With more and more consumers buying goods and services online, the forward thinking businesses' are investing in marketing techniques that attempt to increase website traffic.

This is all well and good, but if these visitors have little to no interest in the products on offer or aren’t being encouraged to take the next step and convert, then what’s the point?

For this reason, it is crucially important to attract the right kind of online users and persuade these individuals to make a move. But what steps do you need to take in order to convert traffic into leads?

Here are 5 Steps to Convert Traffic to Leads to help you:

1. Ensure it’s the right traffic in the first place
   
   First of all, your inbound marketing activity should be geared towards attracting the right kind of visitors in the first place. Although there are several techniques and tactics available, most will try and generate traffic through a combination of social media, content creation and SEO.
   
   This should make use of relevant and targeted keywords, which reflect the search queries of your desired customers, i.e. your buyer personas.  These online users are more likely to convert because you are promising to shed light or maybe even solve the problem they are seeking an answer to.
   
   
2. Stimulate interest in the brand and encourage user engagement
   
   Once you have caught the audience’s attention with a piece of content or social media update that arouses interest, you will need to make sure this attentiveness is maintained and actively engage with your website visitors.
   
   If you use inbound marketing, your blog posts should be captivating and compelling but also ask for comments. Social media updates will need to be concise and to the point, but also generate a response. After taking one step, prospects will be more willing to make another one.
   
   
3. Create a number of landing pages
   
   Designed to provide website visitors with a reward or offer after handing over personal information, a landing page is the most common and effective way to convert prospects into leads.
   
   These can be included as a link within content or found via search engines, referral and direct traffic. As such, you may need to create several landing pages to cater for the wants and needs of individuals at different stages of their buyers journey/your sales funnel.
   
   
4. Come-up with some intriguing opt-in forms
   
   Similar to a landing page, opt-in forms give website visitors the chance to exchange their details in return for something. However, they take the guise of an unblockable popup or in sidebars, below posts or inside videos.
   
   These can be instantly dismissed by first-time visitors and frustrating for returning traffic, so you will need generate intrigue without causing annoyance. 
   
   
5. Provide your traffic with something they cannot refuse
   
   One way you can win over visitors rather than turning them away is to provide something too good to refuse. A lot will depend on the type of business in question, but possibilities range from a free consultation to a complimentary download.
   
   If they agree and accept the offer, you will know that their interest is genuine and in the process, achieve your initial objective of converting traffic into leads.