1.0 Introduction

The most common questions most clients I onboard ask me are:

“How many followers can you get us?”
“How many conversions can you get us?”
“How long will it take for my website to rank on the first page of Google?”

Although each of these questions is valid, they usually lack a holistic understanding of what digital marketing actually encompasses. Many digital marketers structure their entire approach around just hitting the client’s focus points, rather than highlighting the benefits of all the other strategies available. But when a client isn’t aware of the full scope of digital marketing – and the marketer is just focused on retaining the contract – the organisation cannot achieve long-term success.

2.0 The Consistent Factor

I know getting new followers on Instagram feels great, and a viral video on TikTok can be mind-blowing – but we need to make sure we don’t lose sight of what we’re really trying to accomplish. There’s always a consistent factor – a central point where we want everything to come together.

For many, it’s their website – their digital retail outlet where final transactions happen and the ultimate goal of increasing revenue is achieved. For others, it might be their YouTube channel or TikTok account.

This article focuses on websites, because I’ve always believed that true success only comes when you own your own shop. No commissions going to third parties. No helping other organisations rank higher in SEO while neglecting your own. No depending on anyone else. That kind of control only happens when users end up on your digital store. Every digital marketing strategy should ultimately guide people back to the platform you own.

Smart Insights also highlights that despite the dominance of social media, websites remain the most critical digital asset for businesses – especially when it comes to maintaining control over the user experience and SEO authority (Chaffey, 2024).

For example, this article was originally written on Notion as a guide for my digital marketing associates. I could have made it public on Notion – but instead, I’ve chosen to publish it on the Adlance website. I don’t want these keywords being picked up by Google for a URL with Notion’s domain. That’s literally helping another organisation rank up – for free. I’d rather my site benefit from the SEO, and maybe even attract a reader like yourself who’s interested in our digital marketing services.

It’s something even other marketing experts caution about – building your content on platforms you don’t control is like building your house on rented land (Pulizzi, 2023).

3.0 Key Digital Marketing Terms

Okay, now that the intro’s out of the way, let’s get straight into the key digital marketing terms that everyone should be familiar with. You’ll find these terms on the Google Analytics dashboard, listed as sources and types of traffic – and each one has its own strategy for increasing both quality and quantity of visitors. Let’s dive in.

3.1 Types of Traffic

3.1.1 New Users

New users are basically people who’ve never been on your website before. They can come from anywhere – far and wide, from a galaxy far, far away. It’s a type of traffic you want to see growing.

When you increase the number of new users, it means you’ve increased brand awareness – more people who didn’t know you before now know about you. That widens your ‘pool’ of potential customers. But just getting more new users isn’t enough if they’re not the right kind.

Increasing the quality of your new users means bringing in traffic that’s actually relevant to your product or service – people who are far more likely to convert.

That’s why your digital marketing strategy shouldn’t just focus on numbers – it needs to focus on bringing in the right people. And ideally, you want those people to come back. One of the best ways to make that happen? Give them a reason to subscribe to your mailing list.

3.1.2 Returning Users

Returning users are people who’ve already been on your website and are coming back because they just can’t get enough of you!

If your number of returning users is going up, that’s a strong signal that the new users you’re bringing in are actually quality users – they came once and saw enough value to return.

A solid way to increase returning users is through targeted newsletters that give them a reason to come back – whether that’s fresh content, special offers, updates, or something else that matters to them.

3.2 Sources of Traffic

3.2.1 Social

This refers to users who land on your website through social media platforms. This is where social media management really comes into play. A lot of people don’t realise just how many different strategies can be used to bring in this kind of traffic – and it’s not limited to just Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.

Each platform – including Pinterest – has its own content style that works best. Optimising your content for each one can boost engagement and help you gain more followers. But more followers doesn’t automatically mean more website clicks. For that to happen, your messaging needs to be clear, and your navigation should guide users naturally to your website. They should feel tempted to click through without even thinking twice.

3.2.2 Organic Search

These are users who find your website through a search engine by typing in something relevant – and boom, your site pops up. This is where search engine optimisation (SEO) comes in.

Onsite SEO and backlinks both play a big role in helping your website rank higher on Google. Some key strategies include researching the right keywords you want to show up for, naturally placing those keywords throughout your site, and earning backlinks from reputable websites that refer their users to you.

3.2.3 Referral

Referral traffic comes from websites that link to your site – what we call backlinks. When other websites, especially ones with good domain authority, refer users to your site, you’re essentially tapping into a whole new audience. And the best part? You didn’t have to do the groundwork they did to build that audience.

The key, though, is relevance. Getting random backlinks doesn’t help. You want to be referred by websites that talk about your industry or audience. And if they don’t exist yet – start one. 😄

This is where influencer marketing often comes into play. You may have heard the term before, but at its core, it’s about leveraging people who already have access to the audience you’re trying to reach.

3.2.4 Email

Email marketing is one of the oldest tricks in the book – and it still works. Everyone eventually checks their email, whether it’s for work, job alerts, discount codes, or something else. One way or another, people will end up with an inbox.

In fact, according to EmailToolTester (2024), there are approximately 4.48 billion email users worldwide as of 2024 – so the potential reach is massive.

But blasting out emails isn't enough. You need to design your emails in a way that builds trust, encourages clicks, and doesn’t get you blocked. No one wants to be that brand that ends up in the spam folder.

3.2.5 Paid

Paid traffic refers to users who come to your website through ads – whether it's on Meta, Google, TikTok, or any other platform. This is the traffic most people know about because it's the one that comes with a visible cost.

There are strategies unique to each ad platform that can help you bring in relevant users and improve your return on ad spend. But as the name suggests, this method costs money. See what I just did there. 😉

3.2.6 Direct

Direct traffic is made up of users who type your URL straight into their browser and come to your site directly. Most of the time, these are returning users who already know about your brand.

But there are also strategies to get new users to come directly to your site. Think QR codes on posters, business cards, physical event banners – things that make people skip the middle platforms and go straight to your digital doorstep. From print to in-person events, direct traffic has its own lane.

4.0 Conclusion

By now, you should have a good grasp of the different traffic sources that bring users to your website – and why each one plays a unique role. You should also see how each source has its own strategies to help you grow. When you start applying the right methods across all of these sources, the number of quality, relevant users landing on your site can grow significantly – and with that, so can your conversions.

If you're interested in getting a tailor-made digital marketing strategy that covers all of the above, reach out. I’d be happy to go over it with you. Obviously, you’re going to have to pay me – but I promise, I’m not as expensive as you might think. 😉

5.0 References

Chaffey, D. (2024). Why you still need a website in the social media age. Smart Insights. [online] Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com [Accessed 28 May 2025].
Pulizzi, J. (2023). Don’t build your content house on rented land. Content Marketing Institute. [online] Available at: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com [Accessed 28 May 2025].
EmailToolTester. (2024). Email usage statistics: How many people use email in 2024? [online] Available at: https://www.emailtooltester.com/en/blog/email-usage-statistics/ [Accessed 28 May 2025].

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