If you want to learn how to get traffic from Twitter, we got you covered.
Why aren’t you getting more traffic from Twitter? It feels like no matter how many followers you get on there, it doesn’t translate to nearly as many clicks as it should, right?
So…why?
Why can it feel like you’re just kind of talking to yourself?
It’s not your fault – but you can still do something about it.
So, what’s the math say? What makes Twitter such a numbers game – and how do you make it easier to win?
Twitter users actually don’t check Twitter that much
Twitter has about 300 million monthly active users.
How many of those users check their timeline even once per day?
60 percent?
50 percent?
Actually, fewer than half – only about 44% of Twitter users check the site on a daily basis.
So, say you have 1000 followers on Twitter. When you share something, your audience for that tweet on that day is more like 440 people – which is kind of a lot smaller!
And you have no idea when that one time per day is going to be.
When you tweet something, it gets pushed down the timeline pretty fast! (After all, about 6000 tweets are posted every second of the day.) The odds that someone is going to log on at just the right moment to see your tweet aren’t amazing.
So what about the people who check more than once per day? It makes your odds a little better if someone checks Twitter more than once, right?
Only about 27% of Twitter users check the site more than once per day.
(Again, not a particularly inspiring number.)
And while Twitter has started experimenting with algorithms that influence what users see in their timelines, it’s still predominantly a live feed that shows you things in the order in which they were shared. (Unlike Facebook, which has a more complicated method.)
Don’t believe it? Here’s how to see for yourself inside your own Twitter account.
Head over to your Twitter analytics dashboard and click “Tweets” in the top menu. It’ll show you your most recent updates – along with how many people saw them.
Here’s one of ours:
On the day we posted that, we had 5,110 Twitter followers – so this update was seen by about 5.4% of them.
(Note: Twitter counts impressions by non-followers, as well – if a tweet is retweeted and seen by people who don’t follow you, they still count. This example tweet was never retweeted, but it’s possible that a few non-followers wandered into the MeetEdgar Twitter profile while looking for the profile for American rock legend Meat Loaf. Probably.)
Point is, most of your followers don’t see any given tweet.
And what about the ones that do – why aren’t they clicking?
The link in that tweet above was only clicked by five out of 277 people. What gives?
Well, here’s the thing about that…
Twitter users don’t really click links that often
Not as much as you’d hope, anyway.
But don’t fear, there are strategies you can use to get people clicking those links.
How to get traffic from Twitter
Does the reluctant link clicking from Twitter users mean that sharing links is a big ol’ waste of time, though?!
Absolutely not – you have to keep the numbers in mind when you do it! Try these strategies to boost traffic to your website:
1. Share better links
First, make people curious.
A little curiosity gap goes a long way when you’re trying to get clicks! (Emphasis on a little. Click-bait isn’t the answer.)
Make sure that your tweets are piquing interesting – not telling the whole story. Here’s an example of how Career Contessa has mastered the art of the curiosity gap:
The 4 reasons why you really *don’t* want that work bonus https://t.co/SIQ5xlUFxMpic.twitter.com/ipIM1dMCSy
— Career Contessa (@CareerContessa) July 11, 2016
Makes you want to learn more, right?
When you write a promotional tweet, give people a clear idea of what to expect – but leave ‘em wanting a little more, too.
2. Don’t be afraid to share something more than once
The likely audience for any given tweet on any given day is teeny-tiny. You share something, and fewer than half your followers are even going to log on to Twitter that day – and who knows if it’ll be at the exact moment you tweet.
On the one hand, that’s a little frustrating – but on the other hand, it means you have the freedom to share something more than once, so more people can see it!
Everyone does this – even big businesses with professional social media teams.
Here’s an example from the MTV News Twitter account, which shared the same tweet three times in one day:
See what happened? People kept on liking and retweeting this story every time it was shared – because every time it was shared, different people saw it.
