The average internet viewer’s attention span is just a couple of seconds.

So if you’re lucky enough to get website visitors, you have to make the experience of viewing your website as smooth and painless as possible.

This increases engagement, reduces bounce rates, and gives Google a favorable impression of your website – which can lead to a higher search ranking later on.

So what exactly do you need to focus on to get started?

How to optimize your site and get more website traffic

1. Looks

Make sure your website is attractive, well-designed, and simple.

You want to wow your visitors with stunning images and a smooth feel to the viewing experience without clogging the page.

Less is more, especially here.

2. Focus on mobile.

If you didn’t already know, Google now indexes and ranks your website based on the mobile version of the site – given that a larger number of people now browse using mobile devices instead of desktops.

How well it runs on mobile devices is referred to as ‘mobile-friendliness’.

So while you build your awesome website, ensure it’s just as fresh and easy to use on mobile.

The better the experience, the better the chances of ranking higher and more website traffic.

3. Navigation

Imagine being stuck on a site, struggling to find the section you’re looking for. Would you keep trying, or would you go to the next alternative provider?

It’s the same thing with your website. Even your most interested viewers will abandon your website if it’s difficult to find what they came for.

So make it easy for viewers to find what they need.

Have an organized layout with clearly defined sections, and add page links to all the relevant parts of your site.

These can be in the navigation bars at the top and bottom of the website, as well as within the page content. 

4. Speed

Remember the attention span?

If a consumer is searching for an item and clicks on your website, and it takes forever to load – with all your fancy images and videos – they’ll quit and check out the next website.

That not only results in a loss of clientele, it also hurts your ranking on Google.

So ensure your site doesn’t take longer than 3.8seconds to load.

You can check out your loading speed, as well as the issues to be fixed, using GT Metrix or Page Speed Insights

5. Use smaller-sized images.

Naturally, you want to impress your viewers with beautiful images.

However, images take time to load – with more time required for every increase in size and resolution.

Solution? Resize and compress those images before uploading them.

This not only improves loading speed but also reduces data consumption by viewers – making your website a great viewing experience for your clients. 

6. Attractive, user-focused headlines

Yes, it is your website, and you want to tell the world about you and what you do.

But no one is interested in anything other than how to solve their problems.

So switch the focus from you to your audience.

Tell them what they can benefit from using your products and services. 

7. Product / Service description

Be clear and detailed in describing your services or products.

Use easy-to-use language so all viewers can understand and get the message.

Tell them how your product works.

Show pictures of examples where possible. 

8. Social proof

Get testimonials and reviews from your clients, and then display them on your website.

These serve as proof that your company really does exist, does what it says it does, and does it well.

9. Content

Study your audience.

Find out their needs and day-to-day challenges.

Then create useful, engaging content on how to help them, without necessarily asking them to buy. 

These freebies will get you traffic, and traffic definitely results in sales.

10. Backlinks

Backlinks are links on other websites that link back to your website.

For example, if someone read this amazing article about how reading can change your life, and wanted to share it so they posted the link on their own website, they’d have created a backlink to my website.

This new link allows viewers of their website to access my site through those links.

So you can ask your readers to share your content, or you can reach out to other websites in your niche and see if they can link to you.

Note: Google also uses backlinks as a ranking factor, with a high number of quality backlinks required to establish Experience, Trust, and Authority as a domain.

11. Advertise

Create advertising campaigns using Google Ads or Social Media to get as many people as possible to see your beautiful, well-optimized website.

By this point, your site has everything the viewers need and more.

Almost all your visitors will leave with a good impression, leading to return visits and referrals.

So, that’s how you can create a great user experience for your viewers and get more website traffic.

Also, keep in mind, that whatever makes your viewers happy, makes Google happy – essentially performing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your website.