Just as any business benefits from more customers, an increase in traffic is beneficial for any website. Owning a website is like owning a business. Newcomers seek clever ways to drive more traffic to their websites and consequently increase their earnings. If you’re just getting started, increasing website traffic will be hard.
Apart from your diligent work, you can employ some smart strategies to make things easier. Today’s guide will explore them and explain how they work. The website traffic increase tips come straight from our SEO experts. We also have a guide on improving your overall SEO, which can help the same cause.
If you’ve already read it, it’s time to see how to gain more audience and present your website in the best possible light.
20 Tips to Increase Website Traffic in 2026
Our tips will help you skyrocket your rankings by driving more traffic to your site. However, it’s worth noting that we’ll be using a few SEO tools. We think they’re mandatory because doing everything manually isn’t only time-consuming but impossible. Many of these tips will be free, however.
Plus, the SEO tools we’re using are risk-free and can be employed as soon as you’re done reading this guide. Speaking of the guide, our 20 strategies are below, so don’t leave now when things are getting interesting.
1. Update Obsolete Pages and Content
Outdated information serves no purpose; it just exists and harms your ranking and traffic numbers. To increase traffic to your website, refresh your content frequently and ensure the information is relevant. This especially applies to important pages. Refreshing and updating the page often leads to an increase in traffic.
That’s because Google recognizes the update and deems the page relevant again. To update the page, look for outdated content. This could include information such as the product’s price or its new features. You can also update images, tables, charts, etc. We recommend going through your internal and external backlinks.
If some are broken, replace or remove them. You can detect broken backlinks using Semrush’s Backlink Analysis tool or simply manually look through the page and see if anything is wrong. Keeping your content fresh and up-to-date is paramount to enjoying more traffic and a higher revenue potential.
2. Improve Your Keyword Optimization
Using a keyword research tool (the best ones are listed here) can be beneficial.
The basis of SEO is keyword optimization, which can be implemented and improved with these tools. We found Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool great, as it displays hundreds, sometimes thousands, of handy keyword suggestions. This, in turn, lets you improve your keyword game and rank higher.
Ranking higher in SERPs consequently leads to more traffic. Observe the highest-ranking pages for a specific query. Then, analyze their SEO, and you’ll see just how impeccable their keyword optimization is.
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While doing this, don’t forget about LSI keywords. These can drive more website traffic by “explaining” to Google what your content is about. LSI stands for Latent Semantic Indexing. These keywords are semantically related to the main keyword. Let’s take the keyword “car” as an example.
What could be the LSI keywords for that?
Perhaps an engine, brakes, tires, speed, handling, etc. Implementing these on your page about cars signals to Google that it is about four-wheeled vehicles. As a result, Google can rank the page higher as a result of better topical authority. By the way, finding LSI keywords is simple with Semrush too.
Its SEO Content Template Tool works wonderfully and usually finds at least fifteen, but often way more, if you really want to improve your keyword optimization game.
3. Focus on Obtaining Quality Backlinks
Backlinks are the second most important factor for boosting your site’s traffic. The more quality backlinks you have, the higher your ranking. Being at the top of the SERP results in more clicks and, as a result, more traffic. It’s all interconnected like a spider web. Getting backlinks is hard, but you can do a few things.
Your site must be backlink-friendly, which means someone must be able to link to it and not be ashamed because it looks poorly or gives inaccurate information. Are you confident in your abilities?
If so, a link-building tool can come in handy. Semrush has a Link-Building tool that lets you get in touch with other domains and request a backlink or a guest post. This will open up new collaboration opportunities and let you and the other side benefit fairly quickly. To warn you again, you must have top-notch content!
Don’t go around asking for backlinks if your website is half-assed and all around the place. You’ll be rejected in mere seconds by pretty much all reputable websites.
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4. Include Some Long-Form Content
According to research by BuzzSumo and Moz, long-form content over 1,000 words “consistently receives more shares and links than shorter-form content.” If you’re often publishing short content, think about focusing on long-form content for a while to increase website traffic.
Writing short-form content is easier, but since it’s less “ballsy”, it also doesn’t bode as well as the opposite spectrum. Pages and posts with over 3,000 words do fairly well, as long as they’re constructed properly and filled with valuable information. We can confirm this, as our longer pages rank way better than shorter ones.
However, they’re not stretched thin and stuffed with filler content that does nothing. A nicely crafted long-form page with killer keyword optimization and ample backlinks will be a game-changer!
5. Use Social Media Platforms
When we discuss social media, we think about connecting your website with the likes of X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and others. They aren’t just for fun. They’re powerful tools to drive more traffic to the website and amplify your popularity by using multiple channels.
You can use Instagram and Facebook to advertise your business in several ways. Apart from paying for advertising, you can publish daily and provide your followers with fresh and, above all, eye-catching information. But hold on; publish only a fraction of the information.
