Driving qualified traffic to your website is crucial for growing any business online today. Yet, with over 1.7 billion websites competing for visibility, getting visitors can feel like an uphill battle. This makes having an effective website traffic strategy essential.

Recent data shows that 54% of site visitors arrive from organic search, while 17% come from social media. Email marketing and paid ads also deliver significant website traffic when executed correctly.

This comprehensive guide will explore proven tactics to increase website traffic across key channels in 2023. Follow these best practices to attract more visitors and convert them into leads and customers.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Website Traffic | Build a Website | Website Traffic | Business Website

The best website in the world serves almost no purpose if only a few people visit it. The point of building a website is to communicate with as many people as possible. This means your primary goal should be to increase website traffic.

For businesses, your website serves two primary functions. The first is to cut costs. The second is to increase revenue.

How to increase website traffic featured image

Increasing web traffic helps with both. Specifically, increasing repeat traffic cuts costs by improving your customer retention rate. Attracting new users boosts revenues by attracting new customers.

But first, let’s get some basic theory out of the way.

What is Website Traffic? (And Why does it Matter?)

Essentially, web traffic measures the number of visitors your site gets in any given timeframe. For example, you’ll often hear markets talk about annual, monthly or 90-day traffic.

In other words, your traffic figures are a macro-view of who visits your site and when.

Of course, there’s much more to this than simply patting yourself on the back for getting a tonne of visitors. Digging a little deeper into your web traffic can offer many helpful insights.

For example, examining the demographics of your audience might help you to identify an age group that you’re underperforming with. You could even find out you have a major group of users in a far-flung country.

However, from a marketing perspective, the most important insights relate to how users find your site.

Website Traffic Sources

It’s important to know where your website traffic comes from. Otherwise, measuring the effect of digital marketing campaigns would be impossible. That is, we make all kinds of efforts to attract users to our site. You want to know which ones are working.

This can be measured in any traffic analysis tool, for instance, Google Analytics.

Generally, website traffic can be grouped into the following categories:

  • Organic – Where a user finds your site through a search engine, like Google, as a result of your SEO strategy.
  • Paid – This is when users find your site due to PPC campaigns.
  • Direct – Direct traffic simply means that someone has entered your web address in the URL bar of their browser.
  • Referral – This is when a user clicks on a link to your site from an external domain.
  • Social – Social traffic comes from paid and organic posts on your social media accounts.
  • Email – If you email marketing campaigns, you can measure the proportion of your traffic which clicks through to your site from their inbox.
  • Other – This is any other traffic source which doesn’t fall into one of the other categories. For example, if a user clicks through to your site from a mobile app or by scanning a QR code on a piece of physical media.
How to increase website traffic google analytics example
Traffic can be broken down into different sources using Google Analytics. Image credit: Myriam Jessier

These traffic sources can be analysed for the entire site or individual pages and subdomains.

Best Website Traffic Checker | Build a Website | Website Traffic | Business Website

Strategic Marketing Plan

Unfortunately, many organisations build websites without researching, planning, or developing a comprehensive strategic marketing plan integrating marketing efforts across all organisation platforms.

A company may use traditional media, such as radio, television, and print advertisements. It may use point-of-purchase displays, billboards, and advertising posters. It also may have an ongoing email marketing campaign.

If the company maximises exposure, it has a presence on social media. The company may develop an app. A company may make frequent press releases and public announcements. Company representatives may attend trade shows and conferences and give public talks.

A company with a comprehensive marketing campaign might do all of these things listed above. To increase website traffic, all of these efforts tie back to the company’s website in some way.

The company’s domain, which is the name of its website, is on everything the company creates for its staff, investors, customers, clients, business partners, affiliated organizations, and the public. The company’s website is prominently displayed on every vehicle it owns.

Some of the best practices to increase website traffic include:

1. Promote your Website Everywhere

A ubiquitous marketing plan for a website means the web address is on everything the company creates and shows up everywhere this material appears. It helps a lot if the website URL is also a popular brand name of the company.

