Thinking of getting tons of free web traffic to your blog or other online properties?
Here’s what you need to know first – there’s no such thing as ‘free’ traffic.
Wait, what?
Yes, it’s true. While you’ll not be paying for it like you would with paid traffic (e.g., Google Ads, Facebook Ads), you’ll still be paying for free traffic with your TIME… and effort.
Make no mistake about that. There’s always a cost involved.
Like they say, time is money. You’ll need to put in a lot of time if you’re using free methods to drive traffic to your site.
The good news is that your efforts will reap dividends many times over in the future, and organic traffic does convert better than cold, paid traffic.
Now let’s look at the 7 fundamentals you need to master…
1. It always comes down to value.
Ultimately, whether you’re using YouTube or Facebook Groups or Pinterest to build a loyal audience who likes and trusts you – you MUST deliver outstanding value.
That means creating content that helps your niche audience. Give away some of your best tips and techniques for free. When you do that, your audience will believe that what you’re selling is even better.
Over and above that, they’ll not want to miss out on your other tips. What does that mean?
It means they’ll subscribe to your YouTube channel, they’ll follow your Facebook group closely, etc. They want to stay updated of your latest content. So, give them your BEST!
2. Frequency must be consistent, no excuses.
The more content you put out, the more eyeballs you’ll get on your videos, posts, etc. If they’re well-optimized for the search engines on the platforms, you will get organic traffic sooner or later.
So, aim to post daily. If you’re using YouTube as your free traffic method, a video a day is fantastic… or if that’s too much, how about 2 videos a week?
You MUST be consistent and relatively frequent. Aim to post at least one new piece of content a week.
3. Focus only on ONE traffic source.
Dispersing your efforts over multiple traffic methods will only weaken your results. The key to succeeding with free traffic will be to focus on just one method at a time.
For example, let’s assume you’ve chosen YouTube as your traffic method of choice.
Now your focus should be on creating engaging videos that get views, optimizing those videos, aiming for a high ‘watch time’ so that you can use monetization effectively and so on.
Once you’ve mastered YouTube, and you’re getting consistent results, NOW you may venture into testing another traffic method (e.g. Facebook groups). Ideally, you should be generating enough income with YouTube to allow you to outsource some tasks.
This will free up your time to work on the next traffic method. The goal is to maintain and scale up the traffic from YouTube, while trying to drive traffic from your Facebook groups.
That’s how you drive free traffic systematically. Always focus on one method and get it to work before starting on another.
The YouTube example above is just to give you an idea of how to approach it. But the principle applies across the board to any free traffic method you choose.
4. You must engage consistently.
If you’re using a Facebook group to drive traffic, engage with the people in your group. It’s called social media for a reason. You MUST be social.
If you’re posting videos on YouTube, do reply to comments on your videos and thank people who engage with your content. This is how you build goodwill and loyalty.
While you don’t need to reply to all comments, just replying to the first 5 or so will show that you’re present and listening to your audience.
5. Patience is a requirement.
As effective as it is, free traffic is a ‘long game’.
Unlike paid traffic where you get fast feedback, with free traffic, gaining traction takes time. But when it does, it will snowball.
So many beginners quit after 1 or 2 months, thinking that what they’re doing is not working. In reality, they just need to give it about 8-12 months.
What? That’s too long?
Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day… but they were laying bricks every hour. You’ll be building your online brand and empire with every single ‘brick’ of content you post.
It’ll take time and effort… but nothing worth having comes easy. So, keep at it.
6. Keep everything natural and conversational.
Most platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. are highly advanced and even intuitive. The algorithms can spot people trying to game the system a mile away.
So, avoid trying to take shortcuts by posting multiple duplicate videos with different titles (on YouTube) because you want more free traffic with less work. You just might end up getting your channel shut down.
The same applies to most platforms. Always be ‘natural’ and avoid keyword stuffing. Think like the audience on the platform. Don’t think like a marketer.
People like watching interesting videos on YouTube. Give that to them and you’ll succeed. In the same vein, Instagram and Pinterest users love attractive pictures. Give them those, and you’ll get tons of likes and repins.
It’s all about giving the audience what they want… and the platform’s algorithms will reward you for your efforts with more reach and favorable metrics.
7. Build your list aggressively.
Here’s a mantra to repeat – “I will NOT build my house on rented land!”
While you need the high traffic platforms to ‘siphon’ traffic, it’d be wise to remember that you’re playing in someone else’s sandbox. They can shut your account down in a second if they feel like you’re not complying with their rules.
This is a very real scenario that has happened to thousands of marketers who have lost entire YouTube channels, Facebook accounts and so on.
The best way to mitigate this problem will be to have links in your different web properties pointing viewers/readers to your landing page so that you can capture their emails in your autoresponder such as ConvertKit or AWeber.
Your list is your asset. Always make sure the people coming from your free traffic have multiple opportunities to get on your list.
Not only will you be able to build a relationship with them but should the social media platform (or whichever platform you’re using) shuts you down, you’ll still have your list.
All is not lost. You can still market to your list while you rebuild. Sounds tough, but that’s just the lay of the online land.
Keep these 7 free fundamentals in mind when working on getting free traffic. They may seem simple and almost obvious at a glance, but so many marketers neglect them.
Get them right, and you’ll see trickles of free traffic coming in at the beginning turning into an avalanche of traffic in a year or two. Get started today.
