We all know the saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and that certainly holds true for getting visitors to your website.  Most agencies think “I’ll just put up a site and all is right with the world” well, think again.  Think of your site as a “new business”, you need to tell people about it or no one will know about it.

In this article I’ll provide you with some simple (yet effective) ways you can help increase traffic to your site.   Like a new business, it is important to work at this in order to see results. Invest at least 2 hours per week in getting your site seen using some, or all of the points covered in this article.  If you truly want more visits to your site then you MUST work to get them.  Remember, the more time you invest, the more return you’ll get.  This holds true with anything.

The points listed here are to help motivate your creative thinking.  I can’t give you all the answers because I don’t have all the answers.  You know your business better than anyone else.

1. Offer free, original, and quality content on your site. – This is probably the most effective of the points mentioned.  You must continue to provide your visitors reasons to come back to your site.  Ideas may include:
   • Providing a blog of insurance tips or helpful resources
   • Adding a video to your site that will help the insured
   • Insurance word of the week (make it fun)
2. Advertise your website – Take some time and think of all the ways you can get your website noticed.  Some may included:
   • Paid banner advertising on your local news paper or other popular sites.   Most banner advertising is month-to-month and depending on the popularity of the site will determine the monthly amount you will pay each month.
   • Put your website on a billboard.
   • Be sure that your site is listed on every piece of correspondence you handout.  Your email, mail and don’t forget your business cards.
   • Shopping cart advertising
3. Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing – These are great tools to promote your site in search engines.  Because of the importance, I will be expanding on how to use them to their fullest potential in next month’s article, but here are the basics to get you started.
   • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – This is used to help your site get found when internet users search Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. The good news is that the accuBenefit sites are already setup for SEO.  With a little work on your end, you can be found with improvements in your title pages, keywords, and key phrases. I’ll go into more detail on SEO in next month’s article.  You see what I did here?  I’m making it so that you come back for more.
   • SEM (Search Engine Marketing) – This is paid adverting on Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc.  SEM in conjunction with SEO help with site visibility.
4. Monitor your sites activity – accuBenefits comes equipped with Google Analytics built in and is located on your Dashboard.  Another cool tool is a heat map which tells you where your visitors are clicking on your site.  These help you alter your site so that it is easier for your visitors to use and find what they want.  Email or call us and we’d be happy to setup the heat map for you.

I hope these points help get your creative thinking moving and we wish you the very best success with your accuBenefits website.

We’d love to hear feedback from you so feel free to post a comment.  Next months article will be on SEO / SEM.