High Rankings and Low Traffic: How to Fix It and Increase Traffic to my Website
In today’s digital world, business owners appreciate the importance of achieving a high ranking on search engines results pages. Only about 25% of searchers read beyond the first page and if the answer to their question comes up at the top of the page, they’re less likely to look any further. However, clients often tell us “I’ve improved my search engine ranking position but can’t seem to increase traffic to my website”. At Vooba, we know from years of experience that there are several reasons as to why this should be; this blog post will help you to identify the issues and show you how to improve website traffic.
What is the purpose of a search engine ranking system?
Search engines such as Google are designed to show you websites that relevant to the words you typed into the search box. The search engine algorithms are designed to simplify and speed up the process of finding information online.
What is search engine ranking?
This is the position in which a certain site is shown on the results page of a search engine query. The nearer the top of the first page you can achieve, the better for your sales
Why does my website have low traffic despite a high ranking and how can I increase traffic to my website?
If your business has a high ranking on Google results pages but you’re still not reaping any benefits, this could be because the traffic to your website has not actually increased. There are several reasons why this should be so: these are some of the most usual causes.
Your website content is being ranked for the “wrong” keywords
This is the most common reason for a drop in traffic to a website. When looking at ways to get more traffic to your website, you will have researched specific keywords that you believe will drive people searching for information to your pages in the hope that they will be converted into customers. But you might have chosen the wrong keywords. The reasons for this are three-fold:
1. The selected keywords are too specific.
If you've selected “long-tail” keywords that are too specific, you may find your business is competing with long-established niche companies that are unlikely to be dislodged from their high rankings. Generic keywords will always generate a higher search volume. On the other hand, if your business ranks highly for keywords that are rarely searched for, this will bring you no profit as it’s the same as not having any ranking whatsoever.
2. You might not have taken search intent into consideration.
There are four basic types of searches:
- Informational - this is to discover the answer to a question or to learn something.
- Navigational - this is when a searcher is seeking to find specific information on a particular website.
- Commercial - this is to find the optimal way to find a solution to a problem or fulfil a need.
- Transactional - this is to take action such as filling in details or placing an order.
You won’t be generating business unless you’ve interpreted your audience’s intent correctly.
3. Your metadata gets you ranking but not conversions.
Metadata is the first thing your audience will scan read and decide whether to click or not. They will form a judgement by reading the first line so it’s essential that the meta title and meta description provide clear, convincing information regarding the content of the website page. If it doesn’t, they will scroll on down the results and click on a different page instead.
Can I increase traffic to my website with other traffic channels?
If organic traffic alone is not producing the boost in sales you’re seeking, It may be helpful to diversify and experiment with other sources of traffic, such as creating videos for a YouTube channel, podcasts, press releases and social media leverage.
How to bring traffic to my website: is page speed slowing down my sales?
If a page is too slow to load, most of your audience will move on and click on a page that loads more quickly. This will not only affect your customers’ experience and confidence in your brand, it will also affect your rankings. Try the PageSpeed Tool to discover how the speed of your pages is ranked.
What can I do to increase traffic to my website? Our top tips
- Enhance your metadata. Ensure that keywords are used at the start, spell out the advantages of your product or service and always include a call to action.
- Winning featured snippets, which usually take up a large amount of space in search results, will increase the visibility of a page.
- Make sure that you are clear about intent when researching keywords and double-check the volume of keywords searched for.
Can Vooba help increase traffic to my website?
If you’re still wondering how can I generate traffic to my website, or if you don't have time to do it yourself, why not employ digital marketing professionals to assist you. At Vooba, we have the expertise to help you in improving traffic to your website as well as website design and many other digital marketing requirements. To find out more, please get in touch with our SEO team today.
