How to increase traffic after your website launch

It’s time to launch your new site! You’ve spent these last few weeks working with your designer (and perhaps other professionals) to hone your offers, copy, your layout, and your goals. Finally, your brand has a new place to call home, one that speaks to your credibility and aligns with who you are.

But now what?

What steps should you take after your website launch? Today I’ll share with you the big-picture items that should be next on your to-do list including: spreading the word, using your new link, increasing traffic, analytics, SEO, and content creation.

GET COMFY SHARING IT

Chances are you’ve been hiding your old website for awhile now. You’ve found ways to communicate your offers to potential clients without directing them to it. Perhaps you were worried (rightly so) that your old patch-work site wasn’t going to lend you any credibility.

With a new site comes new routines. It’s time to get comfy sharing your website with others now! Your designer has helped to ensure that your site not only looks good, but functions well (your website should be doing the heavy lifting now so you can focus on other aspects of business!)

Have A Soft Launch

Hitting “launch” on your website can feel incredibly intimidating. Even with the support of a designer you might worry: 

• “What if something goes wrong?” 
• “What if I realize something needs to be changed?”

Remember it’s okay to have a “soft launch!” AKA..publish your site and test how it functions for a few days before actually telling others about it. This takes so much pressure off.

Share On Social Media

Once you’re comfortable with your newly launched site it’s time to talk about it. Take to social media and announce the news to your audience. Instead of focusing on details from the long weeks of website building (better suited for a blog or IG Story), focus on the value THEY will receive from the website. In your post you could talk about:

• Your new or refined offers
• Lead magnets you have available on your site
• Communication methods (do you have a contact form or a chat feature?)

It’s okay to break these topics up into multiple posts throughout your official launch week to create more content and increase awareness.

Connect Your Link

Sometimes we stop at sharing our website on social media, but there are so many other valuable (often forgotten) places to share your website link.

After your launch you’ll want to add your new website link to any place a potential client might interact with you. You can add it to your:

• Email signature footer

• Media Profiles: IG, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Youtube, Podcast, Tiktok (note, you need 1,000 TikoTok followers and a business account to be able to add a website link)

• Welcome guides, pricing guides, brochures, and other client touchpoints

• Business cards

• Social media content and graphics (if it’s something you want others to share it’s a good idea to include your URL or business name even if it’s not clickable)

• Small business directories, community databases, or barter sites (This may not be a fit for everyone, but there are reputable sites where you can share a bit about your business and a website link for additional exposure or help from fellow business owners!)
  

Direct, Direct, Direct

Get into a good habit of directly people to your website instead of handling communication in DM’s and chat threads. If someone reaches out over DM about scheduling a discovery call, direct them to that freshly polished contact page or scheduler on your site!

If you work with any referral partners be sure to direct them to your new website link after launch so they have an updated method of contact.

ENCOURAGE VISITORS

With a website launch your audience might not be as excited as you’d like them to be. They see new website launches all the time so why should they care about yours?

You have to give them a reason to care! Something to spark their interest and encourage them to go check it out! Here’s a few ideas for you:

Host A Giveaway

One of the best ways to encourage engagement is to host a giveaway! Announce the giveaway in your social media post and direct users to a sign up form on your new website to be entered in the giveaway. You can create a sign-up (or opt-in) form easily through your CRM or through an email marketing platform like Flodesk.

I hosted a giveaway when I launched Artisan Kind. I gave away my smallest package and guess what, I didn’t have a large following! You don’t need a large following to host a giveaway either. When users came to my site to sign up (and they certainly did), they got a feel for my professionalism and what I had to offer them!

The idea is to whet their palette here. Get them at least a little familiar with your brand’s new home. (Hopefully they’ll be back again!)

Run A Special Promotion

In addition to (or in place of) a giveaway you could run a special promotion. If you hosted a giveaway, wait a little until after the winner has been announced.  Then follow up with those who didn’t win and offer a one-time special on your services! If you didn’t host a giveaway simply announce the deal on social media.

After my giveaway I followed up with everyone and I was excited to have a handful of people snag that one-time deal (my very first clients!) Those clients were so happy that they’ve gone on to refer other people back to me!

Word of mouth is by far the most powerful marketing tool. Read this post to ensure you’re making the most of it! Getting that ball rolling right after your website launch is an opportunity you don’t want to miss out on!

