“SEO…”, there I said it! In some spaces, saying SEO is like shouting FIRE in a school assembly. There’s a stampede, everyone’s screaming, shouting and trying to run away – someone’s stood in the middle of it all, crying in confusion – all whilst the teachers try to instigate some element of calm and organisation.

In short, it’s chaos.

Low sales? Blame SEO. Poor site conversions? Blame SEO. Are visitors spending minimal time on your site? Blame SEO.

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It’s so easy to blame SEO for just about every digital fault in your business – but here’s a thought… what if you’re focusing so much on SEO that you’re actually pushing traffic to a crummy website?

What if ‘hits’ aren’t actually what you need, but sales. If you’re getting 300+ site visits a month, but no news sales, the likelihood is it’s the site itself that’s letting you down. As a new business owner, putting too much focus on SEO might be blinding you from new opportunities.

Think of SEO as an amplifier – like Facebook or Instagram ads. If the graphic is crappy, are you going to click on the ad? Nope. Your site needs to be a HOT advert for your services that impeccably focuses on your ideal client. Don’t amplify something that isn’t working for you anyway!

Caveat: Before I delve into the wonderful ways you can whisk your website around the worldwide web without SEO – let me just say that SEO isn’t the be-all-and-end-all unless you’ve got some crazy specific product or service or location-based business. (e.g a shop that sells organic, vegan wool jumpers for 3 legged cats in Aberystwyth). P.S if this is you, get in touch ;)

1. Lead people back to your website

Ok, let’s dive in! First up is linking to your website where possible and relevant to do so. Since mentioning my website in my email signature, on social and whenever I write a new blog post, I’ve personally noticed a threefold increase in traffic.

BUT what’s really important about this traffic, is we know it’s relevant. These people are on your site because they care enough about your product or service to follow you on social media. Brilliant! Ideal clients and quality hits!

2. Give them a reason to visit

‘Come and look at my site for some average content, some OK photos and the occasional interesting blog post’… WOW. Doesn’t exactly light a fire under me, right?

Put effort into your captions, be excited by your new blog post, shout proudly about your new offering. Let people know that you’ve got something new to share and make it sound so irresistible that they have to check it out!

BONUS: Track your traffic and you’ll know which awesomely awesome captions are working for you!

3. Market where your audience is!

I don’t mean the local cocktail bar! (Well, unless you’re marketing those yummy little cherries). Are your clients hanging out in targeted Facebook groups? Do they watch Instagram stories? Maybe there’s a particular forum they love to visit.

Make sure your website is being mentioned in those areas. Again, it’s always quality over quantity with website visits.

4. Don’t worry about competing in a saturated market.

If your product or service is widely available and there are big competitors with huge SEO budgets out there – your effort is best spent elsewhere, rather than pitching up against the high-rollers. ‘Web designer London’, for example, is going to feature some big fish.

Niche your market, know your clients and head straight to where they are – don’t get caught up in trying to climb one or two places on the Google rankings when you’re on page 4 or 6! It’s a waste of your money and precious energy.

5. Avoid lead leakers!

No SSL certificate? EEEK! Many browsers will throw up a warning that tells your potential customer to steer clear – NOT a good impression. Slow-loading website? Another red mark against you. Customers won’t even land on your website, so fix these before you even sniff at keywords!

6. Give them a reason to come back!

Build a relationship with your visitors. Offer them new products, remind them about your mailing list, put out monthly blog posts. The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70 percent. The probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20 percent. So, look after the customers you’ve already got if you want to make some SERIOUS coin!

7. Stay present!

We all know the saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’. Well, in this case, it’s ‘out of site, out of mind!’. Keep reminding people about you by letting them know when you’ve got new images on your website – tell them about what you’ve been up to in a newsletter – welcome new followers on your social media accounts.

It’s really simple, but staying present is a sure-fire way to keep traffic building on your site.

There we have it!

7 ways to boost your traffic without pulling your hair out over SEO.

Don’t get me wrong, SEO can be incredibly effective and important, but it’s just one marketing strategy for getting yourself out there. Rather than spending time stressing over your Google ranking, invest your time and energy on things your customer’s eyeballs are already on!

Do the things you love doing for your business – whether that’s writing newsletters, hosting live sessions or engaging on social – why do something that stresses you out?
That’s not what you started a business for!

Deliver value, develop a personal relationship and keep them in the loop.