You can say something like, ‘Click this link for the full post,’ to generate more traffic. After extensively testing Semrush, we found it capable of tracking your social media activity, scheduling posts, and monitoring competition, making it a great tool to start with for social media marketing and management.
6. Create a YouTube Channel
On the topic of social media, let’s mention YouTube as a fine way to boost the traffic to your site. YouTube is almost as popular as Google, snatching a big piece of the popularity pie from its owner. You can take advantage of this by making your presence known on YouTube. This opens up many possibilities.
Having an active channel where you post videos and”shorts associated with your site lets you spice up your on-site content dramatically. These videos can later imbue your pages and blog posts, making them more informative.
7. Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices
Mobile optimization’s importance for increasing website traffic can’t be overstated. The Mobile-First Index from Google is an algorithm that ranks your website based on its mobile-friendliness. Is your site sluggish and messy on a small screen? Say goodbye to success. Google analyzes the mobile version first.
Then, it moves on to the desktop version. You can see how mobile-friendly your site is in Google Search Console, which will tell you how well it’s optimized and what to do for more improvements. However, there’s Semrush.
Its Site Audit tool lets you crawl the website and check for errors specifically on mobile platforms. You’ll see how fast the website is, what the internal linking score is, and discover your Core Web Vitals. These are great parameters to go by and work your way up for more quintessential improvements.
8. Publish LinkedIn Articles and Videos
LinkedIn is what Instagram is in the professional world. It’s vital to have your LinkedIn profile set up and active so that you can promote your content efficiently. Such practices also boost your Google ranking and drive more traffic to your website. You can publish informative videos and articles, with a link to your domain.
Don’t forget to add hashtags whenever you post, while making sure they’re specific to the post. This will help relevant visitors and readers discover your posts easily.
9. Improve Website’s Performance
Your website’s performance plays a vital role in the whole experience. Slow-to-load websites will boost the bounce rate, meaning you’ll rapidly lose traffic. People hate long page-loading times. If your site or specific parts fail to load in a few seconds, visitors will bounce off. In other words, they’ll leave.
To prevent this, you want to improve your website’s performance, which can be done using Semrush or SE Ranking. Their Site Audit tools measure how responsive the website is, and display Core Web Vitals that need to be in specific ranges for the best performance. One thing to mention is Google’s ranking method.
In addition to mobile-friendliness, Google ranks your website based on its performance, so it’s clear as day why it must be the best possible.
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10. Implement Internal Links
Consider internal links if you’re wondering how to drive more traffic to your website quickly. These links are vital for increasing traffic and establishing your website’s authority, helping Google rank it properly. From there, the traffic boost follows naturally. Using internal links requires a bit of thought, however.
Spamming should be avoided, and you should include them naturally. Focus on the best-ranking pages and predominantly link to them. We also suggest using proper anchors; a big deal. Here’s an example. We have an SE Ranking review on our website; the “SE Ranking Review” internal link leads you to the SE Ranking test.
When it comes to internal linking distribution, it will vary based on the page length and word count. A 1,000-word article will have, let’s say, 5-6 links. On the contrary, a 3,000+ one will likely have 10 or more.
11. Get in Touch With Influencers
A good idea to boost your website traffic is to get in touch with influencers. You can do this if you have an established social media profile. You need to pick an influencer willing to advertise and promote your website. If it’s a fitness influencer, don’t expect them to promote your welding course, for example.
That said, establish your social media profile and reach out to influencers willing to give you a boost. If you pick the right one, skyrocketing your site traffic will be a simple job and will come overnight.
12. Tackle Frequently Asked Questions
The better you cover a specific topic, the higher the topical authority of the page. You can do this by answering frequently asked questions that provide more explanation on the specific subject or problem. We often use Semrush for this purpose, but you can use any other SEO tool you find competent.
Specifically, we use the Keyword Magic Tool that displays numerous keyword suggestions. However, you can adapt it to show related questions so that you can tackle them properly. Another tool you can use is QuestionDB, which specializes in finding these questions and does so pretty well most of the time.
Once you find them, you can answer them in an FAQ section or address them elsewhere on the page. Look at the highest-ranking pages on the specific subject again. You’ll notice how comprehensive they are.
13. Write Attention-Worthy Headlines
You’ll see people complaining about clickbait titles on YouTube, but they still click on these videos to see what they’re about. That’s because of an irresistible title that begs their attention. You should try and replicate this trend to increase the traffic to your website.
Instead of “NordVPN Review”, you can write something like “NordVPN Review: Read This Before Buying It.” This will make people rethink their decision to get this VPN because your review might contain some kind of warning they must take into account. Headlines shouldn’t be too long either.
They need to be short, concise, and as descriptive as possible. If your imagination is poor, AI-driven tools can help. Semrush’s AI Writer is a good option, and if you’re after a cheaper option, SE Ranking includes the same feature. We compared SE Ranking to Semrush. Check out the comparison if you’re interested in one of them.