Here’s a few example of special promotions:

• 1 month access to your course
• Package upgrade option
• Free “how to” guide when they sign up to work with you
• 1 month free coaching when they sign up for 3 months
• 25% off until ____ give a timeline

Whatever the offer  is, make sure you specify and cutoff and create a sense of urgency:

• To the first 10 to sign up
• Until June 1st
• Offer expires in 5 days

IMPROVE YOUR SEO

Your website designer likely covered the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) with you including image tags and page meta descriptions. SEO is a long haul game though with so many opportunities for improvement and better reach!

While most of your clients will come through those happy client referrals there’s nothing wrong with a little extra boost. Here’s a few SEO items you should look to set up right after your website launch:

• Google Analytics: This will show the traffic and activity happening on your site. Even if your new site doesn’t have a ton of traffic it’s never too soon to start collecting this data. The analytics from here will help you see where changes should be made, what pages are doing well and not so well.

• Google Business: You know when you search a business and a little box pops up with their picture, reviews, location, hours, and website link? That’s Google business! Setting this up is FREE and helps establish a more professional appearance (while making it easy to manage your online presence). Best of all, clients can leave reviews for all to see!

Remember, every time someone visits your website and sticks around for a few minutes, it’s like they cast a vote with Google and said “hey, this is good stuff!” 

To dive even further into the power of SEO I highly recommend hiring an expert to walk you through all of the opportunities. Next we’ll take a look at content and how this can drastically improve your SEO and overall reach!

FOCUS ON CONTENT

After you’ve shared the news of your website launch it’s time to turn your focus to content! Having a consistent social media content strategy is wonderful, but it’s only half of the puzzle. 

Social media doesn’t function off of SEO so it’s not as easy for new users to actually find you there. Content that you share on your website will work with SEO. By incorporating keywords (popular search terms for your audience) will allow you to reach new users and increase traffic to your site. The more traffic you have, the more Google will trust you. The more trust Google has in you, the higher your site will rank in searches! 

Start Your Blog!

Blogs are the number one way to share valuable insight with your audience all while increasing your reach. Having a blog page filled with helpful and interesting topics will encourage users to stick around and explore your website longer than they otherwise would have.

Some other benefits of blogging include:

• Increased credibility and trust

• Educates your clients and potential clients (this can make your life easier when it comes time to start working together if they’ve read your blog content)

• Allows you to hone your ability to teach and simplify complicated topics

• You’ll be armed with resources to common questions, problems, and topics (share links to your blog posts in your email newsletter, in Facebook group questions threads, on Instagram stories and more!)

• Helps develop a consistent brand voice

If you’re not using Pinterest, now would be the time to start! Pinterest functions more like a search engine than it does a social media platform. When you start a business pinterest account you can create your own pins (with eye-catching graphics) and link to your blog posts! Be sure to use keywords in your pin description so your content pops up when someone searches for it.

Alternatives To Blogging

Perhaps writing long-form content doesn’t really appeal to you. While you could always outsource the task to a content writer there are two other avenues you can take:

• Youtube
• Podcasting

Both Youtube and podcast platforms like Apple and Spotify function off of SEO. If recording educational videos or audio is more up your alley you can host your content on one of these platforms!

NOTE: You will *still* want to have this content posted to your own website! 

If you have a Youtube video simply create a new blog post on your site and write up a brief description (or have the video transcribed). Then link to the Youtube video in the blog post. By doing this you’re expanding your reach because not only will users be able to find you directly through Youtube, they can also find you through your website. (Remember to share to Pinterest as well!)

Consider Your Lead Magnet

With your website launch you likely have a lead magnet up and running already. If not, be sure to check out this post here on the importance of creating a lead magnet and this free guide on how to do so step-by-step.

Now that you’ve launched you might consider expanding your lead magnet offerings! What else could you provide that would be valuable for your ideal client?

Be sure to talk about your lead magnet(s) often in your website and social media content, (your audience can’t sign up if they don’t know it’s available).

THE TAKEAWAY

After launching your website the first thing I want you to do is celebrate! Truly, this is a huge accomplishment and step forward for your business! Afterwards then it’s time to focus your effort on:

• Traffic and increasing your reach
• Booking new clients (perhaps through a special offer)
• SEO
• Content creation

Know that you don’t have to be perfect with all of this, it will take time to grow. Not everything has to happen overnight. The important thing is to stay steady and keep moving forward.