If you want to improve a tweet’s odds of being seen, don’t settle for sharing it once. If you do, you’re limiting yourself to a tiny slice of your audience!
3. Use relevant hashtags
Want the right people to notice your tweets and click on your links? Make it easy for them to find you. Using hashtags relevant to what you are tweeting about is an easy way to do this.
Sharing a blog about a trending topic? Use the hashtags others are using when you share your tweet.
Don’t overdo it with the hashtags, though. There’s nothing worse than a tweet that contains more hashtags than words!
4. Pin your Tweets
Have a blog post you want people who visit your profile to read? Pin it on your profile.
That way, it will stay at the top of your profile, and visitors will recognize it as an important piece of content.
Ensure the link to your website is in your bio, too, so new visitors can find out more about what you do when they visit your profile.
5. Write strong calls to action
So you have a link you want your followers to click on. Then tell them! It may sound like a simple solution but if you want retweets, tell your followers; if you want more traffic to your website, ask for it.
You can do this without sounding needy! Keep it cool; make it clear what you want. Here is a good example:
The tweet wants you to check out the article but doesn’t specifically say so. It is also clear that you will learn something useful from reading this piece of content.
6. Know when your audience is online
Use Twitter analytics to check when your audience is online. That way, you can schedule your content to go out when they are most active and likely to see what you share.
7. Use threads to tease your content
A trending way to share content on Twitter right now is by using threads. You write a short tweet and then use the thread to share further info.
This is a great way to create excitement about a piece of research you have completed. You can put some of the findings in the thread but encourage people to visit your site for the full article. If you tease just enough, you will make people click through to your website to find out more.
Here’s a great example of this tactic being utilized:
And remember…
Strategy makes a big difference on Twitter – but no matter how good you are at promoting yourself in 280 characters, you should never rely solely on one channel for driving traffic!
Want to learn more about how Facebook algorithms work, so you can get your posts seen more over there? Check out this behind-the-scenes breakdown. Want to see all the ingredients of an effective newsletter, which you can use to drive huge traffic numbers? Boom – here’s a guide. Every aspect of your content strategy deserves equal attention!
In the meantime, what’s your experience with Twitter traffic been like? Hard to get people from the timeline to your website? Think you’ve got a good handle on this whole thing? Share your take in the comments below!
14 Comments
Thanks for these awesome tips and facts. You make a very good point! I like the idea of re-posting to get more exposure. I also had no prior knowledge of the Twitter Analytics tool either (which I will be using from now on). Great information.
Great tips! Definitely will have to start sharing tweets more than once.
Thanks for your great and useful article. I was always unshure about sharing the same tweet more often – now I know why it is so useful. Greetings from Salzburg, Austia!
Thanks so much – really glad you found it so useful! (And greetings from the United States!)
This article is SO useful. I want to read the FB behind the scenes breakdown but the link provided is to the newsletter article. I assume a mistake?
Indeed! Sorry about that, Elena – we went ahead and fixed that link, but here’s the URL: https://meetedgar.com/blog/how-facebook-decides-who-sees-your-updates/
Your behind-the-scenes breakdown of how the Facebook algorithm works links to your newsletter guide. Was that supposed to happen or was it supposed to link to another page?
Sorry about that, Alice! Went ahead and fixed that link, but here’s the URL, just so it’s handy: https://meetedgar.com/blog/how-facebook-decides-who-sees-your-updates/
I was not following you on Twitter, LOL, but saw the email and clicked on the story. I am now following you on Twitter as a result. So your great email campaign and curious blog title caught my attention! Voila! Thank you so much.
Ha! Well, glad you found us – take THAT, statistics!
Also one of the 1%. Great article 🙂
Well thank you!
Excellent analysis.Thank you! BTW, I saw this on Twitter, clicked the link, read the entire thing, and am now leaving a comment. I’m officially 1% of the 1% of engaged users. ????
Thanks so much, Dianna!