I was inspired to write this quote after several conversations with my relatives, clients, and other people. Indeed, they didn’t understand why they weren’t getting any traffic on their websites.

Many think that, because they have a beautiful and functional website, people will visit it… just like that! Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

In this post, I will try to explain why this is not the case and what to do to change that.

Traffic is not Magic.

For the sake of argument, I will use the example of an e-commerce website.

Them: I don’t understand why my website doesn’t get a lot of visitors. I think there’s a problem.

Me:  why would people visit your website?

Them: Because it’s well crafted, and I sell useful products at a great price.

Me: Oh, okay. Have you done or do you regularly do any of the following to drive traffic to your site?

• Create links to your website on other platforms? (Social networks for, i.e.)

• Have a mailing list, and use it to send regular updates to your prospects?

• Have a blog?

• Tag your products on your social media posts?

• Registered your business with a listing of local businesses in your area?

As you may have sensed, the answer to all these questions is probably no.

But I had no idea!

Don’t get me wrong: “¹you don’t know what you don’t know”, and I certainly don’t expect anyone to guess these principles or rules on how to get traffic to a website.

The goal of this post is to show that there is still a lot of work to do AFTER your website has gone live. If you don’t tell the world about you, well, the world won’t know you exist.

As a web designer, I personally make sure to talk to my clients about these different aspects. I also always activate options and modules that I’m sure they will need in the long run, like the possibility to subscribe to a newsletter for i.e.

If you knew how many have exclaimed: “But I won’t send a newsletter!” Just to come back a few weeks or months later, happy that the option was there, with a growing list of subscribers 😊

Now what?

You have to give your future clients a reason to buy your products by showing them what they look like, their cost, and where to find them.

Traffic doesn’t spontaneously generate out of the blue. When you are a new business, you need a strong online presence to stay in people’s mind.

When you launch an online business, you have to be prepared to manage everything around it. Luckily, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. You can hire professionals well-versed in online marketing who can help you set realistic goals and reach them.

Moreover, your brand has to look and sound professional to attract your target audience and finally convert your prospects into customers. That’s where your branding comes in. You can read more about it in this post.

In conclusion

As you may have understood by now, Traffic is not Magic. That is why we talk about driving traffic: making it go where you want it to → your website.

You have to be ready to invest in your business if you want to see it grow and prosper. If well-known brands still invest in marketing and publicity, even though their reputations are already established, why don’t you?

So, if you can’t write properly, hire a copywriter. He/she will write your content (posts, newsletter, product description,…) using the proper tone.

If you need good pictures of your products — not if — then contact a photographer.

Surround yourself with people who are good at their jobs and know what they’re doing. It will pay off.

Thanks for reading 😊

---

¹ Socrates