An online business can be overwhelming if your website doesn’t have a good number of visitors. This is where digital marketing enters the picture. If you have a good and user-friendly website and no visitors, then you need to check your possible traffic sources and whether they are free or paid.
In this article, we will explain to you what the term “traffic source” means, how you can select the relevant traffic source for your business, and a list of the top 15 traffic sources in 2022.
What is the traffic source?
A traffic source can be defined as a channel through which a visitor comes to your website. Whenever a user visits your website, the web or Google Analytics track the origin of their traffic source. These traffic sources can be Facebook, YouTube or Instagram, etc.
Understanding the traffic sources helps the entrepreneurs understand the origin and type of their traffic, and then they can design their SEM, SEO, and SMO strategies as well.
How to Choose the Best Traffic Source for Your Website?
The following points will help you determine the right traffic source for your website:
Niche
Firstly, you must determine the niche of your business and then determine who your targeted audience is.
Capability
Once you have determined your audience and niche, now look for the platform that will help you promote your business in a more efficient way and is according to your capability.
User Culture
Here you must understand the user’s behavior and their needs. For example, if you are already an established business and want to increase your team, you can use LinkedIn for promotion using text ads.
Algorithms
Read the terms and conditions of each platform carefully and see if they have their own algorithms or not because your traffic source data can be affected by these algorithms.
Types of Traffic Source:
There are a few important types of traffic sources like;
Direct Traffic
This is the organic traffic that you get without any investment. Direct traffic is achieved when any user writes about your brand or business and lands on your website. Such clicking of the user on the link and landing on your page is defined as direct traffic because this type doesn’t involve referral parameters.
Referral Traffic
This kind of traffic is achieved by an external source like ads or campaigns. Whenever a user comes onto your website via a referral channel or link, it is regarded as a referrer.
Search Engine Traffic
This form of traffic comes from searching and clicking on the links that are displayed on the search engine pages like Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.
As of now, you have an idea about what a traffic source is and how to choose the most relevant one for your business. Let’s discuss the top 15 best-performing traffic sources in 2022.
Best Traffic Sources in 2024:
Here is the list of Best Traffic Sources in 2023 and 2024:
- Push.House
- TikTok
- YouTube
- SEO
- QUORA
- Email Marketing
- Blogging (Content Marketing)
- Google Ads
- Influencer Marketing
- Use of Forum Marketing
1. Push.House:
Push.House is one of the best traffic sources in the world. This is because they have a large user base with more than 500 million subscribers covering more than 180 countries. When it comes to traffic sources, Push.House really stands out from the rest of the crowd. With this ad network, you can be sure of getting only the high-quality traffic. They also have some of the best prices for traffic in the market.
With such a large ad network, you can rest assured that you will see a huge revenue boost and growth in your business. They provide different ad formats to their users and everything can be tracked easily through their dashboard. Push.House allows you to buy traffic for any vertical and doesn’t have the limitations social media does. You can easily promote the offers you want.
Another great thing about Push.House is that they have a 24/7 live support system as well. So, you get answers to all of your queries in no time. They let you customize the click limits and the budget of your campaign. Overall, if you are looking for a traffic source, Push.House gets a solid recommendation.
2. TikTok:
TikTok is the newest platform in the list of traffic sources, but it is not the smallest. It has over 700 million active monthly users. People use TikTok more than other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and SnapChat. whereas it is mainly for teens.
Just like Facebook, TikTok also offers ad managers that can help you promote your small businesses and your products on their platform. You must use TikTok to promote your business. If you haven’t used TikTok before, you need to know that it is a very famous social media platform that particularly uses video content. Users constantly scroll and watch videos and clips that people create.
Since TikTok revolves completely around video, it requires editing and putting a lot of effort into creating an informative video. Keeping in mind that TikTok users can easily skip your video and advertisements with a simple click. For this reason, you must make your videos effective and presentable to impress the viewers and increase your traffic.
Features:
- TikTok helps marketing businesses easily
- Select from a comprehensive range of Ad types
- Great top-class content (videos quality, voice quality format, design suitable for the platform)
Pros:
- Your brand growth becomes wider.
- Enhance the chances of getting a highly targeted audience.
- Use multiple ways to engage with users
Cons:
- It is time-consuming and not very easy to create content.
- Have content limitations.
- Not recommended for fewer budget brands.
3. Facebook:
Facebook has over 1.5 billion users. Facebook groups help people in their business and keep them communicating. For example, if your group is about blogging, you can create groups and add members. Whenever you post something and make an announcement, there will be free targeted traffic. You must provide effective and informative content to encourage people to join groups.
95.8% of social media managers and experts said that Facebook ads give the best ROI for your business. Facebook helps you to find people exactly whom you want to. Facebook lead ads are super easy and useful for promoting your brand awareness and getting leads from these ads
Features:
- Facebook has a great format and design and a wider range of targeting options.
- Third-party integration is allowed and tagged in integrations as well.
- Creative hub is an ad that allows users to test the different types, of campaign
- You can target a suitable audience.
- You can reach more people in one space and get more followers.
- Marketing campaigns and ads are conducted easily.
