A great website is one of the most important investments business owners make in the current business climate. But if your site isn’t receiving many (or any) visitors, your investment could be going to waste. Do you want to improve your website traffic? Read on.

No matter how much you’ve spent on a beautiful design, or how many hours you’ve spent making sure the copy represented your brand perfectly, there is no guarantee that prospects who have never heard of your business will look you up online. Getting traffic to your website isn’t that different to getting customers to a shop. lf your shop is tucked away in an alley without a sign and you don't advertise, there’s a good chance that the only new customers you get stumble across it by mistake.

Here are ways to increase your website traffic:

1. Submitting your site to search engines

To have your site appear when people type in a keyword, it’s critical that search engines know about your site. To do that, you can either submit your site manually by visiting each and every search engine on the web or you can enlist the services of someone to do it for you.

Just go to one or more of the Search Engine sites below and look for the “submit site” link:

• Google — www.google.com
• Yahoo — www.yahoo.com
• Looksmart — www.looksmart.com
• Altavista — www.altavista.com
• Anzwers — www.anzwers.com.au
• NineMsn — www.ninemsn.com

Another point to consider is paying for search engine indexation. Most of the major search engines now offer paid indexing where, for a small fee, you can ensure your site gets indexed quickly and/or you can guarantee a high placement. With the major search engines, this is well worth the money.

2. Actively and regularly promoting your website to your client base

Your website can be fantastic for helping convert more prospects into clients. With a website, you have much more space to include copy that features extra proof that your company has what it takes to deliver the goods. It can also feature a lot of tips and information that positions you as a leader in the field. It’s also excellent for creating connection with your audience — really engaging them and creating a sense of community by including forums, chat rooms, membership areas and so forth.

To maximize the traffic you generate from your clients and prospects it's important that your website address appears on:

• Letterhead and all stationery
• Business cards
• Shop signage
• At the foot of all advertising

And make sure you actively encourage your existing customers to visit your website as often as possible, and naturally give them a reason to do that.

3. Advertise in off-line media, such as newspapers, magazines etc.

It’s important to use traditional media to promote your site. Naturally the extent to which you’ll do this will depend on your budget. However with print media, the good news is that your ad doesn't need to be exceptionally large because all you’re trying to sell in your advertising is visits to your website. Classified advertising and small, matchbox-sized display ads are particularly effective in promoting a FREE reopen or e-book which respondents can download from your website. It’s a relatively inexpensive way of generating leads in a non-time-intensive way.