So you go through Google Analytics regularly and one day you notice that the traffic on your website is not growing as rapidly as it once did.
Or you just published a new website and still have not gotten the response you were expecting. You have done everything according to the book but the numbers say otherwise. You are at the end of your tether.
With over a billion sites on the World Wide Web, gaining traffic can be an uphill battle. Many factors impact online traffic and we talk about some of them in this article. It is up to you to diagnose the exact problem and address it to open the floodgates.
1. Your SEO Strategy is Subpar
Search engine optimization determines how easy it would be for people to find you when they search for industry-related keywords. For instance, if you own a dental clinic, does your site show up when you search for “dental clinics near me” on Google? And we are talking about organic results here, not paid ads.
A strong SEO strategy means more people will find your site through search engines, and thereby visit it. However, its many components and evolving nature make it very easy to mess it up.
Missing out on even a single important aspect can lead to low rankings. Both the content and structure of your site should be optimized to get the best results.
2. Google Is Not Satisfied With Your Content
Search engines continue to change their algorithms and filter to sieve out quality content from fluff. You can no longer trick search engines by stuffing your content with keywords or by building backlinks.
Apart from search engines, even social media influences how much traffic you get on your site, thereby indirectly affecting its ranking as well. So content that is not engaging and conversational will not gain traction on social platforms either.
3. A Bad Backlink Profile
Backlinks are crucial if you want a high ranking. The top three ranking pages have high-quality backlinks from where visitors are directed to the page.
More backlinks from the best websites in the industry mean your site will also have high domain authority. This is why link-building is important. If you have never tried it before, it might be the reason why your site is not getting the required traffic despite being well-optimized.
4. You Are Punching Above Your Weight
Yes, keywords factors in for a lot when it comes to rankings. But the most searched keywords are often targeted by the big players in the industry.
This makes it almost impossible for you to get ahead of your competitors and secure a position in the top ten. No matter how outstanding your content is, the SERPs are unfair.
They favor famous authority websites like WebMD, Amazon, Entrepreneur, etc. This is where low-volume and long-tail keywords can help.
5. You Are Focusing All Your Efforts On Content Creation
We have already highlighted the importance of high-quality content. A consistent flow of valuable content can help drive organic traffic. However, is the content you keep publishing even reaching the people you targeted?
Continuously publishing content without promoting it will not magically attract new people to your site. You might as well click the publish button and pray for people to read your blog without thinking through how anyone could possibly end up on your post.
This is why it is important to promote your blogs via social networking sites, email lists, etc.
6. Your Website Is Hard To Navigate
How many times have you visited websites with slow loading times and designs so incomprehensible that you left out of frustration?
When it comes to online marketing, user experience matters a lot. Your site should be well-structured so it’s easy to navigate. All the links should be working and directing users to the correct pages. It should be easy to find information like contact numbers, emails, etc.
Optimizing your site for mobile is also crucial. It should be responsive and work seamlessly regardless of what device is being used to browse it. Slow load times do not only repel visitors but can also hurt your rankings.
7. You Are Not Utilising Social Media
Content promotion is not just about search engines and ads anymore. Social media plays an important role in traffic generation these days.
Interacting in your social community can be very beneficial for your traffic. You can develop a relationship with both potential and existing customers and bring them to your site.
Once you grow a large following on sites like Twitter and Facebook, even just one post/share can get you hundreds of visitors to your site.
You may also target smaller communities such as forums or industry-relevant subreddits. These spaces have a large number of active members that might be interested in the services or products provided by your business.
The best part is, the only thing it will cost is your time. However, if you want to accelerate the process, ads on social media platforms can be a worthwhile investment.
Want To Increase Traffic?
If your website is not getting the required traffic, start by determining the problem. Sometimes, all it takes is a minor tweak to get everything back on track. Once you have figured out the reason, you can start working on fixing it.
Keep in mind, it will take some time to notice any change in the influx of traffic. This is because traffic takes time to build up. Being patient throughout the process is important.