14. Don’t Forget to Include Visuals
Imagine a huge wall of text just sitting there, waiting for you to read it. Sounds and looks gross! Visuals give the page that premium feeling and make it look somewhat happy; maybe it’s just us. Whatever the case, including visuals is a nice way to boost traffic. You can go with images, videos, tables, or anything else.
We also love polls that make the website more interactive, as people can vote and voice their opinions. Whenever discussing statistics, you can include a table for a comprehensive overview. Explanations can also be followed by visuals.
If you’re explaining how a car clutch works, you can find a good designer to make an image or animation to complement your explanation. Visuals can not only increase your website traffic but also improve your SEO. Google displays images in search results; don’t forget that.
Including quality ones will make them appear in SERPs, driving more traffic to your website more effectively.
15. Use Social Share Buttons
Social share buttons or share triggers should be considered early on. They’re sitting on the side, allowing you to share the page on social media like X, Pinterest, etc. Triggers can also work when you select a specific part of the text you want to share. You’ll see a small social media icon that can share the highlighted part.
We love this nifty little addition because people who resonate with the part of the page can express their emotions on their social media profiles. Best of all, social share buttons cost nothing to include, so don’t be afraid to use them.
16. Cover Evergreen Subjects
Looking for a quick, short-term boost in website traffic? Focus on evergreen topics. Our recent article on unblocking Instagram in Turkey garnered a lot of attention because we published it on the day Turkey blocked Instagram. Is this topic still evergreen? Yes. Instagram is still blocked in Turkey.
This means everything we said in that article still applies. If the topic becomes obsolete, we’ll update it to match the current state, as explained in the first step. Covering evergreen topics is a crafty way of appearing higher in SERPs, which will, over time, generate more traffic and make the website more popular.
17. Improve Your Local SEO
This isn’t necessarily a step for everyone, but it is for those targeting their local market. Improving local SEO can be done in multiple ways, and the base is the same as with regular SEO. This means content quality, backlinks, keyword optimization, removal of errors, etc.
Local SEO, however, means you should appear on business listings, respond to customers and their reviews, and so on. Semrush has the Local package to help you with it. You can track your website ranking in multiple locations and ensure your website appears on listings.
The local SEO improvement also stems from social media. Combine both, and you get a recipe for success. We’ll point you toward the most successful businesses in your area. You’ll notice the pattern of social media activity and excellent local SEO.
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18. Organize Occasional Giveaways
Giveaways are rarely unsuccessful for increasing traffic to your website. People love free stuff, and they’d take vinegar even if they needed sugar if it’s free. Social media giveaways are very beneficial because they often lead to a surge in traffic. You’ll promote a product that you’ll give away to one or more people.
However, they need to provide their email address, follow your page, or subscribe to your YouTube channel. This is only an example of what you can do. You can also require them to invite a few friends. If 100 people invite, let’s say, four friends, you’ll get hundreds of subscribers or followers in a few days or hours.
Now that you also have their emails, you can use them to send newsletters and promote your website further to gather more traffic over time.
19. Take Advantage of Forums
When discussing forums, people often think they’re at their last breath. Not exactly. Reddit is also a type of forum, but you have thousands more to explore, as long as they match your business. Register with them and start solving people’s problems. Answer their questions, provide information, and casually link to your website.
This should be a page where forum users can discover more about the given problem and solve it. We think value is the key factor here. If you provide valuable information and help others, they’ll want to come back for more, so it’s a win-win situation.
20. Try Content Transformation
The last tip, but not the least by any stretch, is content transformation. SEO experts often transform their blog posts into a different format, such as an ebook or video. This isn’t a transcription process but rather a selection of the most vital information from the post.
You can reshape this information to be more cohesive and comprehensive, and do a video instead. This effectively transforms the blog post into a video that can be included directly in the blog post or via a YouTube link. You can also link to a page in the YouTube video description.
Our experience has shown that people like to watch, not to read. Some exceptions are there, but it’s easier to listen to a video while running, cooking, or stretching. You have to sit and do nothing to read. Not many have the luxury of excess time to do that.
Conclusion
So, how to increase website traffic? In short, we’d say that this revolves around content quality, SEO, and social media factors. Improving all three will yield excellent results. This can be done using SEO tools like Semrush or SE Ranking, both of which are our favorites. Of course, even free SEO software can be great.
A good example is QuestionDB for discovering relevant questions or Semrush’s free version with basic but still sufficient prowess. These 20 tips are the best based on our SEO experts’ opinions. As always, you can be even more creative. It’s time to get to work because your website traffic won’t take off overnight.
Implement these tips and work your magic to achieve success. There’s enough room on the internet for everyone to succeed. It’s only a matter of hard and smart work.