How to increase website traffic through Google

Websites

Think of the last time you manually typed a complete URL into your web browser. For most people, getting to a website is instead a matter of clicking a link, most commonly on a search engine results page (SERP).

For better or worse, Google has managed to position itself as the arbiter of the internet. Depending on your source, the company commands a 90+ percent share of the search market. It follows that the most important factor in increasing traffic to your website is making it as visible as possible on Google.

And doing that rests on your willingness to partner with an expert in the field, and your ability to choose the best.

Companies that drive traffic to your website

There are a variety of service providers that aim to drive traffic to their clients’ websites. Choosing the best is about working out which is most relevant to your situation.

Website developers: If you need to create or overhaul your website to make it as alluring to Google as possible, you’ll need a web dev team.
Digital marketers: The experts in advertising, digital marketers utilise paid strategies across Google, social media and other platforms to get in front of your target customers and send them to your site.
SEO experts: It’s the job of SEO experts to get your site on the first page of Google – ideally at the top – for relevant keywords and phrases.
Digital agencies: Combining all the expertise above, ‘full service’ digital agencies often sell themselves as a one stop shop for your search needs.
Technology partners: Consultants that in a way represent the evolution of the digital agency, organisations like Growth Partners use deep strategic and technological expertise to do more than simply drive traffic. We instead turn sites into lead and sales generation machines.

What services increase website traffic in Google?

Increasing your website traffic from Google is quite simple in theory – the difficulty lies in the fact that everyone, including your competitors, will be trying to do the same thing. Success is about utilising two strategies that are similar in their outcome, yet entirely distinct in their methods.

Organic: Search engine optimisation (SEO) services aim to make your website as alluring as possible to Google through a variety of strategies that cover both the front and back end. This strategy takes time and investment, but the results – ranking high on the SERP – are more than worth it.
Paid: Pay per click (PPC) advertising offers far more instant gratification. This is where you bid for an ad to be placed atop the Google SERP and pay Google when someone clicks on it.

Why isn’t my website getting visits from Google?

In a marketplace where your competitors understand the importance of search engines, traffic from Google must be earned. If you aren’t getting much it’s a sign that your competitors are simply playing the Google game better than you are. There are a wealth of possible reasons as to how and why you might be missing out on traffic, including:

Your site isn’t indexed: Type your URL into Google to find out whether Google lists it.
Your site doesn’t rank well: The vast majority of people never click on the second page of Google, so you need to use SEO to get on the first.
You’re not making use of PPC: Paid Google advertising is critical to a complete search strategy.

How do I improve my Google SEO ranking?

While it requires investment and patience, SEO is the single most important element of your digital marketing strategy. And in such a competitive and often confusing field as SEO, the first step is to find an expert with whom you can partner.

Find a partner that utilises innovative technology to get a sense of your current SEO position and how to improve it. Make sure they can back up their words with evidence, and that they use metrics that directly relate to sales revenue or ROI. Ask the following questions to get a sense of their capabilities:

Can you tell me the size of my online opportunity (relative to my key revenue streams)?
Can you tell me where to invest, how much to invest, and the likely ROI?
Can you provide key metrics like the cost of acquisition per lead/sale?
Can you provide accurate sales forecasting for each revenue stream?

What steps to follow to improve SEO?

The steps that you’ll need to take to improve your SEO will be entirely unique to your situation. As such, you need to begin by getting a handle on the current state of play. Once you have found an experienced and well-respected agency with a proven track record, get them to perform a SWOT audit that identifies your search strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

SEO is a constantly changing marketing channel that works 24/7/365. As such you need to commit to investing in it every month. With the help of your SEO partner, focus this investment on key areas like:

Keyword research
Content optimisation
Website performance analysis and enhancement
Aligning your website with customer search behaviours

What steps to follow to improve local SEO?

Local search has become an ever-greater focus for Google in recent years, and for good reason. No fewer than 46% of Google searches are for local information, and 88% of local searches on mobile end with either a call or visit to the business within 24 hours.

Creating a Google My Business (GMB) account will help you begin to make the most of this incredible opportunity, by ranking for queries with local intent. Conduct keyword research and fill out each GMB field in a way that captures local search visits.

Further your reach and SEO footprint by submitting your business to respected local directories, keeping your name, address and contact details consistent. Encourage happy customers to post positive reviews on Google and other review websites. Use Local Business structured data to get featured in rich results.

Or, if that all sounds a little overwhelming, partner with an expert who can either guide you through the process or take care of it for you.

What steps to follow to improve paid search?

PPC advertising is a simple enough concept, but far more difficult in practice. To succeed takes thorough keyword research to understand the terms to target, and careful strategy to ensure your ads achieve both reach and ROI. Thus the first step is to find an expert with whom you can partner.

As with SEO, you should search for a PPC partner that utilises technology to drive effective strategy, that boasts a proven track record, and that uses metrics that directly relate to sales revenue or ROI. Ask them the following questions to get a sense of their abilities:

How will you get a sense of the keywords I should target?
How much should I invest in PPC, and what can I expect in terms of ROI?
What key metrics will you report on? (CPC, CTR, cost of acquisition per lead/sale)
When can I expect to see results?

At Growth Partners our DigitalArchitect System^® has been designed to answer all the questions above and more, helping empower your marketing team, whether internal or external, with the information they need to succeed. By demonstrating how you can enhance your search strategy through both organic and paid means, we turn your website into a lead generation machine.

Ready to enhance your search strategy? We’re ready to help. Contact us to speak with Growth Partners Director Steve Bambury today.