How to Get Traffic to Your Website FREE (mostly): 50+ MUST Know Options

It’s all about traffic! Today I’m sharing the BIG list of places to get traffic to your website free of charge and updated for 2020. Strap on friends, we are going to cover it ALL!

Have you created detailed blog posts, finished up an amazing lead magnet, created a spectacular offer, crafted a fantastic sales funnel, and now are struggling to get that amazing content seen?

Is it more crickets, than rocket ships?

The ugly truth is that the best post in the world won’t mater if no one knows about it. Womp-womp!

So while it’s critical to create a sturdy foundation upon which to grow your blog based business, the key here is to get eyes on your content and offers!

So today I’m sharing my BIG list of places where you can promote your content, so you can get traffic to your website free.

Now please remember that you do NOT need to be everywhere, that will lead to some serious burnout, instead use this list to brainstorm where YOUR potential buyers spend their time.

Once you know where your people are at, then you can create a strategy that focuses building your presence on that platform.

THE BIG LIST TO GET TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE FREE IN 2020

Ok folks, here is the BIG list of places where you can promote your blog content in 2019 and get traffic to your website free, PLUS a boatload of resources to actually apply the strategies! Because I wasn’t just going  to give you a list and then offer you zero resources, you know that’s NOT how I roll!

Drum-roll!

1. First, make sure your SEO is on point so you can eventually rank on Google – Learn how here at MOZ

2. Start guest posting on relevant blogs in your niche – Learn how here with Neil Patel and in this post from Backlinko

3. Invite qualified guest bloggers to your site as they’ll also be promoting the content – Learn how here with Elna from Twins Mommy

4. Start emailing and networking with other bloggers for shares and connection – Learn how with Catherine Oneissy. I’ve also found Instagram to be great for Networking (on my other website).

5. Write a roundup post where you feature other bloggers and politely ask them to share – Learn how with Neil Patel and here with SmartBlogger

6. Be a guest on a related podcast (and be ready to tactfully promote your opt-in–with permission of course) – Learn how here with Podcast Motor and here with Neil Patel .

7. Comment on relevant niche specific posts (use your URL or @handle) – Learn how with the SEO perspective in mind here at Search Engine Journal, and here with a more organic approach with Twins Mommy and Uncork Your Dork

8. Run a viral giveaway that target YOUR audience – Learn how with Noah from OkDork

9. Post in relevant niche specific Facebook groups (This is one of my favorite methods) – Learn how with Nataly of Love an Paper Flowers 

10. Do helpful Facebook lives on your own Facebook page – Learn how from QuickSprout

11. Grow your following on Instagram and promote your offers and content strategically – Learn how with Later

12. Start a YouTube channel and post targeted and helpful videos – Learn how with my post here

13. Create a targeted Pinterest strategy (pins, Groups, Tailwind Tribes) – Learn how from Moms Make Cents

14. Post and share on Twitter (posts, chats) – Learn how from Social Media Examiner

15. Post and share on Reddit – Learn how from Neil Patel

16. Post and share on Tumblr – Learn how from Blogging Wizard

17. Post on Snapchat or work with Influencers on Snapchat – Learn how from Digital Information World

18. Grow your network on LinkedIn (publishing, roundups) – Learn how from WishPond

19. Post and (desperately try to get traction–note the sarcasm) on your blog’s Facebook page – Learn how from the magicians at SEM Rush

20. Post on your quality content on Buzzfeed and hopefully you’ll get promoted – Learn how from Matthew Barby

21. Answer targeted questions on Quora – Learn how from Neil Patel (yes, him again, he’s a genius, what can I say)

22. Post regularly on Medium – Learn how from Smart Blogger, Finding Tom, and (of course) Neil Patel

23. Create slides about your posts and post them to SlideShare – Learn how from SmartBlogger, Neil Patel, and Socially Sorted.

24. Create a free Kindle self-published e-book to offer on Amazon and promote your lead-magnet/opt-in as a bonus within the book – Learn how from Gillian Perkins

25. Post from and submit your content to Flipboard – Learn how with Shout Me Loud

26. Submit your content to Feedly – Learn how from Matthew Woodward

27. Submit your content to AllTop – Learn how, see link above

28. Submit your content to Triberr – See link for #25

29. Submit your content to Scoop.it – Learn more here

30. Submit your content to List.ly – Learn more here

31. Use Quuu Promote to promote your content – Learn more from Social Fusion and Marketing Logiq

32. Submit your content to Viral Content Bee – Learn how from Words By Justin

33. Submit your content to Bloglovin – Learn more from Helene in Between

34. Join HARO (help a reporter out) – Learn how from Quick Sprout and ahrefs

35. Submit a Press Release to PR Newswire or other popular newswire websites – Learn more from CoSchedule

 

By the way, I made you something awesome and it’s FREEEEEEEE! Click to Join!

 

36. Host or attend a local Meetup and share your helpful expertise and network while organically promoting your website and offers (I personally LOVE local Meetups and have used them to grow my businesses in a very natural and organic way, plus I’ve made a lot of new friends!) – Learn how with Freshbooks 

37. Post flyers, postcards, and/or business cards in brick and mortar locations – Yes this isn’t online BUT depending on your niche and where you leave your materials this can be a nice boost and yield higher conversions. If you offer any kind of services or coaching this can bring great results. If your target market is made up of local businesses or if your target buyer frequents any local businesses this can also be perfect for you. Plus chances are your competition isn’t doing this!

