Did you spend a lot of money on a website that is a traffic wasteland? Should you spend money to upgrade your website and wander into the unknown or stay in your comfort zone with what you have even though it’s marginal at best?

For many business owners and entrepreneurs, justifying the cost to move into a more modern website is hard to justify when they get the cost of the bill. What if it ends up becoming another expenditure in the balance sheet instead of becoming an asset that really helps the business?

It’s a legitimate concern.

Over the years, I’ve run into too many business owners and entrepreneurs who had that exact experience.

The website they spent a lot of money on became a traffic wasteland despite the promises the technology, or a salesperson, offered them. Why put more into something just for the sake of it or because someone said you need to.

Over the years I’ve learned that business owners are good at their business and want to focus on it, not learning the changing landscape of digital marketing. They only want to understand if the technology can help them. If it does, they are in and if not they will keep what they have without further investment.

Technology doesn’t have to be complicated and the barriers to success can be eliminated.

The real question is not is the technology worth the investment?

The real question is are you making the right investments to make the technology work for your balance sheet instead of against it.

Today, I’m going to share some practical straight to the point tips to help you understand how the internet holistically works together and the role your website plays in reaching more leads and converting more prospects into customers.

My goal is to show you that while the options are vast and overwhelming, by simplifying things you can see the value in an upgrade investment and how that investment can translate into an asset for your business.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbEoyvAvOgc&t=2s[/youtube]

Tip #1 – Talk Your Prospects Language

This isn’t exactly dealing with technology, but I have a real point to make that informs the technology and your prospects and customers and it’s this…

Too many businesses speak their own language and jargon on their websites without speaking the language of the customer.

Today’s technology is different than it was five years ago. But, you already know this. With advancements in artificial intelligence and an educated public about marketing, people want to know “why” they should buy from you.

They don’t care as much about your past sales history or the benefits and features of what you sell. They have a good idea about that.

What many people fail to consider is if you have someone on your website, they are already interested in buying or they wouldn’t be on your website. They are researching “why” they should be buying from your business instead of from your competitor.

It’s your job to give them a reason to move into your sales funnel.

How does the website present your business visually?

Is it easy to follow?

What does it say?

Who does it say “it” for?

Is a person always two clicks away from where they want to be?

A website is more than just a look, it’s your introduction to the world about you. What does it say about you?

Does it say your mediocre and unworthy of a prospect’s attention?

Does it say that you don’t value yourself to learn about them and that you’re only in it for yourself?

I hope you’re getting the picture?

Tip #2 – Your Website is the Center of Your Universe… But Only Your Universe

Think of the internet how an astronomer sees a galaxy. Each galaxy has a star and a star has objects or planets that rotate around a star. Let’s not get into the physics, lol…

While your website is in your Milky Way another website has its own galaxy. And, there are how many countless millions of them today and growing across the web.

The older your website is the less relevant it becomes to those who are looking for something that appeals to both their eyes and their emotions.

In the video below, I talk about how the web works for your website in the context of a wheel and spokes.

Tip 3 – Start Building Traffic to Your Website via Low Hanging Fruit

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA9zAOwlkTA&t=12s[/youtube]

Take a glance at the image below. This is a big picture, non-comprehensive, overview of some tools you can use to drive traffic to your website.

You must identify where the low hanging fruit is at. It’s the source of your immediate traffic, leads, and cash flow.

The first key to attracting the low hanging fruit is to make sure that your website solves one problem, meets one need, or fulfills one desire… for one person. That can be on a landing page, blog article, video page, or a podcast.

The key is to keep your dense, high-quality, content on your website and not on other platforms.

Social Media Low Hanging Fruit

To attract the low hanging fruit to the in-depth content on your website, you want to create content on social media that provide enough quality value that people want to click through to the content on your website.

Remember, social media is about creating interest quickly, concisely, and relevantly.

You might be saying to yourself that you don’t have many people following you on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. That’s okay. You don’t have to. However, you do have to build momentum. You can’t take your average automobile and go from zero to sixty in five seconds. Not gonna happen. You don’t have that machine.

In fact, there’s a better way to look at this. Have you ever watched a strongman competition where a man tries to pull a loaded eighteen-wheeler two hundred feet on a slight uphill incline? It takes a tremendous amount of energy to begin moving the truck. However, with each rotation of the wheel momentum slowly builds until the truck in motion can move easier with each step.

It’s the same principle in building an audience and attracting the low hanging fruit.

