Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Looking to promote more traffic to your site without investing a ton of money? Perhaps you should consider push notifications. With little investment to yourself, there is potential to grow your target audience. Not only that, but it’s also incredibly easy to set up.
And you can start right now for free if you use something like WordPress to develop your site.[adrotate banner=”8″]
What Are Push Notifications?
Push notifications are those little messages you get when new content is available. If you subscribe to a YouTube channel, you probably see these small messages appear on the bottom right of your browser screen.
When it comes to a website, some of these systems will send messages any time you publish a new article. For instance, as soon as I hit the “Publish” button on this post, WordPress and OneSignal will notify everyone currently subscribed.
This system is kind of like a subscriber perk.
Instead of merely following a blog and getting an email regarding new content, people are updated in almost real-time. And because of the nature of these notifications, there is a lot of support for many operating systems and browsers.
Benefits of Using Push Notifications
Push notification apps are some of the easiest to implement. This is especially true if you use a content management system. For instance, it took me all but five minutes to set up push notifications on Android, Chrome, Apple and Windows.
So, why should you really consider using something like this to promote your website?
Fine-tuning Your Target Audience
Engaging your target audience often requires insight into who you are trying to connect with. You could spend hours going over your Google Analytics reports discovering who your readers are.
With push notifications, you’re immediately connecting with those who actively read your content. If someone doesn’t want to be subscribed, they can ignore your request and move on.
It’s the people who accept push notifications who represent your target consumer-base. Even if you’re not selling anything from your blog, those who “subscribe” to your notifications usually want more of what you produce.
Keeps People Connected to Your Content
New visitors to your website is nice, but it’s usually the return visitors who influence success. This is especially true if these visitors are buying goods or otherwise helping you make money.
In an ideal setting, push notifications work as soon as you upload or publish new material. This means past visitors are informed almost immediately when there is content ready to read or view.
There have been a few times when I wish I would have bookmarked a site I visited so I can read more of the content. With push notifications, I can just subscribe and keep in the loop.
Helps Distribute Important Events
Of the things I like most about using OneSignal is that I can push notifications regarding news and events without creating a new blog post. So if I wanted to let people know I am offering a discount on something I sell, my subscribers are the first to know.
For example, I plan on sending a notification as soon as we go live on Twitch for the Extra Life charity event in November. This way, everyone who follows the gaming blog knows we are going live with some gameplay for charity.
The possibilities for this system are quite versatile. Just make sure you don’t get annoying with it and post every 30 seconds. While some may love your content, it can get old real quick to see a pop-up of messages over and over throughout the day.[template id=”2087″]
Works on Multiple Systems
Many push notifications work on most of the important systems used on the Internet. For example, I can send messages to anyone who is subscribed using various browsers, Apple iOS, Android, Amazon Fire and even Alexa.
This means you don’t have to alienate visitors who use different systems from what you’re used to. The process is all automated and stored within push notification apps.
However, you do have to spend a few moments and set these systems up. I had to get APIs and authorizations from most platforms…and none was more of a pain in the butt than Apple.
The end result, though, is a much wider audience and improved traffic to the website.
Cost Effective
Like I said, I haven’t spent a single dime on push notifications. I am currently using the free plugin OneSignal for WordPress and it’s done wonders for website engagement.
If just one person clicks each notification, it’s worth the few minutes I spent to set the system up. In some aspects, it’s probably more cost efficient than using things like Facebook ads.
At least with notifications, you’re targeting people who are already interested in your content.
Customizable
Some push notification apps are customizable. You can change colors, subscription messages and more by going through your settings.
This means you can match the system to the colors of your website for aesthetics.
Never underestimate how visual appeal can influence applications such as these. Even the right wording can play a part in keeping a visitor interested in knowing when content is created.
Building Content Strategies
If you’re looking for a new way to come up with content ideas, push notifications can help. At any moment, I can look at what people click on the most and devise a content strategy to engage those readers even further.
In this instance, you let people who actively visit your site show you what to create.
For something like Google Analytics, you have to wait until people find your content during a search result. With push notifications, active readers click on the most important articles.
Promote Your Website
Push notifications work well and contribute to marketing without ad spending. In fact, I’ve experienced varying degrees of success by using things like OneSignal on all of my blogs. And I’ve done this without extra expenses to myself.
Anything that can help promote your content is worth exploring, especially if you can automate the process while using WordPress.[template id=”2089″]
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