How to drive traffic to your newly-launched website
So your new website is live - what now?
1. Share on social
This one is obvious, but that doesn’t make it any less important.
When your new site launches, the very first thing you should do is spread the word on your socials. From LinkedIn and Twitter, to Facebook and Instagram, wherever you have followers, you need to let them know about your new website. And don’t be afraid to post more than once. Your entire audience won’t see every post - so think about 2-3 posts per channel over the course of a week. Tell your followers why you’re excited about this new site, tell them what’s on there that can benefit them, and of course ask them for feedback and thoughts - asking specific questions is a great way to drive engagement and boost organic visibility of your posts.
Don’t forget to also update each or your social media profile pages, so they include a link to your website.
2. Update your email signature
This one is often overlooked by small business owners, but having a professional email signature can set you apart and make you look much bigger than you really are. If you don’t already have an email signature, create one! Include your logo, a link to your website and links to each of your active social channels. Make it easy for people to interact with you on their channel of choice. Configure your email to include your signature every time.
3. Business cards
This one seems a bit old school, and I have to confess to not usually having these on hand myself, but having a slick business card in your pocket can come in handy for impromptu coffee shop conversations, unexpectedly meeting someone interesting on the train/plane/bus etc. For modern, and easy-to-design templates, I like Moo.
4. Submit your site to Google
Google has an almost 90% share of the search market, so when you launch your website, you’ll want to make sure the world’s most-used search engine knows how to find you. Speed up the process of getting indexed by Google by asking Google to look at your website sooner rather than later. To do this, just search ‘Submit URL to Google’ and follow the steps. Within a few days, you should see your pages indexed in Google. Yay! People can find you now.
5. Email your existing clients
Yes, you want to use your new website to drive new business, but don’t forget about your existing and past clients! The launch of your website gives you a great reason to reach out to them and find out how they’re doing. Ask if they’re happy with the work you did for them? Check if there’s anything else you can help them with, and straight-up ask them if they know anyone else who might benefit from your service? If you’ve done a great job for someone, chances are they will be more than happy to make a few referrals to their network, or even provide you with a testimonial for your site to strengthen your social proof.
There are a few other ways you can also notify current clients of your website launch/relaunch - through a new blog post, newsletter subscribers through a new email campaign, and followers through a series of social media posts, as mentioned above.
6. Build links
Think of links as building a network for your website. They more relevant links that point to your website, the more traffic will come your way. Do you belong to any professional associations? Add your website URL to your profile page. Are there any directories specific to your industry - submit your details and create a listing for your business. If it’s relevant for you, take advantage of professional services marketplaces like elance.com or bark.com to off your service to a large audience of potential leads.
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