A professional web design company can help make your business more profitable online, but design is only one piece of the traffic puzzle. To actually get visitors, you also need search engine optimization, keyword research, and backlinks. Before any of that work begins, define your goal: launching a new product calls for an ecommerce-experienced web design firm, while building a network of affiliates calls for SEO services alongside the build.
Why design alone won’t bring traffic
An attractive site with strong content helps you keep visitors once they arrive, but people can’t find a site they don’t know how to search for. A reputation for solid search engine optimization is what gets a site picked up in the search engines in the first place. If the engines see your site as out of date, out of stock, or simply below par, users won’t see it either, and it won’t hold its ranking.
What to look for in an SEO company
Experience isn’t strictly required, but it’s strongly recommended. Reputable SEO firms should be able to share case studies and other examples that show their results. For instance, OuterBox offers a range of additional services including SEO, PPC, and development. The right firm should also be able to coordinate with other companies and vendors to support your search engine optimization strategy.
Keyword research is the cornerstone
Keyword research underpins most successful internet marketing campaigns. You need to know what keywords people search for and how those terms can bring targeted traffic to your site. A good SEO marketing agency will offer keyword research as a core service, because no matter how good a website design looks, it won’t be useful if you don’t know the right keywords for your niche.
Why backlinks matter
Backlinks are essential if you want to rank highly in search engines like Google and Yahoo. The better you rank for specific keywords, the better your chances of pulling in a large volume of website traffic, since search engines reward sites that carry a large number of relevant links. The best SEO companies hold thousands of backlinks from high-authority websites. Sites such as Wikipedia have built their standing partly because search engines treat them as authoritative, which is why many SEO companies push to offer the strongest possible service.
The keyword-selection challenge
The real challenge for many SEO companies is figuring out which keywords are most in demand. Firms may spend hours researching every keyword to determine which terms people actually search for. The work is tedious, but hiring a company familiar with these keywords is crucial. Targeting the keywords your customers search for will improve both the design of your website and the traffic it receives.
FAQ
Is web design enough to get more website traffic?
No. An attractive site helps you keep visitors, but people can’t find a site they don’t know how to search for. Search engine optimization, keyword research, and backlinks are what actually drive traffic.
What should you look for in an SEO company?
Look for a firm that can share case studies and examples of past results, offers services beyond SEO (such as PPC and development, like OuterBox), and can coordinate with other vendors on your search engine optimization strategy.
Why are backlinks important for traffic?
Search engines reward sites that carry many relevant links, so the better you rank for specific keywords, the more website traffic you’re likely to receive. High-authority sites such as Wikipedia are a common example of how authority links influence rankings.