For example, as we create more content on DSM’s Facebook page our views, time of viewing, and total page likes is going up each week. We are creating content that people are becoming more aware of and they appreciate and want the content.

On LinkedIn, I even had someone say to me; “…you can basically call me a follower of yours. You have me hooked.”

Why?

The content spoke to her directly. She shared, and my list began to grow one share after another.

If done well, social media is the lowest hanging fruit to gaining more traffic. I didn’t say easy or guaranteed.

The key to all organic growth is you must work at it. You must find your voice, connect the audiences mind and heart, and connect meaningfully with them.

The key to social media attraction, growth, and engagement is to start by creating exceptional content. As I explained in another article titled “Strip the Confusion and E.A.T. Your Way to More Google SEO Customers”, you must look at digital marketing much like you do offline marketing.

It’s really no different.

Offline Networking

One area severely neglected in the digital age is offline networking. It can take on many forms:

• Chambers of Commerce
• Networking groups
• Public speaking
• Being a resource for those you come across

If you present your company well, you will gain a following online via your offline connections. People love to be associated with those who make them look good. So, include them in your content, make them look good, and off you’ll go.

Here is an example from a few years ago. I needed a battery for my car. The local Interstate Batteries franchise owner was so friendly and helpful. He went out of his way to identify the problem with my battery and as a result, I bought a new one from him.

That’s where it all started. I wrote a blog article about offline relationships a week later and posted it on my website at the time. Within a day, the franchise owner shared it with the corporate office. That’s how I go in front of a Fortune 500 company and got included in their blog.

That one article created tens of thousands of dollars in new business for me. All because I took the time to share my experience with my audience.

Value offline can mean significant value online.

NEVER STOP NETWORKING FOR TRAFFIC!

Tip #4 – Paid Traffic

Not everyone thinks like I do, I get it and I appreciate that. I’m actually grateful. You don’t want to know what goes on in this head sometimes, lol… ?

For those who don’t have the networking skills right now or don’t want to wait to build the organic audience, paid marketing is the way to go.

In fact, it ought to be a part of every business’s strategy for new traffic to your website, conversions, and sales.

If done right, it can cost significantly less than traditional advertising. However, you must have someone who knows what they are doing, or it could get expensive and have little results.

I have done some local work for an orchard in my hometown of Lancaster, PA. We have been able to drive thousands of people from as far away as 300 miles to their pick-your-own peaches in the orchard. We were able to target on Facebook those who came to the area to visit local attractions. Lancaster has a billion dollar or more tourism industry. When people see the video ad we created, they click a link, schedule a time, and are notified via text as a reminder of their appointment.

It works. We’ve driven thousands of new customers to their business as a result.

There are so many things you can do and the opportunities are endless, no matter your business or industry.

The key is to have a good ad that is relevant to the needs, wants, and desires of your audience, target them specifically, and provide a means to take them through a sales funnel to close the sale.

Tip # 5 – Have a Sales Funnel

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_WdRSKEWkg&t=5s[/youtube]

Many businesses lose business because they do the initial marketing right but then lose sales because the prospect didn’t know what to do next. A sales funnel is vital to opening communication, providing insights, or giving general directions. You can get as appropriate or specific as you need based on your industry and business model.

This also applies to both organic and paid traffic.

Never allow someone to come to your website without offering them a reason to enter your sales funnel via some kind of call-to-action (CTA). You could offer them an in-depth training, free product or a discount. It could be some kind of experience. The options are limitless.

If it’s a blog article, ask those who read it to the end to do something in the context of the article. Always offer a CTA.

Conclusion

If your website is at least five years old, you do need an update. However, before you spend good money on a website know what you specifically want it to do. Are your expectations realistic?

The bottom line is that technology cannot do for you what you have not done for yourself.

You must know what business you’re “really” in from the consumers point-of-view and talk in their language. You must also have good sales funnels that provide people with the ability to buy from you on their terms but in an easy to follow path.

From there, identify the low hanging fruit, go after it, and start bringing in cash flow. As you become more risk tolerant at organic and paid digital marketing (because you’re informed and are getting results) you can expand into areas that bring both medium and long-term sales opportunities.

Earning qualified traffic to your website of those who are able, willing, and ready to buy from you isn’t easy, but it also doesn’t have to be hard.

Remember, technology doesn’t have to be complicated and the barriers to your success can be eliminated.

If you follow the five tips above, you have an opportunity to earn traffic, increase sales, and make your website a profitable asset for your business.

One final thing, you may notice we have an ongoing webinar. Join us and learn how your business, no matter the industry, can benefit.