Cons:
- Fewer people can see the content.
- You can’t reach the users outside of this platform.
4. Instagram:
Instagram is also the top social media platform that has high traffic. Moreover, you need more followers for the best results in it. You can get traffic by linking to websites, posting images, and adding links to your Instagram stories. If you want good results, you must be creative and stay committed.
With 1 billion monthly users, Instagram becomes an active living room. Instagram is more like Facebook in terms of advertisements and setups. The only difference is that the ad will be displayed on Instagram rather than on Facebook. If you want to succeed on Instagram, you have to be a proper influencer. No copyright is allowed.
Features:
- Promoting posts directly from mobile.
- Active users are found in it.
- It is a professional platform that lets creators, and businesses get all the sources in one place.
Pros:
- Instagram ads promote brands.
- Instagram has too many followers and leads the traffic to their websites.
- Instagram ads lead to an increase in the visibility of your business.
Cons:
- Instagram is less useful than Facebook.
- You can add limited people on Instagram.
- Instagram ads features are less advanced.
5. TWITTER:
Twitter is another traffic source that helps you get a free or paid audience on your website. You post tweets, which are a small paragraph of text about anything you want. Usually, it is about your business or anything you want to sell or make an announcement about; for example, it’s about your personal life or political views. You have to be truthful and relevant to your followers. This platform only has 262 million users but is also one of the most effective platforms.
“Good at Twitter” means that you can retweet and promote small businesses. You have to make sure that anything you promote has a strong CTA. If you are just paying for the followers, you must create good free content.
Features:
- On Twitter, you only pay when you promote the marketing goals.
- Twitter is another way to interact with your audience and get traffic to your website.
Pros:
- You are displaying things to different people.
- Twitter is interesting and handling targeting.
Cons:
- You can’t reach people easily.
- It is not users friendly
- It is time-consuming.
6. Pinterest:
Pinterest seems like another platform of social media, but it works like a search engine. It has 320 million users. About 60% of its users are women. Pinterest allows users to sell or purchase products. Pinning the image doesn’t mean that the user wants to buy the product.
Moreover, you can post images and videos and get useful and effective ideas. It’s all about making PINS creative. Pinterest raises the average buying power above $75k.
Features:
- Helps people to find effective things and to buy them.
- Uses rich pins.
- To post good images there are several formats.
Pros:
- Pinterest is an easy app to share information with others.
- There are no restrictions to following everything you do.
- Traffic is easily driven on Pinterest.
Cons:
- Use effective information in it.
- Repining a lot of images is not good practice.
- The audience depends on your promotions.
7. YouTube:
YouTube is the most used search engine worldwide after Google. To make money on YouTube, you don’t have to be an entertainer. It’s easy to get subscribers; it depends on how effectively informative your video is. Young teachers get 3.3 million subscribers by sharing their knowledge among people.
Creating short videos and putting them on YouTube drives traffic to websites. There are many options on YouTube, like an offline video playlist to separate the video. The more subscribers you have, the more potential traffic you can get.
Features:
- Skipping ads are allowed after every 5 mins.
- Some videos are unskippable; you have to watch the video before skipping.
- Overlay of the image or text ads appears lower on a 20% portion of the video.
Pros:
- It is cost-effective.
- Advertising is highly targeted.
- YouTube advertisements help you to connect with your audience.
Cons:
- YouTube advertising is completely out of hand.
- Targeting is not completely perfect.
- YouTube suffers from very poor sales.
8. REDDIT:
Reddit is like Quora and has an instant amount of traffic every month. It ranks among the most popular websites online. If you learn how to create money on Reddit, you can have some traffic on your site.
Reddit has become a popular place to search for honest reviews. If you provide useful information, your traffic will increase.
Features:
- Consist of conversation ads and pixel retargeting.
- Good for mobile app installation via promoted ads.
Pros:
- Highly targeted audience.
- Provides loyal and quality buyers.
Cons:
- Time taking and requires effort.
- Not a popular platform like Facebook and Instagram.
- You have to be creative otherwise you will face failure
9. LinkedIn:
Although 700 million people have accounts, only 1% regularly post on the platform. LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity as there is more potential. LinkedIn users are not mainly content creators but actual businesses or people with skills. If you want to hire any expert, like a digital marketer, etc., you can run ads for services on LinkedIn.
By providing good quality content, you can create connections like people and also by promoting your business, you will get free or paid traffic from this traffic source.
Features:
- Promotes adjective-based advertisement.
- Offers interest-targeting options for fruitful results.
- Consists of forecasted results feature.
Pros:
- Sea of quality audience.
- Safe space for businesses.
Cons:
- Audience is mainly looking for jobs like services.
- No video ads.
- Expensive than other traffic sources.
10. SEO: 
SEO stands for search engine optimizing and it can generate highly targeted and relevant traffic. SEO rules guide you to make quality content on the web. It helps you to get organic and free traffic from search engines.
Strategies For SEO:
- In good SEO, you must be careful about the keywords you use.
- For content, you must select some topics that must have a long-tail and most searched targeted keywords.
- Built your website pages using highly searched keywords and make a schedule to create a lot of quality content.