As an example, almost everyone in the world knows there is a Coca-Cola website with the URL www.cocacola.com. On the other hand, less effort is put into marketing Coke’s other brands, like Lilt or Sprite.

Increase Website Traffic
One of the simplest ways to drive traffic is to include your website on your existing physical marketing materials. Image credit: David Emrich

2. Make the Website URL Memorable and Easy to Spell

This should be obvious, but you might be surprised how many bad domains there are. A bad example would be a website URL such as rtfftxquisstlo3erf.com. Such a horrible URL is impossible to pronounce, remember, or spell.

It also makes your site appear like a temporary domain, which is very off-putting for users.

It also helps to own domains which are similar to your primary site. Continuing with our Coca-Cola example, the Coca-Cola company is smart enough to know that consumers may look for www.coca-cola.com or www.cocacola.com (without the dash).

Additionally, consumers may enter the URL without using the www prefix, so in this example, www.coca-cola.com, coca-cola.com, www.cocacola.com, and cocacola.com, which are different web URL addresses, all need to redirect to the same main home page for the company.

The same goes for coke.com.

Web Traffic Estimator: Google Analytics, Clicky, SEMrush, Similar Web, Ahrefs

3. Do Not Send Web Traffic to Others by Accident

Consumers frequently make spelling errors and typos when entering URLs. Unless a company captures as many of these mistakes as possible, it can inadvertently send tons of web traffic to the wrong website.

An example of this is gamil.com, which is very similar to gmail.com. It could also be mistakenly entered as a result of autocorrection.

The Gamil company did nothing wrong. They have been in business for more than 28 years. On 29 June 1998, the company registered the domain www.gamil.com. This was six years before the public launch of “Gmail” in 2004.

Gmail is different from Gamal, and more importantly, the company of Gamil has documented prior use, so there is no trademark infringement claim possible.

The owners of gamil.com do not seem to be willing to sell the domain to Google. No matter how powerful Google may be, gamil.com remains in the hands of its original owners. The domain URL of gamil.com gets enormous daily web traffic from Internet users typing the name of Gmail incorrectly.

When starting a new website, it’s best to make a new brand word that did not previously exist, make a new spelling, and then register as many misspelt entries of Internet users as possible.

4. Increase Website Traffic with an Existing URL

website traffic checker - Increase Website Traffic

Sometimes, registering a trademark, combined with prior use, establishes the right of the company to own a website made from the brand’s name.

A disputed claim is possible with ICANN, which is the website authority, using the domain dispute resolution policies. For example, an international company, such as McDonald’s, has the right to the URL www.mcdonalds.com.

In the early days of the commercialization of the Internet, businesses paid millions of U.S. dollars for one-word domain names, such as www.insurance.com. There is value in having a domain name that is a good single word.

This trend is not as strong as before, and the prices have come way down from the record millions they used to be, yet there are still domain names that sell for premium prices.

When a domain expires, many of its SEO strengths remain in place. This means you can get much web traffic from buying expired domains.

5. Use Google My Business to Increase Web Traffic

How to Set Up a Google My Business Listing | Google My Business | Google for Business | Google

A few years back, Google moved to rank websites based on localization. This infuriated website owners who spent lots of money making their generic websites have a high ranking because they lost out on traffic.

For example, if a person lives in Brighton, UK, and uses the Google search engine to look for insurance, it is now more likely that a Brighton-based insurance agency comes up at the top rank than insurance.com.

This move by Google to prioritize local searches over generic ones created an opportunity for small or local businesses to compete with their international rivals. In some ways, it’s a lot easier to rank for local SEO.

This is because so much of local ranking is made up of having a great Google My Business profile:

Local ranking factors 2018 infographic
Understanding local SEO is a great way to increase your web traffic. Image credit: ChatMeter.com

This makes it easy to rank for local searches, as long as your Google My Business profile is completed and your GMB tags are optimised for keywords with a high volume and a local search intent.

6. SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the most cost-effective way to increase your site traffic. However, it’s also a fairly tricky field. There are many things to fine-tune that make a website more appealing to search engines.

The Google search algorithm constantly changes, so the need for SEO updates for websites is also constant.

Many self-starters like to handle SEO tasks themselves. SEO work is not difficult, and there are plenty of free or low-cost SEO tools that assist in the process. The troublesome part of SEO work is it takes many mundane efforts to keep websites up-to-date.

Google does not explain all the details of how its algorithm ranks websites, so part of good SEO work is a guessing game and testing to see what works and what does not.

Many companies outsource the SEO work to other organizations because of this need for ongoing SEO efforts.

The Best Free SEO Tools Online | SEO | Build a Website | Website Tutorial

7. Mobile Devices and Apps

More users are accessing the Internet using mobile devices than ever before. It is important that a website is functional and appears properly on any type of device. Another way to attract web traffic is to create a useful app and give it away for free.

However, this isn’t always the most cost-effective strategy. Mobile apps are expensive. They also need to be promoted the same way that your site does. This is difficult if your web traffic figures are already poor.

As such, if a mobile app results in an increase in your web traffic, this should be seen as a bonus. However, increasing your traffic should not be the primary reason you invest in an app.

8. Paid Advertisement and Social Media

Pay Per Click Ads: An Unmissable Advertising Opportunity?

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertisement is a popular way to increase web traffic. Having a presence on social media that links to a website also generates more web traffic. It also allows you to use advanced marketing strategies, like retargeting.

PPC is also an effective way to drive traffic to your site, but there are a few things to remember. The main priority for any PPC campaign is return on investment. That is, you should end up with more revenue than your ads cost you in the first place.

As such, you shouldn’t spend too much money on online ads until you know your site effectively converts traffic into sales. Then, it’s worth investing in PPC to scale your conversions.

9. Contests and Quizzes

Creating contests and having quizzes on a website are proven ways to increase web traffic. These are also excellent ways to drive user engagement across social media platforms and create user-generated content.

However, the goal of a contest or quiz is rarely to drive traffic directly to your site.

Rather, they are most frequently used as fun and subtle lead magnets. This is when a user is given something in return for signing up to your mailing list – in this case, a chance to win a prize.

The user is then entered into an email funnel. This eventually leads them to your site, although this happens indirectly and over time. It’s also important to remember that this will show up in your analytics as email traffic.

In any business sector, it is important to know who the influencers are. They may be industry associations, bloggers, news organizations, or others.

To create links between these sources and a website, first, create some outstanding content that gives the viewers significant value, then reach out to the webmasters of those other websites and ask for permission to include a link to their website in the content. At the same time, ask them to link back to your website.

If you don’t have experience in link building, as it is quite a complex process, you can hire a link building agency for this purpose. To choose the right company, it is important to familiarize yourself with their case studies, reviews, and understand whether the company has the necessary expertise. For example, if you want to build links for a SaaS business, a company like Editorial Link would be a great fit, as they build high authority links for many successful SaaS projects.If you don’t have experience in link building, as it is quite a complex process, you can hire a link building agency for this purpose. To choose the right company, it is important to familiarize yourself with their case studies, reviews, and understand whether the company has the necessary expertise. For example, if you want to build links for a SaaS business, a company like Editorial Link would be a great fit, as they build high authority links for many successful SaaS projects.

