The number one complaint of new website owners is that their blogs or web pages aren’t getting enough traffic. This can be frustrating, especially if an individual or business has dedicated months of hard work to optimize their content in the hopes of getting more readers. Maximizing your online potential is a work in progress, however, and it’s never too late to turn things around. Here are six reasons why your website isn’t getting enough traffic, along with actionable solutions to try.
You Haven’t Researched Keywords.
Keywords are vital for SEO, but many people fall into the trap of choosing a keyword because it’s relevant without putting in the proper research. Don’t assume that because your website is devoted to hairdressing that “hairdresser” or “haircut” are the keywords, you should be using – Google’s algorithms are more complex than this. Use a keyword research tool and, if necessary, tailor your content to the keywords available, not the other way round. Make sure your keywords appear in any headings, sub-headings, and titles across your website.
You Haven’t Embraced Social Sharing.
When it comes to generating traffic to your site, creating content is only half the battle. Once you’ve written an optimized page or post, you need to get people to read it. The most obvious way to do this is via social sharing, but that doesn’t mean just posting it on Facebook or Twitter and hoping for the best. To fully embrace social sharing, you should add sharing buttons to your site, find out the peak times for your audience’s activity, include images, always reply to reader comments and encourage other website owners and bloggers to share your content. Another effective way to share your posts through email marketing is to make sure you’re collecting email addresses from your subscribers and using them to further engage with your content.
Your Content Isn’t Relatable.
your content. You can’t just write a formulaic post or page that ticks all the boxes – your prose needs to have a heart. People read articles that relate to their own interests, ethics, and beliefs, and if your content is too focused on you or your business, then your readers may struggle to engage.
Your Content Isn’t High-Quality.
No one’s saying you have to be the best writer or photographer in the world to create a good blog post, but your content does need to reflect care and quality. Poor grammar and grainy, pixelated images aren’t pleasant to look at, plus they will also undermine your site’s credibility. If spelling and grammar don’t come naturally to you, you can use an application like Grammarly or Hemingway or hire a content writer. You can also find high-quality photos on royalty-free image sites that you can use and share on your blog.
Your Website Is Too Cluttered
It doesn’t matter how well you’ve optimized your site for search engines; if your page is cluttered and the navigation is confusing, no one’s going to stick around for long. Your website looks and functions affect how your readers engage with your brand, so if the design is poor, you will struggle to get traffic. Do some research on how to improve your site’s design, or better yet, hire a web designer to give it a new look. A web designer’s job is not only to make your website look good – he or she will also optimize your pages to help boost your SEO rankings.
You Don’t Have a Clear Goal.
If you’re still not getting enough website traffic, you might want to think about your goals. What is “enough” traffic, and what is its purpose? Bloggers typically want more readers to increase shares, build up their subscriber count, and eventually get paid for their work. However, this takes time and planning, and there’s no guarantee that their hard work will pay off.
Businesses tend to want traffic so they can attract new customers and increase sales. If this isn’t happening for you and you’ve tried every optimization trick you can think of, it might be time to consult an SEO expert. Sure, it’s an investment, but it will be worth it if they can increase your sales.
