Did you pay for a professional web design service and haven’t seen the results you were expecting? This isn’t that uncommon, especially if your web designer didn’t explain from the outset how websites really generate visitors and convert.
There’s more to the process than just a website, no matter how amazing your website is. Learn more about this important topic below or speak with WEBPRO Estate for a consultation and free quote.
How do websites generate visitors?
Very few website visitors arrive on your website by typing your website URL into a search bar. Only the biggest global brands usually generate website visitors this way. For everyone else, websites generate visitors in one of two ways, either:
- Organically – this is when an internet user searches a term on a search engine which brings up a list of results (a Search Engine Results Page or SERP) and they then choose your web page from the list of options
- Through marketing – this is when the business uses a marketing strategy to generate attention on a product or service, and then send the internet user to one of the website pages, ideally to make a purchase
How to increase organic website traffic
To increase organic website traffic, you need to make your website more visible on relevant SERPs. This is achieved through optimising your website for search engines, aptly called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). The better your website’s SEO performance, the higher it will rank on relevant SERPs – and the more traffic you should receive. Think about this, how many times have you clicked on Google’s second page of results?
Having a professional and functional website that works across devices contributes to good SEO performance. But there is much more that can be done to enhance SEO and a number of SEO services you can invest in. These can be divided into on-page and off-page SEO.
On-page SEO vs Off-page SEO
On-page SEO focuses on improving the parts of your website that are within your control. For example, a web developer might work to increase the loading speed of your website, which scores points with search engines.
Or you might add content to your website that includes SEO keyphrases. These are the phrases and questions that are most often searched online by your target market. For example, homeowners wanting to sell might search “property valuation services in [LOCATION]”, and you need to include these phrases on relevant service pages.
Off-page SEO are the things away from your website that are predominantly out of your control, but you can still try to improve. Some ways to improve off-page SEO are not as organic as on-page SEO because they can be paid for, although this isn’t recommended. Here are some examples:
- Links from other websites and web pages of authority
- Unlinked brand mentions
- Influencer marketing and promoting
How to increase traffic with digital marketing
Online marketing strategies should always point back to your website or specific pages of your website. This way, any leads are directed straight to an opportunity to enquire about a property or service. One of the most effective methods is Google Ads, which is a type of Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing.
A Google Ad is placed at the very top of a relevant SERP, which means it gets a lot of attention. But instead of paying to be at the top, you only pay for every click that you receive. Anyone who clicks on the page is typically taken to a standalone web page called a landing page. The landing page is highly focused on converting the lead by getting them to enquire.
Recap…
No matter how good your new website is, it will only attract visitors and convert more if you keep investing in making it visible. The returns on your investment can be highly lucrative when done right with expert support.
You should focus on organically making your website more visible through Search Engine Optimisation services and paying for more visibility through digital marketing strategies. Getting the balance between these two approaches is key, which should be discussed with a professional marketing team.
WEBPRO Estate Knows
More than half of global website traffic comes from organic searches, which is why SEO services are critical for increasing your website’s performance and returns.
