You likely have a business website (or know you need a business website) to get found online. Hopefully it’s achieving that goal! But your website should be doing more for you than getting you found by potential customers. If you’re smart, you can put it to work keeping current customers engaged and coming back for more. Consider your website your 24/7 customer service sidekick (Batman, meet Robin). If it’s doing what it’s supposed to, it should increase traffic to your business website and help customers self-serve information, book appointments, buy products and answer any questions they would have otherwise had to contact you about.

Luckily, we know how to get them to your website. Here’s how:

Include your business website in your email signature and on your business card.

Tackle the “low-hanging fruit” first. Consider every touchpoint with customers an opportunity to get your website’s link into their hands. You may think emails without signatures seem friendlier or more personal, but this is your business we’re talking about. By adding a signature that includes your website, you’re showing you care about your brand.

Same goes for your business cards. The recipe for a perfect business card includes your business’s logo, your name, a phone number and email address, and you absolutely can’t forget your website’s URL. That way, your cards will serve as pocket-sized reminders of how you can help your customers not only in person but online.

Link to your business’s website in text messages.

If you’re texting your customers promotions and sending them appointment reminders, don’t forget to link back to your website. A customer who regularly browses your website is more likely to be upsold or to buy add-on services than one who hasn’t been made more aware of your offerings online.

Try not to simply text the link to your website. You need an incentive, or a reason for your customers to click through. Looking for some best practices?

  • Ask customers to confirm their appointment(s). When they click through, they’ll land on your website.
  • Include special promotions. But, make customers click through to your website to redeem any coupons.
  • Link to clearance and sale items on your website, and allow customers to self-serve by browsing these items on their own.
Consider offering free shipping.

According to a 2014 survey done by MarketingSherpa, 83% of consumers say free shipping would make them more likely to shop online. If you’re feeling super savvy, you can even implement a minimum dollar amount per order to qualify for free shipping, which encourages customers to spend more than they might have otherwise.

Buy Facebook ads.

Many local business owners associate Facebook ads with getting traffic to their social media pages. But Facebook ads aren’t just for Facebook. They’re incredibly effective at getting clicks through to landing pages and websites. Facebook does a great job of helping local business owners clarify the goals of your advertising. In this case, you’d choose “increasing website traffic” as your main objective.

For the best results, consider buying ads that display in the News Feed. These large, clickable images look great on both desktop and mobile devices. They’re designed with larger images and offer additional space to showcase your products and services. (Literally, everything within the ad is clickable, from the photo, to the text box and call-to-action button.) Facebook offers tons of help on optimizing these ads to drive traffic to your site.

Bonus Points: Put your website on a vehicle wrap.

Most vehicle wraps cost less than $3,000. For this price, you get several years’ marketing and extended exposure for your business. According to Outdoor Advertising Association of America:

  • One car wrap can garner between 30,000-70,000 impressions in one day alone.
  • Fleet vehicle advertising boosts name recognition 15 times greater than any other form of advertising.
  • More than 95% of Americans are reached by media targeting vehicle drivers and passengers.

With these numbers pointing to the amount of attention a vehicle wrap can earn your business, it has serious implications for the website traffic you could influence using a vehicle wrap. Pro tip: Before you purchase a wrap, ask for a warranty that protects the wrap itself and your car’s OEM paint as well.

Seal the deal. Turn an increase in traffic into an increase in sales.

Once you’ve got customers visiting your site regularly, ensure your site caters to them in addition to prospects. How?

  • Include information about your loyalty program. Offer points or free services for every $500 spent or 5 appointments completed.
  • Talk about your product or service not just as a “new, better way” to get something done. Offer ongoing support for those who have already bought from you. Do this by offering upgraded or adjacent products, phase two service options, extended warranties and more.
  • If your website is able, offer unique customer logins so returning customers can see information about their particular account, including past purchases, credit card and shipping information and any open invoices.

We offer assistance with all of the above. Let’s chat about how we can help.