2016 is upon us. If you’re still missing the mark when it comes to attracting targeted traffic to your website, it’s time for a quick refresher. The online marketing landscape changes constantly, and it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on the latest developments to ensure that relevant users who want what you have to offer are able to find your site. To help, we’ve compiled a list of tips for attracting targeted website traffic. Some are completely new ideas while others are updated versions of tried-and-true techniques. Either way, incorporate as many of these tips into your marketing strategy to give your website the best odds for success.

10 Tips for Driving Targeted Traffic to Your Website in 2016

Put the following tips into action to boost the level of targeted traffic that’s driven to your site:

1. Review and Refresh Successful Pages

Take a look at the top-performing pages on your site. Why have they fared so well? Can you incorporate some of the elements from these successful pages into existing ones that aren’t performing so well, or can you put them to work on new pages that you create? You can also help less successful pages ride the more successful pages’ coattails by adding internal links to them.

2. Intensify Your Video Marketing Efforts

If you aren’t already convinced about the amazing reach and power of digital video, watch YouTube exec Robert Kyncl’s keynote speech from the 2016 CES show. He outlines all kinds of reasons for why digital video is poised to overtake TV in the not-too-distant future. The fact is that Internet users love videos. One successful, popular video can drive enormous amounts of traffic to your site. If you aren’t already using and sharing videos to promote your business, 2016 is the time to start.

3. Create Longer, More Comprehensive Content

The days of short, snappy pieces having the ability to generate buzz for a website are largely over. These days, most top-performing sites feature content that is practically exhaustive in its length and thoroughness.

People who want information don’t just want to skim the surface of it. They want to dig in deeply, and long, detailed posts deliver. This requires more time and effort, of course, but the payoff can be absolutely huge.

4. Know Your Audience

It’s easier than ever to get to know your target audience, and it’s a crucial aspect of getting the right people to visit you website. After all, high volumes of traffic won’t get you anywhere if it’s made up of people who have absolutely no interest in what you’re offering. While it’s possible to discern a lot about your target audience through your own research, bringing in a marketing professional is an even better way to go. If nothing else, you can hire them on a once-off basis to generate a profile of the kind of person you are trying to reach and to help you develop effective marketing lists.

5. Make Your Content Interactive

When people just read words on a screen, they’re not really connecting with anything–or anyone. Increasingly, online users expect to be engaged and entertained by the content that they encounter online. This usually takes the form of interacting with blog owners, website owners and other users. Making content interactive can be as easy as posing a question to your audience on social media. It’s about putting yourself out there and taking steps to actively engage with your target audience. It’s also a great way to brainstorm ideas for future posts; just ask your readers what they’d like to see and take it from there.

6. Hold Contests and Giveaways

Throwing contests and giveaways to generate buzz isn’t new, but there are unique ways to go about doing it. Instead of simply choosing a person at random to receive a prize, put your readers to work by asking them to share photos, stories and other content that they’ve created. This serves a dual purpose by not only engaging your audience but by generating new content and new ideas for your site.

7. Roll Several Marketing Techniques into One Strategy

Like many business owners, you may have separate campaigns for social media, email and the like. That makes sense in some ways, but in the constantly changing world of online marketing, it’s not enough. Remember that visitors who are interested in your brand are apt to check it out across multiple channels. By engaging them with a branding message that spans email, social media and content on your site, you’ll increase the odds of drawing them to your site and converting them into customers. Also, this is an excellent way to raise brand awareness.

8. Connect with Influencers

 Influencer marketing will come into its own in 2016, as the technique is quickly becoming one of the best ways to boost targeted traffic to a website. As the name implies, it means identifying and connecting with highly influential online users in your niche. Typically bloggers, they wield huge amounts of social capital on the Internet. A single recommendation from the right influencer can create huge amounts of buzz for a brand. Of course, there’s work involved. After identifying them, you must get in touch to see what–if anything–they’re willing to do. There’s typically a fee involved, but it’s not always money. Many influencers will happily promote a product or service in exchange for freebies.

9. Use More Long-Tail Keywords

People are increasingly using natural speech patterns while querying search engines. Siri and similar features for Android allow people to quickly ask their devices to search for whatever they need. As a result, the keyword landscape is shifting.

Today, long-tail keyword phrases are proving to be far more effective in driving targeted traffic to websites. Posing them as questions is even better because that’s how people tend to search for things online. Still, avoid awkward phrasing at all costs, as it drives down the quality of your content and can alienate your audience.

10. Keep Up with Evolving SEO Standards

SEO continues to be among the most effective ways to drive targeted traffic to a website. However, what works today is a lot different than what worked even a few years ago. If you haven’t been brought up to speed about what current search engine algorithms are after, it’s time to do so. You can learn a lot on your own, of course, but an even better option is to have an SEO agency audit your site and then let you know which changes are needed. Going forward, remember that SEO has to be continual to be effective, and part of that is keeping up with algorithm changes and other updates.

A lot has changed in the world of online marketing, but plenty of familiar fundamental concepts still apply. More than anything, persistence and consistency are the keys to generating the flow of highly targeted traffic to a site. By implementing the tips above and being consistent in your efforts, you will slowly but surely see results. Get started today to watch your online fortunes soar in the year to come.