How to generate traffic that converts into clients

“Traffic is the lifeblood of online business. It’s not just about getting visitors; it’s about getting the right visitors who find value in what you offer.” – Darren Rowse

In today’s business landscape, everyone knows that website traffic is very important to any business. But not all traffic is created equal. As a business owner, manager or marketer, you want your traffic to drive revenue and growth. This is why it needs to be the RIGHT traffic.

In order to generate the right traffic you need to get under your customers’ skin. You must know what your clients want and how they look for it.

A good place to start is to put in place listening strategies for your business to uncover client-behaviour. Most of the time, a conversation with your business development team (or sales front-liners) is all you need.

Clients will often tell you how they found you, even if you don’t ask; however it’s wise to always ask so that you can see patterns as well as changes in patterns.

But how will you generate traffic once you’ve gathered this information about your target audience?

There are only two ways to find people who are your ideal clients:

► Outbound Marketing, and
► Inbound Marketing.


Outbound Marketing includes the following:

– Television Ads.
– Radio Ads.
– Print Ads (magazines, newspapers etc)
– Direct Mail.
– Cold Calling.
– Email Marketing.
– Trade Shows and Events. (aka networking)
– Outdoor Advertising. (Billboards)
– Search Engine Ads.
– Display Ads.
– Social Media Ads. (FB, IG, Pinterest, LI)

Outbound marketing involves proactive outreach methods where businesses take the initiative to communicate their messages to potential customers, aiming for broad exposure and visibility. While these methods can generate quick results, they may be perceived as intrusive and sometimes carry a bit of a “spray and pray” approach compared to the more customer-centric approach of inbound marketing.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is a strategy that focuses on attracting, engaging, and delighting customers by providing valuable and relevant content. The goal is to create a positive and helpful experience for potential customers, leading them to find and choose a particular brand or service. 

Inbound Marketing is a term coined and popularised by Brian Halligan and Dharrmesh Shah, the visionary co-founders of HubSpot. In their groundbreaking book, “Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs,” published in 2009, they not only introduced the term “inbound marketing” for the first time, but also explained how it works.

Halligan and Shah created a seismic shift in the marketing industry. Their efforts left an indelible mark on the marketing landscape, propelling inbound marketing to widespread adoption. It was the dawn of content marketing as we know it today. They recognised early on what the marketing landscape would look like today, and their CRM and Marketing Software HubSpot was born as a consequence of this.

Unlike outbound marketing, which involves proactive outreach to a broad audience, inbound marketing is centred around building relationships with individuals who have expressed interest or shown intent. These individuals are attracted through content, engaged through funnels and turn into clients more easily.  This is why it is so powerful.

The most important distinction between Outbound and Inbound marketing is that with Inbound marketing the prospect takes action. When a prospect has made the effort to reach out, it often means that they are shopping around or pretty serious about resolving a problem they’re experiencing (which you resolve).

This is why inbound marketing, done well, will always yield leads that close easier and faster, and are a great match for your offering.

The key components of inbound marketing are:

– Content Creation (blogs, videos, articles, ebooks)
– Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
– Social Media Marketing – to disseminate your content and aid SEO but also engage.
– Email Marketing (still has the best ROI of all marketing methods if your email list is fresh and warm)
– Landing Pages and Forms (together they create the funnels that engage your clients and show them the steps to take to buy from you)
– Marketing Automation (automating repetitive marketing tasks, segment audiences, and deliver personalised content to leads)
– Lead Nurturing (offering valuable information, addressing their concerns, and guiding them through the decision-making process)
– Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (Implementing CRM systems to manage and analyse customer interactions, track leads, and tailor marketing strategies based on customer data. This information then feeds back into your marketing loops)

All of the marketing tools above can generate traffic, however if you want high-converting traffic, your best bet are SEO and Content Marketing alongside a smart conversion funnel and a smooth CRM system to help your sales team close those warm leads.

At 9H Digital we provide SEO, PPC and Content Marketing services to help you attract the right audience to your website and marketing touch-points. Contact us here to understand how we can help your business.