For example, if any brand hires you to write about their product or service, then provide the content with keywords that people usually use to search for them.
Pros:
- Quality audience
- Ignore the clients who disturbing you and not showing interest in your company
- Bring an outcome with a high ROI.
Cons:
- It needs some patience
- Head-to-head competition with the rest of the internet
- Results and data are generated after months.
11. QUORA:
Quora is a platform famous for people’s queries and their answers. This platform has a serious number of viewers and users each month. As a business owner, you can give answers to the questions people ask.
Make sure to use the highly targeted keywords in your answers so that they can be displayed on Google whenever people search on it. Quora is a source of free traffic, and you can attract potential buyers from your replies.
Pros:
- The question you asked and got a very decent answer.
- you can answer any question and present your knowledge.
- You can meet people who have the same interests as you and increase your social circle.
Cons:
- Too much attention on Quora wastes your valuable time.
- Needs extra research for answers.
- Not for sensitive people.
12. Influencer Marketing:
Influencer marketing is simply partnering with some influencers in your niche to promote your online business (product or service). This is a paid traffic source where you pay influencers to advertise your brand on their feeds, and you get new potential buyers.
More likely, Instagram influencers are promoting such high-level or local-based stores as influencers to increase their audience.
Pros:
- It helps to reach an authentic audience.
- Builds trust and credibility of your brand.
Cons:
- Partnering with the wrong person may harm your store.
- Fake influencers can cost your brand.
- Involving a great deal of time.
13. Google Ads:
Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that displays ads on users’ searches or the content of websites. Here you use the most relevant keywords in your ads, and whenever a user searches for that keyword, they will most likely land on your website. Putting your ads on top of the search results will give you more profit as people usually see the first results.
Google AdWords is one of the services that promote your business via ads. But sometimes the buyers get irritated by this. So, you have another option like dynamic search ads that bring you, relevant users, exactly know what your website is about and what people are searching for. Running ads on the factors of geographic area and demographic group gives you good results as well
Features:
- Adjust your offers on a micro level.
- Take care of your search impression and problems.
- People click on the ads and land on your website.
Pros:
- Fast process of creating ads.
- The amazing outcome in the search results is in the end.
- Try new ideas and increase your skills in designing attractive ads.
Cons:
- You get charged for each click on your website.
- Head-to-head industries have a higher cost per click
- Have some limitations
14. Email Marketing:
Email marketing is another traffic source that will likely help you in your business. It conveys your message easily to your customers.
With email marketing, you can easily communicate with your customers. It is another source of free traffic. You can promote the list of your products, the prices, and the pictures of a product. Email marketing offers you some subscribers and SEO-free traffic. It promotes the targeting content easily.
Features:
- Involves the element of mobile optimization.
- Have smooth results and real-time analytics.
- Allow third-party integration.
Pros:
- Ideal for a low budget.
- Target highly relevant customers.
- Variety of options to choose from for designing your campaigns.
Cons:
- Designs of emails must be attractive and attention-seeking.
- Files size must be small to get downloaded.
- Not recommended for people who don’t have creative skills for designing email templates.
15. Blogging (Content Marketing):
Blogging is another way to increase your traffic. You can write content about your business and publish it on your blogging websites. If you have used highly targeted keywords in your blogs, then you can get a highly targeted audience from search engines as well. These visitors might become your potential buyers, and ultimately increase your revenue. You can also hire Instagram bloggers to promote your content on their social platforms.
Features:
- As opposed to traditional ways of marketing, where businesses usually look for new customers, content marketing usually targets existing, loyal and old customers.
- Audiences don’t show any interest in your content if it’s not relevant. So, it must be something enjoyable and interesting.
- The content you give must be storytelling.
Pros:
- Important for awareness of your brand, product, and loyalty.
- You can get customers who usually avoid seeing ads.
- Budget-friendly traffic source.
Cons:
- The feedback and the result aren’t immediate. It is a long-term task. More trials give you the best results in the end.
- Content must be according to your niche and brand.
- It gets difficult to have creative ideas all the time that catches the reader’s attention in their busy routines.
16. Use of Forum Marketing:
A forum creates a social connection between the people who love to read content online and your business.
Forum marketing is where users read the post and interact with other communities where your customers are actively engaged, and you get traffic from it. You will share your knowledge with numerous visitors. In the end, you leave your website link and, as a result, your traffic increases.
Pros:
- Bring the wants and needs of the audience.
- Forums are the places where people exchange their content and ideas.
- You get free traffic.
Cons:
- Lacks direction.
- It has no control and is misused.
Conclusion:
Every business wants to grow its revenue, which is ultimately linked to its audience and traffic sources. This is an interconnected channel. Not all your customers will be coming from direct traffic sources. You will have to look for other traffic sources like referrals or search engines.
All the above-listed traffic sources are the top best options for you to try. Remember, your business success depends on the quality of the audience you are receiving on your website.
You must understand your business niche and determine the best source that can help you get good quality customers. You can choose free or paid traffic sources depending on your strategy and budget. Also, study their privacy policies to prevent any fraudulent traffic on your website.