Did you know, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine? And if your website isn’t showing up, your business is invisible to people who are already searching for what you offer.
As a business owner, you might’ve invested in a website and even tried running a few ads. But if traffic is low, leads are scarce, and your site feels like a ghost town, you’re not alone.
In this post, we’ll walk you through:
- The most common reasons websites struggle with traffic
- Why Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the foundation of long-term online success
- What SEO actually involves (without the jargon)
- A real-world example of how we helped a client increase traffic and conversions
- What you can start doing today to fix low website traffic
Why your website isn’t getting traffic
One of the biggest misconceptions we hear from business owners is: “I just built a new website, so where are the visitors?”
Unfortunately, websites don’t work like shop fronts on a busy street. You don’t get foot traffic just for existing. Instead, your website needs to be optimised for search engines – because that’s how most people discover businesses today.
Think of Google like any social media platform. The algorithm rewards sites that show consistent effort, quality, and relevance. If you set up a TikTok account, posted one video, then expected thousands of followers overnight, you’d be disappointed. It’s the same with your website – no regular updates, no optimisation, no traffic.
If your competitors are consistently working on their SEO, publishing content, updating their sites, and you’re not – you’ll quickly fall behind, no matter how nice your website looks.
What about Google ads?
Google Ads can bring in quick results, but it’s like renting traffic. The second you stop paying, the traffic disappears. And without a strong SEO foundation, your cost-per-click can rise fast with minimal long-term benefit.
Organic traffic from SEO is earned, not rented. It compounds over time and brings in results even when you’re not actively spending money. That’s why the most effective strategy is often a combination: use SEO to build authority and organic rankings, then use PPC ads to target short-term wins or seasonal promotions. Plus – users who come from paid traffic are more likely to convert on a website that is quality and is search engine optimised.
What is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)?
At its core, SEO is how you make your website more visible on search engines like Google.
Approximately 99,000 search queries are processed by Google every second, so most SEO focuses on how to meet Google’s expectations. And Google’s main goal is to provide users with the best answers to their questions. If Google provided a basic, low SEO website as the top result, users wouldn’t be happy!
So when someone searches “wedding caterer in Cheshire” or “opticians in Yorkshire”, Google looks for sites that are:
- Relevant to the query
- Well-structured and fast loading
- Filled with quality, up-to-date content
- Easy to navigate
- Trustworthy and reputable
- Has a desktop, phone and tablet-friendly interface
If your site checks these boxes, you have a better shot at showing up on page one — which is where the clicks happen.
Less than 1% of people click on results from page two of Google. So if you’re not in the top 10, you’re basically invisible. The aim of good SEO is to rank for the top 1-10
What is keyword research?
Let’s say you run a dog grooming business in Manchester.
Unrealistic keyword target:
“Dog grooming UK” – it’s too broad, too competitive, and not specific to your location. For that keyword, you’re likely to be up against some top competitors who it will be difficult to compete with to start.
More realistic, high-value targets:
- “Dog groomer in Didsbury”
- “Mobile dog grooming Manchester”
- “Best poodle grooming service South Manchester”
These are known as long-tail keywords – they are more specific, easier to rank for, and often used by people ready to buy or book.
The 2 types of SEO
1. Technical SEO
This is the behind-the-scenes work that makes your website “crawlable” and fast. Crawlable means Google’s bots are able to easily scan through your site and get to grips with its content. It includes:
- Making sure Google can index your pages
- Fixing broken links and 404 errors
- Compressing images for faster load times
- Ensuring your site is secure (HTTPS)
- Creating and submitting an XML sitemap
Without strong technical SEO, even the best content won’t perform.
2. On-page SEO
This is what users see – and what Google reads:
- Clear page structure (headings, paragraphs, links)
- Optimised titles and meta descriptions
- Keyword placement (naturally, not spammy)
- User-friendly design and mobile responsiveness
- Relevant internal linking between pages
Every page on your site should have a clear focus and purpose.
How we improved a client’s traffic by 21%
We worked with a country club and wedding venue that wanted to:
- Increase venue bookings and golf memberships
- Improve their Google rankings
- Turn more website visitors into customers
- Improve their website interface
Here’s what we did:
- Rebuilt their website for speed, SEO, and user experience
- Optimised their Google Business Profile
- Created a blog with ongoing posts about wedding planning, seasonal events, and golf tips
- Refreshed existing content to align with best SEO practices
- Focused on ranking niche and specific for search terms like
The results:
- 21% YoY increase in organic sessions
- 178% increase in conversions from the site
- Higher keyword rankings in a competitive industry
10 ways to improve low website traffic
Here’s a checklist of proven tactics that work:
1. Create high quality content
Write blogs that solve real problems or answer common questions that your audience may have. Yes, not all of them will be high performing pages, but regular posting means Google knows you’re actively posting quality content, so it may favour you as an authority figure in your niche.
Mix evergreen content with timely trends and use visuals, infographics, and video where possible. Also, make it shareable by adding social share buttons.
Read more: The Power of Content Marketing: Top Strategies For 2025
2. Regularly refresh your content
Outdated pages can hold your site back. Update stats, refresh CTAs, re-optimise with new keywords and keep up with latest SEO trends. This keeps blogs relevant and accurate.
3. Improve internal linking
Link between related pages and blog posts within your website. This helps Google understand your site structure and passes SEO value between pages.
4. Build backlinks
Reach out to industry sites for guest posts or features or get listed in directories and local business platforms to help attract traffic.
5. Optimise for mobile & speed
Make sure to:
- Compress images
- Use a CDN
- Minify CSS and JavaScript
- Design for fast loading on mobile
This can improve the speed of your website. The better the speed, the better the experience for the user.
6. Do keyword research
Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to find which keywords in your niche are attracting the most traffic. Make sure to focus on terms that balance search volume with achievability. You can do this by checking the keyword difficulty (KWD) percentage against the volume of searches. High volume and low KWD is best!
7. Implement schema markup
Add structured data like FAQs, product info, or local business info. This helps Google display rich results and understand your content
8. Promote content on social media
Make sure to share blogs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and email. This can help attract your audience to your site.
9. Set up & optimise your google business profile
Make sure to include your website link in your Google Business Profile (GBP). This can help attract local traffic to your site. Include your services, quality images, hours and encourage customers to leave regular reviews.
10. Resolve technical issues
You can resolve technical issues by:
- Using Google Search Console to monitor crawl errors
- Fixing 404s, set up proper redirects
- Ensuring consistent URL access (www vs non-www)
- Eliminating duplicate content with canonical tags
Hire a specialist SEO & web development agency to increase website traffic
Most business owners don’t have time to learn SEO, monitor technical errors, write content, and build backlinks – and that’s okay.
Hiring a specialist digital marketing agency means:
- You get a high quality website
- You get a tailored SEO strategy
- Experts handle the day-to-day implementation and maintenance
- You can focus on running your business and dealing with leads, while traffic and leads grow in the background!
Want to know how your website stacks up?
We offer SEO audits and growth plans tailored to your business and industry. Let’s turn your website into your top-performing salesperson. Contact our team of SEO and website experts today.
