If you want to get more leads for your business, you need to increase the traffic to your website. We live in an age where anyone who fails to take full advantage of the Internet's massive potential is missing out on a crucial number of customers. Utilize these seven techniques to increase the amount of traffic to your site and to convert casual visitors into lifelong customers.

Create Content with Real Value

Blogging and content marketing are effective strategies for almost any niche. Offering valuable content that'll help your target market will attract visitors and can lead to social sharing that'll attract even more customers. The key with blogging is to avoid creating the same run-of-the-mill content that most businesses do. Instead, create truly valuable articles and guides that'll help your readers. They'll return in the future, and every great post will increase the amount of trust your customers have in your business.

Make Your Site Shareable

Unless you like paying loads for advertising, you should start trying to attract more organic 'shares' and 'likes' via various social platforms. Focus on the biggest ones at first like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Include prominent sharing buttons on your website and interact with your audience using whichever platforms that will yield the highest ROI. Include content on your blog that fits with the typical type of content that's usually appreciated. For example, high-quality pictures are necessary to attract attention on Pinterest.

Have a Giveaway

There are several benefits of a good giveaway. Don't just offer up cash as a prize. Instead, use it as a chance to get your products in the hands of potential future customers who could also leave reviews and share their experience. A big giveaway will help boost the attention you're getting on social media and online forums, attracting new customers while rewarding existing ones too.

Take Advantage of Holidays

Holidays provide you with easy content ideas for your website and potential product lines. Plan an event around a major upcoming holiday like a sale, giveaway, or comprehensive guide on how your product could enhance their holiday. Creative ideas are sure to attract attention from all over the web. Finally, get involved with major online events in your industry to increase your exposure. Fundraising activities and Twitter chats are great places to start.

Optimize Your Site for Search Engines

Organic search engine traffic converts measurably and it's free, so what's not to love? You don't need to have extensive search engine optimization (SEO) experience to make a few simple improvements to your site. While you can hire someone to make the improvements for you, it's fairly simple to learn.

Optimize your site for speed to improve your rankings in search engines and user experience. Use one of the numerous free keyword tools available on the Web to find highly searched keywords related to your product or service. Include these keywords naturally in your website content and over time you'll attract more free visitors. Take advantage of free SEO resources to learn about all the changes you should make.

Modernize Your Website

In order to attract new visitors without spending a ton of money, you're going to need to convince other people or sites to link to yours. If your site looks like it's from the 90s, no one is going to link to you because it makes them look bad. Even with a tight budget, you can hire a relatively cheap designer and take advantage of content management platforms like WordPress to create a user-friendly site.

Finally, ensure that your website functions properly most of the time by tracking your uptime and downtime. All your social media and content marketing efforts will be for naught if your site is always down. And if your visitors can't access your website reliably, they'll probably go somewhere else.

Be warned that it could take some time and persistence before you see the results from certain methods. However, if you focus on creating the best experience for your customers, you'll see great returns on your effort over time.