This is important to grow your domain authority (DA). This is a measure of how credible your site is within your niche. It’s also an increasingly important SEO ranking factor, and increases in DA will lead directly to increased traffic:

Link building is highly effective at boosting your organic web traffic. Image credit: Uptimiser.com

Search engine optimization is the #1 long-term strategy for driving qualified visitors. Key elements include:

  • Optimizing Page Speed – Faster loading pages improve SEO rankings. Pages should load in under 2 seconds. Minify code, compress images and optimize servers.
  • Creating Keyword-Focused Content – Research low competition, high traffic keywords and optimize new content around them, including in titles, URLs and H2 tags.
  • Enhancing On-Site Link Building – Update site navigation and internal links to enhance crawlability and SEO flow. Link to related content.
  • Improving Mobile Optimization – Ensure responsive design and mobile layouts, and compress images for faster loading. More than 50% of search is now mobile.
  • Generating Backlinks – Build links from industry websites, directories, and reputable media sources. Focus on contextual, natural backlinks versus paid.
  • Updating Site Architecture – Organize your site into logical clusters of related content around topics, products and services. Enhance site search.
  • Producing Fresh, Useful Content – Search engines favour sites that regularly add new, high-quality content with relevant keywords. Blog consistently.

Best Ways to Increase Web Traffic

By following these tips and making regular efforts to increase web traffic, it is possible to see real results. Improved results come from testing to learn what works best and monitoring web traffic results to see what increases performance.

There are thousands of ways to get traffic to a website. The above strategies have been chosen as they are easily actionable by just about anyone.

One of the exciting things about digital marketing is that there is pretty much no limit to the number of new and exciting strategies you can use to drive traffic. Ultimately, this means that there is no ceiling on how far you can grow your business either.

Leveraging Social Media to Drive Referrals:

Active social media accounts are powerful for referring followers to visit your site. Tactics include:

  • Sharing New Content – Post blog articles, videos, reports, infographics and other site content across social channels.
  • Utilizing Clickable CTAs – Write compelling calls to action to visit your site or specific landing pages.
  • Cross-Promoting Content – Share website content across multiple platforms to maximize reach.
  • Running Targeted Social Ads – Promote premium offers, downloads and site content via paid social advertising.
  • Leveraging Influencers – Partner with relevant influencers to share or feature your brand and content.
  • Promoting Discounts and Sales – Offer exclusive deals for social followers that drive them to your site.
  • Using UTM Tracking Codes – These reveal which social referrals convert best.

Boosting Traffic with Email Marketing:

How to Set Up Email Marketing | Email Marketing Campaign | Email Marketing Course

Email subscribers are 18 times more likely to visit your site than social followers. Drive traffic by:

  • Promoting New Site Content – Share blog posts, videos, offers, etc., via dedicated emails. Send 2-4 times per month.
  • Segmenting Your List – Send targeted content based on subscriber interests and behaviours.
  • Offering Lead Magnets – Free downloads, discounts and gated content in exchange for emails.
  • Automating Drip Campaigns – Send new subscribers a pre-scheduled automated email series.
  • Coordinating With Social Posts – Promote the same content across email and social channels.

Frequently Asked Questions About Driving Website Traffic:

What are the main sources of website traffic?

  • Organic search, social media, email, and paid advertising account for most website traffic. Referrals and direct visits make up smaller shares.

How much website traffic do you need to make money?

  • The amount varies widely by business model. Focus on converting visitors into leads and sales vs just driving raw traffic volume.

What is a good website traffic goal?

  • Benchmark against your industry. 10k, 50k, or 100k+ monthly visitors are common goals for established sites.

How long does it take to increase website traffic?

  • Done right, you can begin seeing results in 1-2 months, but SEO and social media efforts compound over 6-12+ months.

Should you buy website traffic?

  • Low-quality paid traffic has limited value. Invest in driving qualified organic and social visitors instead for long-term impact.

How often should you post content to increase traffic?

  • 1-2 times per week is a good baseline. Monitor your site analytics to determine ideal posting frequency.

Increase Website Traffic: Conclusion:

Gaining more website traffic requires using the full breadth of digital marketing channels available today. Combine SEO, social media promotion, email marketing, and select paid efforts to maximize qualified visitors over both the short and long term. Set measurable traffic goals, track online and offline conversions, and continually refine your strategies based on data. With persistence and optimization, your website can attract all the traffic needed to grow a thriving business.

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