All Marketing Channels to Drive Website Traffic in 2018

If you want to grow and expand your MSP business, then you have absolutely no choice:

You have to drive traffic to your site continuously.

And for that, you must use various marketing channels that can send new visitors to your homepage, service pages or the blog.

And if you’re unsure what channels to use, then we have something you’ll truly love. A complete list of all channels that can drive more traffic to your MSP site.

Naturally, you don’t have to use them all. But hopefully, with this guide, you’ll be able to select the ones that you’d like to use to grow your business.

Note: We divided the channels into two groups. One includes those that can send traffic to your homepage or other website pages. The other focuses on strategies to attract more visitors to your blog or content. Having said that, some channels work in both situations. And you might see them repeated in each section. In such situations, we aimed to ensure that the channel’s overview reflects the section of the site to which it would attract more traffic.

And where applicable, we referenced our other content that could help you learn more about those channels.

So, let’s begin.

Part I. Channels Driving Traffic to the Website

#1. SEO

SEO aims to position webpages in the Google’s search results to attract more people interested in your services. By optimizing pages on your website for relevant keywords, and increasing the domain’s authority with links, you can rank your site and attract more customers.

Some of our SEO advice to help you learn more:

#2. Local SEO

Local SEO is a branch of search engine optimization that focuses on positioning businesses in front of searchers in their immediate location. Local search results not only present a business but also, deliver local business information, helping customers connect with a business much faster.

Our Local SEO advice:

#3. Business Directories

Business directories like Yelp or YP.com give customers access to almost unlimited number of potential vendors. What’s more, their rating system helps them quickly select the most viable company to solve their problem.

#4. Local Business Directories

Many customers also turn to local business directories online to find vendors that could help alleviate their problems. Creating business listings in those directories will help position your company and the websites in front of relevant buyers.

Examples of local business directories include Alignable, Silive and many others.

#5. Google Ads

Google Ads (formely Adwords) allow you to place highly-targeted ads that appear in the Google’s Search Results. Your ads can be triggered by specific keywords and location ensuring that only the most relevant customers will see them.

#6. Social Media Profiles

Social media offers an incredible opportunity to promote your content and in turn, build and engage an audience. But it can also send traffic directly to your website. How, by featuring information about your business and a link to your website in the profile description.

#7. Display Ads

Google Display Ads use visuals instead of text to promote a company, product or service. Moreover, you can set them up to appear on IT-related websites your potential customers could frequent for relevant advice.

#8. Interviews

Getting interviewed offers an incredible opportunity to build your reputation as an IT expert. Plus, most publications will reference your company in the interview and include a link back to your site, giving readers a chance to visit your website.

#9. Press Coverage and PR

Similarly, the majority of news mentions about your brand will include a link to your site. For that reason, it’s worth engaging with the media and securing references of your business in relevant news.

#10. Direct Mail

Offline strategies like direct mail or postcard marketing can help attract visitors to your MSP too. As long as you provide the recipient with strong reasons to learn more about your company, and a link to your site, they will feel compelled to visit it.

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#11. Slack Communities

Messaging apps like Slack bring coworkers together, allowing even the most dispersed teams complete their work. But what’s more, various Slack communities group people with similar interests to share knowledge and experience.

Joining Slack channels that your target customers frequent gives you the opportunity to position yourself as an expert. Although you can’t include your website link in the profile, you can add your email, including the domain. Someone interested in your advice might use it to visit your site directly.

#12. Referral Traffic

Finally, bloggers and webmasters referencing your IT business in their content might send you relevant visitors too. Albeit time consuming, this strategy could generate good coverage about your company, raise your brand awareness, and result in a greater traffic to the site.

Some resources about this strategy worth reading:

#13. Guest Posting

Guest posting, otherwise known as guest blogging, is a strategy in which you place your content on a 3^rd party website. The goal, to position yourself as an expert and raise your brand awareness.

But what’s more, the majority of publications lets you place a link back to your site in the author bio. Audiences often use those links to learn more about the author of the content they’ve just read.

Part II. How to Drive Traffic to Your Content

#14. SEO

Optimizing your blog posts and other content for relevant keywords helps position them in front of potential buyers looking for this advice. Using content to rank allows to target a greater number of keywords, and quickly build up your brand’s search visibility.

#15. Social Media

Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn give you the opportunity to promote your content to relevant audiences and attract them to read it.

#16. Social Media Ads

Similarly, most social networks offer the option to place paid ads to promote your content. What’s more, when using social media advertising, you gain access to a whole range of targeting options. You can reach not only your followers but display your content to users that match your ideal audience characteristics.

#17. Email Newsletter

Notifying your email subscribers, clients and leads (providing you have their permission) about every new piece you write will attract some of them back to the site as well.

We’ve been using this strategy successfully for the last couple of years. In fact, chances are that you discovered this post from our email notifications too.

#18. Podcast Interviews

One could argue that podcast interviews could send traffic back to the site. That’s providing that the podcast host places your website link in the show notes, of course. But many seasoned podcast guests admit that the strategy works best if you reference your specific content during the show. Any live reference will always get a mention in the show notes. And listeners might feel compelled to visit the resource.

#19. Quora and Online Forums

Every day your potential customers ask questions on Quora or online forums regarding their IT-related problems. But apart from providing in-depth answers, participating in those discussions lets you promote your existing content on the topic. Anyone interested in learning more about it will, most likely, visit your page to consume the content.

And that’s it…

Now you know what channels to use to attract more visitors to your website and blog.

What’s left is to start implementing the most viable channels into your marketing.

Good luck.

The Complete List of All Marketing Channels to Drive More Traffic to an MSP Site in 2018