38. Leave helpful detailed reviews on Amazon.com for related products and organically mention your related content – Okay, I’ve never seen this promoted as tactic by any blogger, BUT I have come across reviews that were super helpful and organically mentioned a complementary resource that seemed to truly drive traffic to that link.

For example, under a popular medicinal mushroom supplement you might see a review about XYZ blogger who explained the 28 reason’s why this mushroom was so amazing. It’s basically reverse affiliate marketing and personally I think it’s genius as long as your review is authentic in the first place AND you mix in other honest reviews, plus keep it super helpful and NOT spammy. And finally for best results try to either be one of the first helpful reviews for a popular product, or a fantastic review for a trending (but related) product. This way you’ll get upvoted and appear higher.

39. Post within targeted and relevant sections of Craigslist – Yes I know, but it’s free and plenty of reputable businesses still use Craigslist for everything from hiring employees to finding a babysitter. People are here because they are looking for solutions right now, maybe instead of hiring someone your post or offer can solve their problem. It won’t work for all niches but it if you offer services, or info products it can definitely be a viable target. I live in Los Angeles an have seen this used as a strategy by several bloggers. I do think the key to success is in the delivery (your copy) and the graphics you use, along with the section you post in, and make sure to obscure your personal email address and use their forwarding address.

 

And a few paid options worth mentioning to give your content a big boost

 

40. Run Facebook paid ads – Learn more with my post here

41. Run Instagram paid ads – Learn how from AdEspresso

42. Run YouTube paid ads – Learn from YouTube’s Creator Academy and Hubspot

43. Use Pinterest Promoted Pins (paid ads) – Learn more from Simple Pin Media and Alisa Meredith (I also highly recommend the paid course, PinPractical Promotions)

44. Run Twitter paid ads – Learn how from Hootsuite

45. Run Reddit paid ads – Learn how from Neil Patel and Single Grain

46. Run LinkedIn paid ads – Learn how from Sprout Social and AdEspresso

47. Run Google Ads – Learn how from Single Grain

48. Advertise on a related podcast – Advertisecast can help you out

49. Run local ads on the NextDoor App – Especially useful if you offer services or anything your neighborhood would be interested in. Learn more here.

50. Sponsor a Meetup Group – If you don’t have time to attend a Meetup Group, how about just sponsoring one? Great for local brands. Learn more here.

51. Pay an big (or micro) influencer in your niche to share your offer/product/service, also known as influencer marketing – Learn more from Neil Patel, ahrefs,  Single Grain, and Zoe Linda

52. Use any of the smaller alternative ad networks – Learn more from Single Grain

53. Get featured in big publications – I snagged Susie Moore’s Course 5 Minutes to Famous for more on this!

54. Get your brand on TikTok – Learn more from HootSuite

Of course don’t forget the obvious like including share buttons on your site, uploading share worthy graphics, beautiful pins, obsession worthy videos, easy click-to-tweet boxes…and fantastic high quality content!

Phew! That was a big list! And of course don’t forget to only focus on places that make sense for YOUR audience.

But I’m still not done…

 

CHOOSE YOUR TRAFFIC WISELY

It’s also important to remember not all traffic is created equal. Some sources of traffic will be more lucrative (higher conversions) than others, so target wisely. That said, every little bit counts!

The great thing is that for some of these sites, you won’t need to spend too much time, I’m a big fan of things that can work (mostly) on autopilot.

Much of the social media work can be automated using schedulers, and RSS feeds are also automated after the initial setup.

Remember not to lose sight of the goal, you don’t want traffic for the sake of having vanity metrics, you want conversions. These will likely be sign-ups to your email list (and this entering your sales funnel) and/or purchases of your paid offers.

The key here is to make sure that you are choosing platforms where YOUR ideal buyers are most likely to be.

I talk a lot about how to target your ideal buyer in my free course as well as my premium course, The Evergreen Funnel Blueprint, but the key here is always target your buyer. (Have I said that enough)

If you’ve targeted the right platforms the next step is to have a solid strategy for that platform. Promoting on Pinterest is VERY different than Instagram, and completely different than Quora.

Each platform will have it’s own unique set of strategies so make sure you are being careful and thoughtful about your plan for each site.

Another important key is to be consistent. You won’t see results overnight. In fact most free platforms will require a steady pace for at least 3-6 months before seeing a sizable return on all that time.

Finally, remember that BEFORE you start promoting your content you should have all your ducks in a row.

• Your website should be on point and setup to convert – Learn more about that in my post here and here
• Your lead magnet/opt-in should be ready and targeted to your ideal buyer – Learn more in my FREE course
• Your posts should be targeted to your ideal buyer and optimized for conversion – Learn more about that in my killer post here
• Your paid offers should be ready or in the works (and remember even small affiliate sales can yield good revenue if you have a good sales funnel) – Learn more about that in my post here and here
• You should be prepared to nurture your new subscribers and buyers with even more high quality content – I talk about this and more in my signature course

If you miss the steps above all that new traffic won’t amount to much!

Everything you do here should be targeting YOUR ideal buyers. It doesn’t matter what niche you are in. It doesn’t matter if your paid offer is an affiliate upsell or an online course or one-on-one coaching, everyone has an ideal buyer unique to them. Target this audience to maximize your growth efforts.

 

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In the next post we’ll take a deeper dive into my three favorite places to promote your content, click here to read, Your 2020 Guide to Increase Blog Traffic and Make Money NOW.

Ok friends, that’s it for today! I hope you find the content I create and share with you valuable!

EVERYTHING I create is to help YOU grow your blog based business!

Much love!

~Ixchelle

 

Don’t forget to grab your epic freebie! Learn to create Lead Magnets that bring BUYERS!

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