How to Build Business Using Free Traffic

When business owners think about driving traffic, or visitors, to their website, they invariably start worrying about the cost of paid traffic. Historically they might be right to worry. With the amount of competition around, these days no matter how great your product or service is, getting it to market and making some noise can be a challenge.

Fortunately for you, we’ve put together some ways that you can build your business through free traffic that is available to anyone.

How to Build Business Using Free Traffic Available to Everyone

To build your business using free traffic, consider where your customers hang out- both online and at other businesses. Present your brand in these places.

Referrals

This is one of the simplest ways to generate new business. But it is so commonly overlooked, it’s almost criminal.

If you think about it, you have a customer avatar, right? That is to say you know who your customer is generally- the ideal person that will spend their money for your services. And who knows people like that? Your current customers, of course.

We all have personal networks with similar interests, belief systems and values. Therefore if there’s something you find useful, your friends probably will too. This is why social media work so well- people share things to get a response from others.

While you might assume that people automatically refer friends and family to businesses they find valuable, the truth is that they don’t always do this. It’s not because they don’t want to; rather, it is that people are concerned with matters of their own, and can easily forget. So help them out by giving a little nudge. A referral system can be as simple as a note at the end of an email asking your client to forward the information to anyone who could benefit from your services. If you add an incentive your referral program, you increase your chances of getting results.

Remember: the simple act of asking can dramatically increase your traffic and business.

Online Communities – Social Media

For some, social media is an escape from their reality; it is entertainment and distraction. Yet for most of the population, social media is a way to connect to folks with similar interests and goals. Fortunately, there are groups for just about anything. Join a few groups and add value, share content, answer questions and be friendly and approachable. If you do this when you are asked (and you will be) you can refer community members to the website of your product or service- to someone you have built a relationship with. For some companies that have a large digital presence, this is a primary method to build business using free traffic.

LinkedIn and Facebook are a great place to start.

Joint Ventures

Here’s something that may surprise you: you are not alone in this challenge. Business owners everywhere are trying to figure out how to get traffic to their site and convert those visitors into paying customers.

The awesome thing about this is that the customers you need are already out there. They are rummaging around the internet, trying to find providers of valuable services for their needs. Your whole traffic game changes when you stop looking at other service providers as competitors, and instead start collaborating.

For example: let’s say you are an industry consultant. If you wanted to focus on bringing in new customers through your business doors, where would you find people looking for your services? What shops would they already be in? Here are a few places you might find them: realtors, insurance brokers, contractors’ offices, attorneys and equipment and machine rentals businesses. Why? These are places your prospects could be when they are preparing to open their doors.

So let’s take this back online. Your future customers are already on these websites looking for complementary services. Rather than competing with those people, who offer something you don’t and have no desire to, collaborate with them. Approach the business owners with offers such as:

• Reciprocal emailing: you email your list about them and they reciprocate.
• Reciprocal advertising space: you place an ad about them on your site and so do they.

These are called joint ventures. This is a great method to build business using free traffic.

Affiliates

A strategy that is far too underutilized is that of affiliates. If you aren’t familiar with them, affiliates make money by selling other people’s products. They are also commonly referred to as brokers. Up front payment is not required. Instead, they take a percentage of the sales they make on your behalf. Decide what percentage is still profitable for your business and provide that to them. The more you can pay them the harder they will sell for you. Just imagine: an entire army of commission-based sales people out there building your business for you. It is a great way to increase your brand awareness and bring in customers.

Be Smart About How You Build

Consider from the above options what works best for your business. The important thing to keep in mind is that when you reach out to and build your network, you increase your chances of finding customers that call you with an appetite for your services.

About Scale Funding

Scale Funding is an invoice factoring company serving businesses across the United States. For more information on factoring, call (800) 707-4845 for a free, no-obligation consultation and quote.