When creating a digital marketing strategy we tend to focus on the various ways we can attract traffic to our website and celebrate when this traffic increases! All of which is great news. BUT unless there is then some progression from that point, we are not being successful in our mission. This article looks at five factors that determine the critical next step. Traffic management, if you will! What is our goal for visitors to our site, and what steps are we taking to lead them there?

1: WHERE DO YOU WANT YOUR VISITORS TO GO?

Take a good long look at your landing page. What message is it getting across and where does it influence the visitor to go next? Is there an obvious call to action or is it all a bit vague?

2: KNOW YOUR VISITORS’ BEHAVIOUR!

A good host has an intuitive feel for the needs of their guests. Thankfully in digital marketing strategy we have hard data to back that up!

3: MAKE THE PREFERRED NAVIGATION PATH OBVIOUS

If visitors are not traversing your site in the way that you want or expect then you need to ensure that the preferred route is very clear. Ensure that you include links to your top site pages either at the far left of horizontal navigation links or at the top of vertical navigation links. This then reinforces to visitors where they should travel next. Remember also to use similar navigation tools at the bottom of the page.

4: USE INTERNAL LINKS

Include lots of text links to the pages that you want the visitors to view next. These might be pages that expand on the content of what they are currently reading, or that move them further along in the conversion process. However, ensure that these links direct traffic closer to your goal and do not go off at a tangent into other areas of the site.