We can’t control the outcome of our marketing. What we can control is the where, when, and how, and sometimes how much we spend. We try to control it anyway. If I do this, then I’ll get that. This episode is me going through what’s in your control when it comes to getting more website traffic, and what’s not.
Enjoy the episode!
🧰 I love me a good digital marketing tool. This week’s recommended tool is if-so plugin for Setapp for macs
It’s Multiple apps for your mac. All with only one subscription. I used it for a time for an app that provided shortcuts. So I would type say, unicorns pooping rainbows and it would replace that with a paragraph about how they don’t poop rainbows. I kid of course. But the app is for real. There is a 7 day free trial if you want to see what it has and check it out.
🎧 This week’s recommended podcast episode is The Random Show — Tim and Kevin Talk Retreats, Mortality, AI Predictions, Supplements, Rock Climbing at (Almost) 50, and Not Waiting for “Someday”
This was a long one… I used the chapters to jump into and around the parts of the discussion I was interested in. I most liked to hear about Kevin’s micro-insight around there is not sense of lack.
If you listen to the book, let me know how you like it!
Find other recommended episodes here.
Other Resource Links
Listen on Spotify
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<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write" frameborder="0" height="175" style="width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-in-our-control-website-marketing-edition-ep116/id1728291369?i=1000778872284"></iframe>Don’t let the title fool ya, there’s no other editions planned at the moment. But I had a turn of events in my summer that caused my “expected” plans to change.
And it occurred to me the same “control” we try to have in our personal lives, we try for in our marketing. We try to control the outcome. There are some tactics that we have control of more than others to get more website traffic. This episode is that list.
We can’t control the outcome of our marketing. What we can control is the where, when and how we choose do it. Well, and how much spend sometimes.
We try to! If I do this, then I’ll get that.
If you’ve been on Instagram, you know what I’m talking about. Just do this 47 step plan and you’ll see sales rolling!
It’s assumed there’s no risk. But there is! And it’s dependent on how your audience interprets your marketing.
So let’s go through and identify what parts of your marketing you have control over and which ones are less in your control in order to get more website traffic.
In our control:
- Blog posts relevant to our audience
- Site health – making sure everything is speedy and technically set up properly
- How often we publish blog posts
- Our distribution plan or repurposing (which by the way, final reminder on this month’s free webinar topic – Messaging Momentum, A Flexible Repurposing Plan. Going down tomorrow July 30. Sign up for the replay and learn list of tactics to get your plan done, what content to purpose, scoring system for your backlog of ideas and separating your content structure from your message so you can stay flexible. Be there or be square!)
- our channel strategy – where to be and how and when
- if running paid ads, the copy, the targeting and bidding
Out of our control:
- google algorithms
- Chatgpt and other AI search tool algorithms
- social algorithms
- ALL THE ALGORITHMS
- (The rhythm is gonna get cha song just popped into my head, so funny)
- Backlinks or who links to our website or content is essentially out of our control; we can influence it by asking and creating great content but we can’t make someone link to us
- a channel we market on could up and go away
- Whether or not AI decided to cite our website (which by the way, there’s a lot of signals indicating traffic from chatgpt converts at a higher rate than other channels. I’ve seen it in my clients’ data and seeing reports of it as well.)
That’s a long list of shit sitting outside our control. Enough to make you want to go make a procrastination tea.
It’s exhausting once you see it and can let go a little. It’s why a lot of businesses burn out. The ongoing marketing is too much. Marketing is a necessity of business.
I have a client where we have tried meta ads at least 3 times without meta ads specific professionals. Each time, zero return on spend and no quality leads. We’re trying it a 4th time. There was hesitancy of course. We did them ourselves with guidance. And now we’re seeing a 3X return on ad spend. For every dollar we spend, we get 3 back.
It’s not the guidance vs professional route, it’s because there was a new strategy, tactic and defined goal and checkpoint.
Those we can control to AAAAAnd allow the idea that things might change.
Remember how I said my summer plans changed? When it first happened I fell apart. I had the expectation of what was happening. After I had a mini-breakdown, I realized it’s out of my control. I planned the best I could and set the direction but then something changed and caused the outcome to be different.
It took me a day or two to accept the outcome and new direction and I said, ok. It’s different and wasn’t my original plan but whatever. I fly by the seat of my pants anyway, so let’s do this! (PS it wasn’t as easy as it might sound here, there was lots of crying and hard conversations and people I feel I’m disappointing; which is hard; I’m also finding it so funny how I’ve always jokingly said I fly by the seat of pants, indicating flexibility and yet most of my life I’ve tried to control.) Anywhooooo,
Here’s The Takeaway
If we do our marketing with the intention of helping those we can help and less on the ‘get the money’ or ‘I need more sales’, then our messaging becomes more impactful. And we have a lot less worry floating around in our heads all day.
About This Show
The Get More Website Traffic Podcast covers the strategies, tools, and tactics that help small business owners get more people to their website and turn that traffic into leads. Host Barb Davids breaks it down in plain language every week, with bonus episodes featuring other business owners sharing their expertise on topics that matter to running a small business. Produced by Compass Digital Strategies.
