How to improve traffic to your website

You have a website for your business, but, unfortunately, you're not receiving many visitors. After investing so much time and energy, you're getting frustrated that your website traffic is low.

Consumers are very savvy—81% of them will conduct online research before making a purchase, according to digital marketing agency Junto. When consumers go online, they should be able to find your site easily, which could ultimately help them make the decision to buy from you.

With a few tried-and-true tactics from experts, you can boost website traffic and draw in more potential customers.

Here's how to get started.

How to use paid advertising

One way to increase website traffic is to invest in Google ads, which appear at the top of the search engine's results, or Facebook ads, which users see on their newsfeeds. According to Jonathan Chan, head of marketing at Insane Growth, the key to effectively utilizing these digital ad platforms is figuring out your audience's pain points.

"This means knowing exactly what your audience is looking for and targeting them with the right ad or piece of content so that it's a no-brainer that they visit your site," he says.

When coming up with paid advertising campaigns, make sure to research what keywords your audience typically searches for (through tools like Moz or Google Keyword Planner) and then present them with an enticing offer that's exactly what they're looking for.

What is search engine optimization?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a way to organically drive traffic to a website. Cody Warren, an SEO specialist at Hook Agency, says you need a thorough SEO strategy that involves "using content marketing, keyword research, and on-page SEO to regularly publish content that adds value to your users and is unique and thorough."

For content marketing, figure out the topics your audience is interested in "and create high-quality content that matches the audience's search intent," says Bruce Hogan, CEO of SoftwarePundit. "Over time, Google will surface this content to people using its search engine, resulting in free website traffic."

When it comes to using keywords, Alice Stevens, senior content strategist for Best Company, says you need to focus your energy on keywords that are most likely to benefit your business. "What keywords demonstrate buyer intent? What questions or problems does your site help with? Being targeted in your goals will help you generate valuable traffic to your site," she says.

You can run your SEO strategy yourself or hire an outside agency to do it. Warren advises to beware of cheap agencies or freelancers, who may not know what they are doing and could end up hurting your reputation. Instead, it's better to go with a trusted agency that comes highly recommended by other businesses.

Why you should increase your site speed

Google won't rank you high on the search engine results page if your page loads too slowly, and people won't have the patience to stick around your website and watch it load for very long.

According to Junto, 40% of mobile website visitors will leave your site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Investing in speed is critical, says Matt Benevento, SEO team lead at Geek Powered Studios, because, "Fast sites also have a better user experience, which will increase conversions and sales."

To increase your site speed and traffic to your website, go to PageSpeed Insights, type in your URL, and find out how fast your site loads. PageSpeed Insights will then make recommendations on what you can do to ensure your website loads faster.

Using these tactics consistently and outsourcing help if you need it is going to drive traffic to your website. Ultimately, by investing in paid advertising and SEO, and increasing your site speed, you're going to boost your bottom line and help your business thrive.