How long does it take to get organic traffic on a new website

Launching a brand-new website and getting organic traffic are two very different things.

A question that I’m often asked is how long it will take to start getting traction on search engines and seeing traffic.

The simple answer is it depends.

The real answer is there are many variables that will impact the speed at which a new website will start getting organic traffic.

The reality is that most new websites will start getting traffic from Google right after they launch if SEO best practices are followed.  In addition, the new website needs to have content focused on priority keywords and topics and themes that are relevant to the products and or services presented.

Earning a large volume of traffic is great and what is even better is targeted traffic of the people most likely to buy.

There are several factors that will impact organic traffic for new websites. Planning for and understanding these factors will help you deploy tactics to help you maximize results.

Optimization will help you grow traffic

Build your website with SEO in mind.  Following best practices for on-page SEO will help your content get found in search. You should always take the time to optimize your content based on best practices.

For a quick primer, you’ll need to have optimized URLs, title tags, H1 tags, well-written meta descriptions, and alt tags on your images.

Taking a step back, you’ll need to have compelling and relevant content that is focused on your priority keywords along with other semantically and tangentially related terms.  The best content includes bulleted lists, number lists, images, graphics, and even embedded video. Think about it, you’ve spent 6-10 hours creating this great content, now take the additional time to make sure it’s optimized correctly.

Basic elements to on-page SEO:

  • A focused page title (shows in the search engine ranking page)
  • A well-written meta description that includes your main keyword(s) and a call to action
  • H1 tag that is focused on the title and only one per page
  • Include section headings H2, H3, H4…etc.
  • Include internal links that point to other relevant content on your website
  • Include external links to other authoritative websites focused on the same topic
  • Bulleted and numbered lists help with rankings (We are using one here.)
  • Use alt tags on any images or graphics (makes sure you compress files sizes.)

There are several other things that impact your search engine rankings that you need to be aware of.

Page Load Speed

Google gives advantage to sites that load quickly.  Make sure your pages load FAST.

Micro Data

Schema.org, Facebook Open Graph and Twitter Cards are micro tags built into your HTML that alert the search engines to what your pages are all about.  These tags can include location, pricing and other things that clearly define what your pages are all about.  Many CMS platforms include ways to add easily and quickly these to your content.

Backlinks

These links come from other websites that link back to yours.  By publishing great content, you can earn these links.  Great content becomes linkable assets.  Other publishers and webmasters are on the lookout for great quality content that bolsters their content and often link out to those sites that can add value to their content.

At the start of this post, I wrote that how quickly your traffic will grow…it depends.  Yes, it does.  Follow these best practices and publish great content on a regular and frequent basis and you’ll see your traffic grow dramatically.