How Much Traffic Does Your Website Need?
Your website is the ultimate salesman. It can demonstrate your authority in your field, explain the value of your offers, and attract new customers/clients without you needing to make sales calls or cold email anyone. Most businesses know the value of a website, and about 71% of them have one these days.
But let’s face it — even the most amazing website won’t sell your offers if you’re getting zero traffic.
So, how much traffic does your business need?
42.
Just kidding! We have to start this off with a ridiculous answer because the actual answer is — it depends. First of all, it depends on what your business’s goals are. Are you a photographer who needs three new clients a month to meet your goals? Maybe that means you need 500 visitors to get three who are interested in AND can afford your offer. Or maybe you need 300 visitors. Or maybe you need 1,000.
The thing is, there are multiple factors that will determine the actual number of visitors you need, such as:
The types of visitors your website is attracting: Are the visitors you’re attracting part of your target audience? Are they genuinely interested in your services or just browsing?
How well your website copy converts: Great website copy can significantly boost your conversion rate, meaning you might need fewer visitors to reach your goals.
How expensive your offers are: Higher-priced services might have a lower conversion rate simply because fewer people will be able to afford your offers or are going to be willing to pay.
And because there are so many factors that go into how many website visitors you need to reach your business goals, instead of focusing on getting an specific number of website visitors, focus on the following:
Focus on targeting the right people: 1,000 of the wrong kinds of visitors is going to be less valuable for your business than 100 of the right kinds of visitors. So, make sure you create content that speaks to the problems or questions of your target audience. That way, you get the right kinds of traffic.
Get more traffic: 1,000 of the right kinds of visitors is going to be more valuable than 100 of the right kinds of visitors. It’s just simple math. So, while you need to focus on creating the right kinds of content that speaks to your target audience, you also need to focus on creating MORE of the right kinds of content as well as improving your rankings so you get more visitors from that content.
Improve your website copy: Even the right kinds of visitors aren’t going to be tempted by your offer if you don't explain why it’s valuable the right way. So, if you’re creating targeted content and getting traffic already, invest in website copy to improve your conversions.
How to check how much traffic a website gets
Make sure your website is connected to Google Search Console. If you haven’t done this yet, check out Google's Instructions here.
Once it’s connected, you can evaluate the amount of clicks you're getting, as well as what search terms (queries) and pages are getting you these clicks.
How to increase your website traffic
There are TONS of ways to improve your website traffic which I talk about at length in this article on growing your blog traffic. But to get started, here are three things I recommend focusing on first.
Creating high-quality content: When you consistently produce well-researched, informative, and engaging content, Google is more likely to see your site as a trusted resource, which helps boost your website’s authority and rankings.
SEO: Make sure you are doing proper keyword research as well as optimizing each of your posts for these keywords.
Attracting backlinks: Backlinks, or links from other websites to yours, are one of the main ways Google determines your site’s authority. The best types of backlinks are natural backlinks (meaning someone naturally finds your website and links to it). But since it can take a long time for this to start happening naturally, to attract backlinks a bit faster, try guest blogging for websites in your niche to get a few links.
How to attract the right kinds of website visitors
So, how do you actually attract the right kinds of website visitors? We like keep things simple, so here are the three steps we recommend.
Know your audience: In order to attract the right kinds of people who will be a fit for your offers, you need to understand who those people are. What are their needs and pain points? How does that relate to your offer? The better you know your audience, the better you can tailor your content to resonate with and help them.
Choose the right keywords: Once you know who your audience is, the next step is identifying the keywords they are searching for, and that you can realistically rank for. Use tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to find relevant keywords with a good balance of search volume and competition. Focus on long-tail keywords, which are more specific and often less competitive. These can help you attract visitors who are looking for exactly what you offer.
Create quality content: With a clear understanding of your audience and the right keywords, it's time to create SEO optimized content. If you need more information on how to do this, check out my article on how to write an SEO blog.
What if you’re getting lots of traffic but no sales?
If you’re getting lots of traffic but no sales, it’s time to investigate where your traffic is coming from. Keyword tools can help identify which keywords are driving visitors to your site. For example, if you’re a holistic health coach but are getting traffic for your brownie recipe, you might be attracting people interested in baking rather than seeking health coaching. That could explain why you are getting a lot of traffic but not getting sales. This is why targeting the right audience is so important to any traffic-building strategy.
But if targeting isn’t the issue, you might have a conversion problem. That is, you’re attracting the right people but just aren't persuading them they need your offer.
How to improve website conversions
If you’re getting a good amount of traffic (at least 300 visitors a month) and are targeting the right people, but still have very few conversions, you’ll want to start focusing on improving your website to increase conversions. Here’s how to get started.
Improve your website copy
One of the best ways to improve conversions is by improving your website copy. Clear, persuasive, and engaging copy can significantly increase the attractiveness of your offer. One way to do this is with the PAS (Problem-Agitation-Solution) copywriting framework. This is a common copywriting technique in which the copy highlights a problem the reader is trying to solve, explains the extent of the issue and why it’s so important that the problem is solved, and then offers a solution to the problem.
Add social proof
Adding social proof, such as testimonials and reviews, can also make a big difference to potential customers. Potential customers are more likely to trust your business when they see that others have had positive experiences. In fact, 87% of buying decisions begin with researching reviews! So, make it easy for your visitors and add them to your website to build trust and encourage more conversions.
Get people on your email list
The reality is that not everyone is ready to make a purchase decision just by visiting your website. That’s why you need to get people on your email list! By capturing their email, you can nurture these leads over time until they're ready to make a purchase.
Add CTAs
Finally, make sure to add calls to action (CTAs) to your website. Guide your visitors on what steps to take next, whether it's learning more about a product, signing up to your email list or making a purchase. Well-placed and personalized CTAs can significantly improve your conversion rates if you make the next steps obvious and easy to follow. It may sound simple, but it can make a big difference!
Want to learn more?
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of how much traffic your website needs to meet your goals. But do you need more help? You can learn more about Squarespace, design, copywriting, SEO, and more on the blog! Here are some of our favorites!
Businesses that need a website
How are service pages and sales pages different?
Why SEO is important for business
How to write a blog post: Step-by-step
