In order to get free traffic in the first place, you need to make it easy to find. Sounds easy, but there is a bit more to it. Having your website live, looking great is one thing, but nobody will find it if you have not got the fundamentals of SEO, backlinks, keyword density and good old fashioned high quality content.
Content through the power of SEO
For those who are not familiar with SEO, it is essentially a series of best practices. These methods have been tested over time to rank on search engines. What search engines look for is good quality content, backlinks, page speed and how relevant the content is. There are hundreds of factors behind it, but focus on the core.
Your blog titles, headings and images should all be carefully curated to mirror what people are searching for. One thing to remember is to be very careful about buying traffic, Google can often spot this. Write your content naturally, write it in a way that is interesting, to the point and accurate. Make sure you have a good building block to your website first.
- Make your headings and title what people are searching for
- Write a naturally flowing blog article
- Make sure you have a fast loading web page
- build links from other relevant websites
- Link to other pages on your website
- Update your website with new fresh content regularly
These are just some of the factors that are worth taking into consideration when writing for a blog, ecommerce page or a landing page. The more you add to your website, the wider you can cast your fishing net.
Social media
This again covers a wide range and a whole subject in itself. Of course you can buy traffic through paid ads, but free traffic comes down to making a slick presentation. How you deliver your message really comes down to how it is projected rather than the production value. SO expensive cameras and props might be favourable, it is not essential. The only real cost is the time, editing and uploading. It might also be worth creating a script or a general plan of regular posts.
TikTok is a booming slice of the pie and the demographic is younger. The platform has a number of helpful tools and if you are not familiar, it is worth testing. The short nature makes it ideal for affiliate marketing.
Instagram is a staple part of the social realm and whilst it also has a solid advertising platform, the reach is surprisingly high if you have an already growing number of followers. Getting followers is one thing, but interactions is the most important part. The more frequent you are with the posts and stories, the more likely key people are going to see your posts.
- Be regular with posts
- Create stories that engage
- Aim to get engagement such as polls
Pinterest is a visual way of getting shares and likes. A great method for getting attention is uploading infographics or inspirational quotes, particularly useful for fitness affiliates. They have various options for paid advertising, but you can still get an audience by just adding regular pins and make them visually attractive.
- Create visually attractive posts and images
- Make your offer stand out
Twitter is a great way to get attention by commenting and following people you think are your customer demographic. Find a similar website/blog to yours, a rival if you like. Go to their list of followers and follow them. You would be surprised how many follow back. See which ones follow back and see the kind of other accounts they follow. Within those might be other similar twitter users who are looking for the same thing.
- Follow similar twitter handle followers
- Like, share and follow your target audiences
- Be regular
- Ask questions so you can encourage engagements
Sit down, get comfortable and spend the evening doing this. The ratio of followers back of starts to jump after a while. Over the next few days simply unfollow anybody that does not follow you back.
This website is a powerhouse for content and ranks well. If you post something that is interesting, provokes an answer and is in the right part of the website, then the response rate is great. WIth the amount of questions already on there, sometimes it can be hard to post something original but so your research and add in your affiliate link so see how well it does.
- Share experiences
- Gain interest by asking what people think of the product you are sharing
- Answer questions from other users
- Follow people that fit your audience
Youtube
Now this is a channel that has millions upon millions of videos, subscribers content creators and resources. Creating a channel and uploading your visual styles takes minutes and you can start uploading straight away. Once you do, the algorithm will start picking up viewers and with your links in the description, is a great link for free traffic.
There are several things you need in order to make successful youtube videos:
- Keep consistent – upload videos regularly
- Good quality content – ensure you have the right things to say
- Write a detailed description
- Share links and list your social media channels
- Make the video interesting
- Create an eye-catching thumbnail
Collaborate with influencers
Ok, you might have to offer them something for free. But who thought an influencer would be a thing? Well it has been happening for many years. Influencers come in the form of athletes, movie stars, tv chefs and politicians to name but a few. So it is nothing new. But now we have so many more channels of interest. Youtube, TikTok, Instagram, these channels can work in the favor of the most successful influencers.
Working with them means you have an audience that watches, engages and more importantly gain trust of their followers. What they say, wear, eat, watch, travel to or even recommend is valuable to any brand. They know it too, some of the biggest influencers can charge huge fees. But if you choose an influencer that can work with you by offering a free product in return for a review, then this is a small outlay. Not completely free, unless you know them well enough.
- Offer something for free
- Get as much exposure as you can
- Set up tracking on your page to see how many come through
Conclusion
There are many sources of free traffic. There will be some work required and some research. Being able to target your audience, understand what they want to know is essential. Social media is a great source, but not the only one. Organic traffic is a great investment for the future, and overtime will be worth it.
The stand out is Youtube and is worth investing time and resources into it. The reach is good and over time, just like organic traffic, it will get better.
Like all of these methods, you will need to spend some time and research on your content and how you offer your links back. This won’t happen over night, however this is an important step in making your content easier to find for search engines.
One fundamental thing to consider is the quality of your content. Originality and relevance fall under the umbrella of quality content. So before you try any of these channels, make sure you have the quality to back it up.
