7 Affordable Small Business Marketing Tactics For Boosting Web Traffic

How do you get more visitors to your small business website fast and affordably?

One of the top challenges and requests of small business owners today is increasing the number of online visitors to their websites. It doesn’t matter how fantastic your product or service is, or even how stunning and hi-tech your website is if no one is finding it.

Sadly, while technology has made it easier and less expensive than ever to launch a new startup, it has also led to a voluminous mass of outdated and just outright misinformation floating on the web. This makes it incredibly tough for many entrepreneurs and small business owners to make sense of what works and what doesn’t to preserve their precious startup capital and get the biggest bang for their buck.

So here are seven marketing tactics for increased traffic that really work and won’t break the bank…

1. Turn Business Cards into Online Traffic Generation Tools

Today there is a lot of pressure on small business owners to reduce their time fielding calls and checking email, especially when they are junk solicitations. Solve both issues by not just adding a website address to business cards but by creating cards which provide a domain name or social URL for contact. This way they have to go through your site. Using unique codes or landing pages tracking can help to improve this tactic and lead to conversions.

2. Press Releases

There are many great distribution platforms for highly effective paid press releases today. However, those looking for even more affordable Internet traffic generation options may find great opportunities among local press and media outlets without spending a dime. Some local news sites allow contributors to upload their own stories online. This can provide powerful local SEO advantages. Having a downloadable press kit on your website with images can also automate the process and make it easy for a journalist to promote you without even having to ask.

3. Turn Your Phone into a Traffic Driving Tool

Most networking events and opportunities are horrifically underutilized by small business owners. Sure you can hand out a thousand cards and maybe a dozen sales pitches the following week, and maybe one good appointment. Instead, rocket the short and long term ROI of the occasion with your mobile phone. Don’t pitch and scare people off or get them to make false promises. Instead get busy getting each person in the room to follow you on social networks before moving onto the next. “What’s your Twitter handle?”, “Great, I just followed you, follow me back…”. Unlikely many will refuse.

This can work even better with email. Instead of gambling on them visiting your website, enter their email into your opt-in form yourself and have them confirm on the spot with their phones so that they are now tapped into all of your messaging and can be drawn back to your site again and again.

4. Power Up Your Domain Name

By incorporating or using your toll free vanity number in your website domain name, you can benefit from an instant boost to branding and credibility. This can go a long way to encourage Internet users to choose your business listing and click on your Google Adwords ads.

5. Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is an extremely powerful and high ROI marketing channel for small businesses. It can enable even the smallest and newest enterprises to tap into large amounts of traffic, enjoy better positioning, and boost SEO. Blog commenting, forum posting and article directories have been essentially kicked to the curb by Google. So if you want your website to be found online, then get busy guest blogging.

6. Twitter Ads

The Twitter IPO has put a ton of pressure on the social media network to turn up the opportunities for business marketers. This has resulted in increased data sales, new links between using Twitter and TV, and the roll out of geo-targeting by U.S. zip code for Promoted Accounts and Promoted Posts. These last two options can be excellent growth hacking tools. They enable small business owners to get in front of online influencers fast and get messages front and center to mobile users ready to make purchases.

7. Facebook Ads

Facebook is one of the most powerful allies of small businesses today. By using extremely affordable Facebook ads companies can precisely pinpoint their best prospects and customers, and connect with them at the right time, in a great medium. Besides driving web traffic this also helps to simultaneously build a social following for ongoing marketing (and better ROI), as well as sparking viral sharing.

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You can also grab 100 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas for Entrepreneurs, FREE by visiting

www.G-CodeMagazine.com

About Tim Houghten

Growth hacker, international business development consultant to Inc. 500 companies, and prolific writer for G-Code Magazine, Tim is on a mission to inspire and empower entrepreneurs, small business owners and CEOs to rocket their business ideas to becoming highly successful and ethical global brands.

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