How can I increase traffic to my website with content?
Updated: Nov 19
So, you’ve dropped on this page because you want to increase the traffic to your website by adding more content -- awesome.
You’re not on your own, as according to HubSpot, “70% of marketers are actively investing in content marketing”.
But where do you start? What do you write about?
This whistlestop tour of using content to increase website traffic organically (free) will explain.
To increase website traffic organically, you need to make sure your content is searchable (SEO) as well as engaging
Previously, businesses would simply talk about their products and services to obtain website traffic, but businesses now face a whole world of pain created by millions of curious people.
From people shouting at Alexa in their kitchen to searches for ‘how can I increase traffic to my website?’ -- people are asking questions -- all in very different ways.
Unfortunately, people don’t know what the solution is, so they don’t look for a 'two-way valve', they Google ‘my heating won’t come on’.
The good news is that there are now lots of tools to help you understand what questions people are asking in relation to your product and services.
Write about these, and you’ll start to increase your website traffic.
My favourite free tool for keywords is Uber Suggest by Neil Patel.
Simply pop your website address in and look at the section on the left that says ‘keyword ideas’.
Once you have your ideas, you need to try to use those keywords and questions in a relevant manner throughout your writing.
Bear in mind that Google will lower your rank if you stuff keywords in -- there are some high-powered tools and companies that can check this for you.
SEO copywriters use these tools to achieve a high optimisation rate by checking:
Optimal keyword density
Long-tail keywords and phrases
Optimal word count
Optimal keyword and word count in meta descriptions, titles, and subheadings
Related keywords and phrases that naturally occur from the title
Avoidance of keyword stuffing
Density in comparison to your competitor
It’s also worth bearing in mind that organic search is only one way to obtain website traffic -- you can also promote and share your article link to gain website visitors.
What is the optimal word count for my content?
Previously, there has been optimal word counts for your average blog, but MPH Copywriting uses advanced software that now shows that this differs based on what’s already available.
That being said, your blogs, in general, need to be longer, so aim for at least 1000 words or more, as some blogs don’t start to compete until they reach 3000 words (very competitive ones).
The same can also be said for keyword density, with some articles requiring far more mentions of a keyword than others.
How do I check my Google ranking?
Now you’ve had the chance to poke around Neil Patel’s tool, you might notice that on the keyword tool, there is a position column.
The position column indicates your position on search engines, so you can make a note of where you rank for keywords now and whether this improves as you change or increase content.
If you take into consideration that search engines like Google are peppered with paid ads, then your position as 60th starts to explain why you’re not getting enough website traffic.
What affects my Google ranking?
At last count, there were over 700 hundred different ways that Google uses to decide whether you are the best source of information.
Your content’s ability to rank in search engines isn’t just the words you use (keywords), but also:
Relevance.
Structure of the content (headers).
Website speed.
Security.
How many good websites link to you (backlinks).
How your website visitors behave on your site (clicking around and time).
How helpful other content on your website is.
The list of what are called SERPs goes on and on. So, the key is to try to do as best you can with the budget, time, and expertise you have.
Be brave -- doing something is better than nothing -- unless you delete or update a page that was previously doing well.
How long does it take content to rank?
Although you’ll start getting website traffic when your content is first seen by search engines, it takes a long time before your content starts to rank highly and see regular visitors in high numbers.
Have you ever wondered why an old post on the website still gets thousands of visitors and ranks so highly? It’s because Google likes posts that are still relevant over time -- sticking power perhaps?
According to Ahrefs, “Only 22% of pages that currently rank in the Top10 were created within 1 year.”
In fact, some posts that were created over three years ago attract the highest amount of visitors per month and regularly rank in the top 10.
The key is to keep producing relevant content over time and checking on a monthly basis how it's performing. If a post previously did well and is now tailing off, try updating it.
Found this interesting? Find out how MPH Copywriting helped a client to convert one in every 10 website visitors.
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