You’re sick of posting on social media. I get it. You want to know how to get traffic to your website without social media. I support it. Let’s goooo.
It can be overwhelming to master marketing on even one social media platform, but when you’re constantly being told that trends are shifting or algorithms are changing, it can be especially discouraging.
Not to mention, engagement on social media is on a steady decline. If you’ve been feeling this as well, you’re not crazy.
As user behavior changes, it’s important to consider other ways you can bring traffic to your website (and eyes to your business) without social media.
And listen, I am a pro-yapper over on Threads. While I see Instagram to be a necessary evil, I genuinely enjoy Threads and it’s greatly improved my business (you can learn more about that here.)
Investing in ways to get traffic to your website without social media is genuinely going to be a use of your time that yields a high ROI.
As in, ranking on Google is going to get you a lot more visibility than a single post on social media. Duh.
So, while I’m not getting off social media, I’m also not letting up on other ways to get traffic. This is what I would recommend to you too.
1. Blogging! This will make marketing off social media easier for SO many reasons…
Ok, before we get into the rest of these, I want to drill it into your head that blogging will make so many other items on this list immensely easy for you. If your priority is to not be on social media, I honestly don’t see a reasonable way you can do that without blogging (sorry, not sorry.)
So, get into a good practice of writing blogs. If you’re just getting started, check out my blog post template here as a jumping off point.
2. Invest in your SEO and AEO
Ok, blogging is objectively good for SEO, but it’s not the only thing that impacts your SEO.
When you write blogs that are relevant to topics your ideal clients will be searching for, it increases the chance that you will show up in Google AI overviews and AEO searches too (Answer Engine Optimization.)
But you also need to make sure that the main pages of your website (like Home, Service, About, etc.) are optimized for SEO and AI searches.
Why? Because when people search or ask AI directly about finding businesses, service providers, or products that your business is a fit for, you definitely want your website recommending you because these people are primed to buy.
3. Pinterest marketing
Now, Pinterest is a great opportunity for long-term ROI for your effort. Admittedly, this isn’t one I’ve invested a whole lot of effort into, but I know other people who swear by it.
But remember what I told you about blogging? I promise you, Pinterest will not be worth your time unless you are also blogging.
This is because of how users behave on Pinterest. Posting a bunch of links with pretty graphics to your home page or services page isn’t going to be useful because people use Pinterest to pin helpful content they want to refer back to.
Blog posts are ideal links to use for pins because they contain content that is actually interesting for users.
And if you really want to be winning at Pinterest, you have to combine it with the next tip:
4. Build your email list
Having an email list is ideal because it’s an engaged group of people you have direct access to. Unlike social media algorithms, which could decide not to show your content to most of your followers, your email list means you have a direct link to people who have already opted in to hear from you.
If I were you, I’d make sure each blog post linked to one of your freebies, which then got people onto your email list. Assuming you’re following every tip listed so far, you’ll now be able to build your list from traffic you’ve gotten from SEO, AEO, and Pinterest.
If you need an idea for a freebie you can create, take a look at this post here.
5. Podcasting (and podcast guesting)
Don’t feel like posting on social media, but have a knack for speaking into a mic? Start a podcast.
Actually, embedding your podcast into your blog posts is a great way to get friendly with Google because she will see it as an even more helpful resource due to the multimedia aspect. (This would be my recommendation, because podcasts themselves don’t often generate a lot of traffic unless you’re marketing them well.)
However, if I were you, I would focus on being a guest on as many podcasts as possible.
The good news is that soooo many podcasts are searching for quality guests to have on their podcast. You could try pitching a podcast you enjoy listening to, but many podcasts have designated application pages where you can submit to be a guest.
There are also tons of Need A Guest Facebook groups where you can connect with hosts in your niche, so check out some of those while you’re at it.
The podcast will likely ask you for a short bio, and include links to your website and any other things you want to promote to be convenient for their listeners. I also like to share their show and the episode as much as possible on my social media and newsletter when I’ve been a guest on a show, just to thank them for giving me some visibility to their audience.
Be a good guest!
6. Online communities (either paid or free)
Of course, there are tons of facebook groups or online networking groups you could check out.
I’ve actually gotten the most traction from small, local groups from my area. If you’re in the Atlanta area, check out The Magnolia Collective.
Of course, you might have to shop around until you’ve found groups that work for you, but I’ve found that the smaller the better.
7. In-person networking events or conferences
And of course, if you’re extroverted, get out to some local in-person networking events or conferences.
I’d start by looking at Eventbrite to see if there are any good events in your area, but I’ve also found some great events and networking groups from social media too (Threads is great for this.)
8. Guest posting or guest speaking
Just like guesting on a podcast, you can also be a guest poster on someone’s blog or newsletter.
For guest blogging in particular, you get an especially good deal of it because you’ll get a backlink to your website — which is great for SEO and letting Google know your website is a good place to send people.
Some people also have guest speakers in their programs, groups, or mentorships, so speaking in one of these formats can be a great way to get more eyes on your work and position you as an expert.
9. YouTube
Another thing I have yet to try, but I’m going to throw YouTube on here too if you’re inclined to make video content.
Honestly, it sounds like a lot of work, so I’m not really interested in this personally, but like podcasting, embedding a YouTube video into your blog can also be a very good way to get ranked on Google.
10. Paid advertising
Lastly, I would be remiss to remind you about paid advertising.
I would definitely recommend working with a professional to get the best use of your ad spend, because paying for traffic is not a guarantee that it will turn into sales, so you definitely want to know what you’re doing so you don’t waste money. But if this is your jam, go for it.
It doesn’t matter how much traffic you get if your website isn’t set up to convert, so make sure your site is written to convert
Ok, you should now be able to see you have soooo many options to get traffic to your website that isn’t just social media. Yay!
But I have to remind you that getting traffic to your website is only part of the process. I’m assuming you actually want that traffic to turn into sales as well — which comes down to having the right words on your website.
Because, I won’t lie to you, it sucks to work so hard to get traffic to your site, and then not actually see results from it.
If you need help with this, you can hire me for my website copywriting services, so we can make sure you’re not just getting eyes on your website, but actually converting them.
