How much search engine traffic should I have? This is a question that I hear a lot. Some people want to know how to get more Google love and some are concerned that they are to dependent on search engines for traffic. As far as I’m concerned, the graph below shows a great example of how much search engine traffic you should have. Less than everything else.
Now before you get all twisted up by the 4.92% slice of search engine traffic, keep in mind that these are relative percentages so the size of the Search Engines wedge depends on the overall amount of traffic you’re getting to your site. In some cases 4% equates to a a significant amount of search traffic. It’s kind of like having only 2% left of a tera-byte drive. That 2% is still a respectable amount of space. So 4% doesn’t always mean small.
The key point to consider is that search engines are fickle. Yes, visitors from search traffic are actively looking for products, services, and information about specific things, but we have to keep in mind that if an algorithm change means those searchers can’t find your site, then it doesn’t matter how targeted they are. You need to have more than one source of traffic, preferably sources that don’t change drastically overnight. If all your traffic comes from search engines then you are depending on them for all your walk up business. This can be a bad place to be.
A better mixture is to build up links from several website traffic sources like what’s shown in our graph above. With more traffic coming from referring sites and direct traffic you are less likely to have your overall traffic numbers drop suddenly, because you are less dependent on changes in the Google Caffeine search algorithm.
To be honest, I would rather see larger numbers for referring sites than direct traffic because that would mean that the site is being seen as an authority and other sites are likely pre-selling the visitor before they arrive on the site. That said, there are benefits of direct traffic that might not be obvious at first glance, such a visitor loyalty and responsiveness. These are harder to measure, but they offer the greatest amount of value.
Here are just few ways that you can increase your links from referring sites
- Be the first to link to other sites. This will put your site on the radar of other site owners and they will be encouraged to check out what your doing and possibly link back to your content in their own articles.
- Comment on other blogs. Leave good comments that add to the conversation that’s already going on. Don’t play know it all, but do write as much as you can to add value. If you say more than the author, that’s okay as long as you do it in a spirit of contribution and not one of “look at me”.
- Write guest posts for other blogs. Website owners are continually looking for new content. They either have to write it themselves or they have to pay to have content written. If you contribute an article, then will be more than happy to link back to you as credit for your contribution. If the article adds value for the reader then this is a win win win situation for everyone involved.
- Use social bookmarking sites. The excitement around these sites has mellowed a bit, but they are still good for getting click traffic to your site. As with all things in the social space though, keep in mind that you’ll get more value out of social bookmarking if you’re being social in the process. That means adding friends and being sure to bookmark their stuff as well.
- Use social media sites regularly. Honestly, I see social media as a stronger form of marketing than anything we have ever seen online. If Facebook made search a prominent part of their offering I believe they would give Google something to worry about. But, that’s another article all together. Just remember that people use social media to share things and that’s exactly what you want people to do with your website.
If you are getting most of your traffic today from Google, or Yahoo, or even Bing, then great. You’re doing a great job. The search engines have found you and you must be doing something right because that’s translating into website visitors. Now, spend some time building on the other sides of the house. Start a campaign to build up your incoming links, or look for some cheap forms of paid traffic. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you balance out that pie chart so that if the search engines sneeze, your visitor traffic won’t catch cold too.
Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com
