Sadly, we’re coming across this with increasing frequency – many people seem to think that once a website is built, fixed, or launched, it’ll magically start pulling in loads of traffic and sales. Like somehow, the minute it’s live, your work is done, and you can sit back, relax, and watch the magic happen.
But here’s the thing: a website does not a marketing plan make.
If the engine in your car wasn’t turning over, you’d take it to the garage. The mechanic would fix it, hand the keys back, and now your car would actually start. Brilliant. But… it’s not going to drive itself home, is it? You’re still the one behind the wheel – steering, braking, accelerating. Without you doing that bit, it’s just going to sit there looking pretty.
Your website is exactly the same. Whether you’ve had it completely rebuilt or just spruced it up with a few improvements, it’s not suddenly going to start generating website traffic or sales all on its own. It needs you (or someone on your behalf) to keep it moving.
So, what can you do to help your website actually get noticed?
1. Invest in SEO (search engine optimisation)
Now, we freely admit that we’re not an SEO agency – we’ll never charge you for SEO – but we can help you get started with the absolute basics. And honestly, it’s the bare minimum you should be doing if you want people to find your site.
First things first: if you’re on WordPress make sure you’ve got a tool like Yoast or RankMath (the free versions are more than enough when you’re starting out). They’ll guide you through setting up titles, meta descriptions, and all that good stuff that helps search engines understand what your site’s about. If you’re completely new to SEO, then check out our beginner’s guide to SEO.
Make sure you’ve also got Google Analytics installed. It’ll show you how many people are visiting your site, what they’re looking at, and where they’re coming from. Google Analytics is also free to use.
If you’ve given it a go and it’s not making much sense – or you simply don’t fancy DIY-ing it – talk to an expert. We’ve got a brilliant preferred partner who we’re more than happy to recommend: Jo Hodge, The Digital Marketing Fairy
Jo is an absolute whizz at SEO, and she’ll help you get your site properly seen. If you want to find out more about her – including how to contact her – scroll down to “Our network & preferred partners” on our Who Are Sox? page.
2. Promote your website
It sounds obvious, but you’d be amazed how often people forget to actually tell anyone about their website.
Share it at networking meetings. Pop it onto all your social media profiles. Mention it in your email signature. And don’t just leave it at that – keep mentioning it!
A great way to keep people coming back is to write a blog. Share useful tips, updates, or insights related to what you do. Then, post those blog articles on your socials to drive traffic back to your site. Not only will you be helping your audience, but search engines will love you for keeping your site active and full of fresh content. We’ve even got a blog post on why you should write blog posts – give it a read.
3. Don’t “set it and forget it”
One of the biggest mistakes we see is people launching a shiny new website and then… well, doing absolutely nothing with it.
You need to keep it alive.
Update your testimonials (no one’s impressed by a review from 18 months ago). Add new blog posts. Refresh your “About” and “Services” pages if anything changes. Check that your products are easy to find and that your checkout process is still running smoothly.
And here’s a crucial point: if something breaks – and you don’t know about it – people will leave. They won’t message you about it. They’ll just click away and find someone else.
So, make it a regular habit to hop onto your site, click around, and make sure everything’s working just as it should.
More resources
Whilst we’ve actually written plenty about driving traffic to your website before, we wanted to revisit it because of the number of people we’ve noticed complaining about their site not attracting visitors. As we’ve already said: it’s not a self-driving car. You need to drive it. Keep steering it, keep fuelling it, and it’ll take you where you want to go.
If you want more ideas on driving traffic to your website, check out our previous blogs:
- How do I get more website visitors
- How to use social media to drive traffic to your website
- Lead magnets: Everyone loves free stuff! – Lead magnets are a great way to encourage people onto your site, and we’ve not even touched on them in this blog!
- How to use local SEO to bring in local customers
Got questions? Want a hand with the basics? Drop us a message – we’re always happy to point you in the right direction (and our advice is free).