Why Your Website isn’t Getting Traffic
Have you’ve spent hours upon hours building up your website and blogging, only to be met with crickets?
Well, there’s a lot of things that might be going on here.
So, in this article, we’ll go through some of the most common reasons why people don’t see traffic to their sites and what you can do to increase organic traffic to your website.
Keep reading!
Reasons your website is not getting traffic
Because there are so many factors that affect how much traffic your website gets, there are multiple issues that could be going on that are preventing your website from getting traffic. Let’s go through a few.
You’re website isn’t indexed
The first thing you need to do if you’re not getting traffic to your website is check if your website is being indexed by Google. If your site isn’t indexed, it won’t appear in search results, making it nearly invisible to potential visitors. For full instructions on how to get your site indexed, check out Ahrefs guide here.
You have little to no backlinks
Does your website have any backlinks (links from other websites that direct readers to your site)? If not, you have a problem.
See, search engines essentially see backlinks as votes of confidence. When other reputable sites link to your content, it signals to search engines like Google that your site is a trusted resource. Since Google’s algorithm aims to provide users with the most reliable information possible, it tends to push content with strong backlink profiles higher in search results.
The best way to build backlinks to your site is to create content that is linkable! Here’s a guide from Backlinko to learn more about this.
You’re not targeting the right keywords
A brief overview of keywords if you don’t know what the heck they are: Keywords are the terms and phrases that people type into search engines when they're looking for information. Getting your keywords right is crucial for attracting not only the right visitors but any visitors at all to your site.
However, a common mistake many people make is targeting highly competitive keywords. These are popular search terms that big websites with greater authority dominate nine-and-a-half out of ten times. Competing against these giants can be a losing battle, and you might find your site buried deep in the search results, far from where potential visitors are looking.
Instead, you need to strike a balance between relevance and competition. To start, use tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you identify keywords that have lower competition but still attract some search traffic. These tools provide data on how often specific keywords are searched and how competitive they are. Then, focus on long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases. They may have lower search volumes, but they often attract more targeted traffic and are less competitive. For example, instead of targeting"running shoes," you might target "best running shoes for flat feet."
You’re not blogging enough
One of the reasons your website might not be getting the traffic you want is that you're not blogging enough. The more you blog, the more keywords you can target, and the more opportunities you have to attract visitors to your site.
A lot of people make the mistake of writing just a few blog posts and then being surprised when they don’t see a significant increase in traffic. The fact is, you need to consistently be posting new blogs to see your traffic start to snowball. For example, research shows that blogs with 24 or more posts see a 30% increase in traffic, while those with over 50 posts see traffic jump by 77%.
So, if you’re not seeing the traffic you want and you’ve checked that you're not making any of the other mistakes on this list, try increasing your blogging frequency. It can help you create more opportunities for visitors to find your site and ultimately boost your traffic.
You’re content isn’t good enough
One reason your website might not be getting traffic is that your content isn't good enough. Harsh, we know!
The thing is, Google's algorithm is smart and prioritizes the best results for its users. So, even if you find the right keywords and build all the backlinks in the world, bad content won’t get you the results you’re looking for.
But what is good content?
Well, good content is:
Engaging: One of the things that signals to Google that your content is bad is if it has high bounce rates. So, your content should capture and hold the reader's attention. To do this, write conversationally and break up text with headings and bullet points to make your content more digestible.
Well-researched: We all know that what we read on the Internet is always true. Just kidding! And listen, Google knows that misinformation online is rampant, so it values content that uses research to back up claims. So include stats whenever relevant and make sure to link to only trustworthy sites.
Valuable: When someone searches for something on Google, they want an answer. If your content provides more value than anyone else's, you’re more likely to rank higher. This means diving deep into topics, providing detailed explanations, and covering all aspects of the search query.
You’re ignoring SEO best practices
If your website isn't getting traffic, you might be ignoring some important SEO best practices. Here are some of the most important ones to keep in mind:
Page speed: Google considers page speed when ranking sites, so a slow site can hurt your search engine rankings. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site’s performance and make necessary improvements.
Keyword placement: Incorporating keywords into your content is important, but where you place them matters too. Make sure your target keywords appear in the URL, meta title, meta descriptions, your H1, one H2, and in the first 100 words of your article. However, avoid keyword stuffing—using keywords too frequently can make your content seem unnatural and can be penalized by search engines.
Internal linking: Linking to other pages on your website helps search engines understand the structure of your site and keeps visitors engaged longer.
Mobile friendliness: With more people browsing the web on their phones, having a mobile-friendly website is essential. Google favors mobile-friendly sites in search rankings, so make sure your site is responsive and looks good on all devices.
Alt text for images: Don’t forget to use alt text for your images. Alt text helps search engines understand what an image is about, which can improve your site’s SEO. It’s also important for accessibility, helping visually impaired users understand the content of your images.
You’re headlines aren’t enticing enough
One often overlooked reason your website might not be getting much traffic is that your headlines aren't enticing enough. Believe it or not, traffic can vary by as much as 500% based on the headline alone.
So, even if you’re ranking in the top three on Google for a search term, an uninteresting headline can cause you to miss out on a lot of potential traffic. Think about it: searchers have plenty of options. If your headline doesn’t grab their attention, they’ll simply click on another result.
Your headline should be clear, intriguing, and promise value to the reader. It needs to stand out and make the reader curious enough to click through to your content.
One of my favorite tools for coming up with great headlines is CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer. It scores your headlines based on various factors like word balance, length, and clarity. It also provides suggestions on how to improve your headline.
Want to learn more?
It’s really disappointing to put so much effort into your website and not see a lot of payoff. Hopefully, though, this blog post has given you some insight into some of the problems that might be going on and what you can do about them. If you want to learn more about blogging, websites, email marketing, and more on the blog! Here are some of our favorites!
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