Plenty of firms doing business online, whether B2B or B2C find themselves in the same position.
There are plenty of marketing metrics, but one way or another, after steady growth, inbound traffic slows down to the point that it’s consistent but not increasing. Traffic hasn’t dropped enough to hit the alarms and do a major overhaul, but it has hit an unpleasant plateau.
In this case, there are several things you can do to try to break the slump. Here are 4 tips for overcoming a traffic plateau:
1. Make sure your content is relevant.
If your traffic has hit a plateau, take a look at who is engaging with your brand. If your social media engagement isn’t growing, you may not be responding to news and industry developments fast enough to engage readers. Similarly, if your blog numbers are stagnating or decreasing, that is evidence that you might not be properly responding to contemporary trends.
In addition to re-evaluating your output, you should make an additional effort to expand your audience. Make sure that your timely and relevant content is reaching the most eyes by guest blogging, when it’s possible, or presenting your expertise on sites like LinkedIn and Quora. If you want to leave a traffic slump in the past, find somewhere to be more active and visible to readers, and keep your output relevant.
2. Expand the scope of your content.
The cornerstone of your digital marketing strategy is most likely a library of authoritative content on your field. If you’re experiencing a traffic plateau, it may be time to consider offering more kinds of content.
Infographics have long been an attractive alternative to traditional blog posts. These attractive sets of images are highly shareable, easy-to-digest, and generally entertaining to read. The reason that they aren’t more common is mostly because they require as much research as a blog post while requiring graphic design, too. If you’re looking to grow your readership, it may be time to invest in this kind of content.
Podcasts have also been increasingly popular. In 2017, for instance, Forbes magazine wrote of “an enormous surge of popularity” for the medium. Forbes explains that there are numerous causes for the popularity of podcasts today, including screen fatigue, the mobility enabled by smartphones, and most importantly, an incredibly low cost-to-value ratio. Most companies have yet to offer a podcast due to their unfamiliarity with the medium, but all you really need is a good microphone and the ability to communicate something interesting and relevant for more than a few minutes.
If you want to break out of a stagnant period, it’s time to think about offering something new.
3. Take up long-tail keywords.
Let’s say that your firm is doing very well as far as inbound traffic among highly competitive keywords. First of all, congratulations! You’re in a position that many firms would envy. But if you want to keep growing, it might be time to compete for long-tail keywords.
“Long-tail” searches aren’t in the top 100 most searched-for terms, or even in the top thousand. However, according to a 2016 study by Moz, long-tail keywords are a full 70% of online searches. This means that a majority of search terms are being largely ignored. Better still, since a long-tail search is so much more specific than a broad keyword search, users are more likely to be further along the buyer’s funnel.
If you want to expand your scope in order to keep your traffic growing, incorporate long-tail keywords into your plan. Find what keywords are bringing prospects to your site, and see if you can appeal to their specific needs.
4. Optimise your appeals through A/B testing.
Sometimes, the problem may not be how you’re putting your content out, but the nature of the content itself.
Whether it’s headlines, opt-in-forms, or other written appeals. If an opt-in form is too vague, too high-pressure, or not compelling enough, a prospect just isn’t going to opt in, plain and simple.
Some simple A/B testing can give you hard data on whether your appeals are as effective as they can be. Put your existing copy head to head with something that might be more compelling. If the new text is more appealing, you’ll have metrics to prove it, and you’ll know what the problem was.
Conclusion
This isn’t a complete list of everything you can do to get traffic climbing again, but it is a good start. If you find that small changes aren’t enough, or you want to see traffic climb fast, reach out and we’d be happy to talk!
