If you have a website, chances are you’ve heard of internet traffic. In a nutshell, internet traffic is the number of people you have visiting your site. There are several different types of internet traffic, and there are many different methods of boosting them. Here’s a crash course of all the different ways customers may navigate to your website.
Organic Search
One of the most common and important types of internet traffic is Organic Search. These are the visitors you get when customers reach your site via search results. Typically, these come from Google, but can include other search engines as well. Organic Search does not include paid ads, but it does cover visitors from your Google My Business Profile. Organic Search is usually your highest quality traffic as it is composed of customers that are directly searching for your store or your product. The best way to increase your Organic Search traffic is by increasing your search ranking, which is accomplished through consistent and strategic use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Your SEO can be improved by creating custom content on your website that is relevant to your dealership, and a blog can help with local signals.
Paid Search
Similar to Organic Search, Paid Search traffic comes from search engines, such as Google. The key difference is that Paid Search comes from paid listings on search results. These are the links you often see at the top of search results that have “Ad” listed next to the URL. This can be useful when you’re attempting to draw customers away from competitors, or just to guarantee you have the top listing for certain search terms. Increasing your Paid Search traffic is as simple as increasing your budget, but more doesn’t always mean better. This is a pay-to-play platform, so it’s important to analyze the quality of your traffic before increasing your budget.
Direct
Direct traffic refers to customers that visit your site by typing in your URL or via a saved bookmark in their browser. This can indicate repeat shoppers and long-term customers, but it is also where you’ll find the most spam traffic. Your Direct traffic will typically go up organically as other types of web traffic increase. The more people visit your site, the more they will remember your URL and visit it directly. It also helps to have a simple and catchy URL that you highlight in other advertising, such as TV commercials. For example, AnyTownHonda.com is much more memorable than AnyTownDiscountHondaWarehouse.com. When in doubt, simplify. You’ll be glad you did.
Display
Display traffic is comprised of all visitors you receive from paid display/graphic ads. These are ads that are generally placed on other websites via a display network. You pay for the placement, and the network displays your message on websites frequented by your target audience. Increasing this traffic is similar to increasing Paid Search. Upping your budget and refining your messaging are the best ways to bring in more Display traffic.
Referral
When a customer clicks on a link to your site from another site, it’s called Referral traffic. This is most common for new car dealerships being linked from OEM websites. You can also receive referral traffic from third-party sites, such as Autotrader.com or Cars.com. Getting involved in your community can also be a great way to generate high-quality Referral traffic. For example, if you sponsor a little league team and they post your website on the team page, clicks from that link would be counted as Referral traffic.
Social
Any time a customer visits your site from one of your social media profiles, that counts as Social traffic. This type of traffic is valuable because it can help you determine how well your social media campaigns are performing. The best way to increase your Social traffic is by actively posting unique content across all of your social media channels.
Email traffic is what you receive when a customer clicks on a link to your site from an email. This can include conquest e-blasts, newsletters, surveys, and any other email communication you have with a customer. The more emails you send, the higher your Email traffic will be. Automated CRM messaging will help bring in a steady flow of Email traffic, while a conquest e-blast will provide a large, one-time boost.
Generally speaking, a healthy mix of your top traffic providers would include Organic, Paid Search, and Direct. If you’d like more guidance on how to increase your internet traffic, the experts at the Automotive Advertising Agency are here to help. Our digital specialists will find the right mix to deliver motivated shoppers to your online storefront. Give us a call at 512-610-7300, or contact us at TheAutoAdAgency.com/contact/ for more information.
