and go all in for a period of time to see how it works for you. Many make the mistake of trying to do “all the things” at once and unfortunately it ends with doing none of them well and never seeing the full benefit of your efforts. Pick the strategy that feels most enjoyable to you so you look forward to doing it and making it part of your day to day. If it feels like a chore you will likely find a way to avoid doing it and benefits won’t be achieved. 

Regardless of which strategy you decide to go with, growing your email list should be at the forefront of your strategy. Establishing a strong email marketing strategy will probably be the most important thing you will do to drive consistent traffic to your website and ultimately grow your business. Leverage the strategies above and collect email addresses whenever and however possible. The best way to do this is to offer a super helpful piece of content that supports the service you offer and helps your audience solve a problem they are facing. Request their email address to gain access to the content. Once you have their email address you have direct access to them whenever you want. Communicate with them regularly, continue to provide them with helpful tips and advice AND sell your services. On average it takes 7-8 contacts with a new prospect before they commit and/or take action. Email marketing is a great way to work on your know, like and trust factor.

Would love to hear from you. Which of these traffic strategies sounds most appealing to you? How do you plan on collecting email addresses?