Why Isn’t Anyone Visiting My Website? (How Small Business Owners Can Fix Low Traffic)
You’ve launched your site, polished your services page, and you’re proud of how it looks. But when you check your inbox… crickets. So where are all the visitors?
Read on to learn more!
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TL;DR Summary
Website Traffic
- Before fixing anything, install analytics (Google Analytics or Fathom) to track traffic properly
- Your site may be getting visits—but not from the right people, or it’s not converting them
- There are two ways to grow traffic: SEO & Direct
- You may have hidden traffic blockers like slow load time, poor mobile design, or unclear messaging
- Fix one thing at a time: set up analytics, optimize old content, or start sending more people back to your site
Start With the Data
Let’s start with this: Do you actually know how much traffic your site is getting?
If not, install one of these tools ASAP:
Google Analytics
Free, powerful, and a bit complex. Great for deep dives into traffic trends.
Fathom Analytics
A privacy-first alternative that’s simpler to use (and easier on the brain). I use Fathom myself and recommend it to clients who want quick, meaningful insights without all the extra data.
→ Try Fathom Analytics with a $10 credit
→ If you’re on my WordPress Care Plan, you already get access to it for free!
Once your analytics are set up, track these four key things:
- How many people visit your site
- Where they’re coming from (search, social, email)
- Which pages they spend time on
- What actions they take—or don’t take
A lack of sales doesn’t always mean a lack of traffic—you could actually have plenty of visitors who just aren’t converting into clients and customers.
Sage Grayson explains this so well in her Triple Your Traffic workshop (which I attended live and rank among my favorites). The goal isn’t just to get more people to your site—it’s to attract the right people who actually need what you offer.
Two Main Ways to Get Website Traffic
There are really only two ways people land on your site:
1. Search Engine Traffic (SEO)
This is where someone Googles a question—and your site shows up with an answer. If SEO feels like a giant puzzle, just start here:
- What does your ideal client type into Google when they need help?
- Do you have a blog post, service page, or freebie that answers it?
- Can you make existing content clearer, more focused, or more relevant?
Even refreshing old blog posts can boost search visibility. I do this in my own business and teach it to clients. It’s one of those “easy win” strategies that grows over time.
In Kate Kordsmeier’s SEO + Organic Traffic Mastery course, she explains how updating old content can help improve your site’s performance in the search rankings.
As I’m writing this very paragraph, I’m going through all my current blog posts to make them more helpful to you. 😊 It’s amazing how much potential lies in content you’ve already created!
Earlier I mentioned getting to know your own data better earlier. If you’re looking to get more comfortable with Google Analytics, Kate’s course includes a tutorial on how to install GA4 (the latest version of Google Analytics) and create your own simple reports snapshot. So much good SEO and traffic inside this course!
2. Direct Traffic (You Send Them Yourself)
SEO not your thing, or something you don’t have time to tackle just yet? Focus on where your ideal clients already hang out!
People land on your website from all sorts of places:
- Email newsletters (my favorite way to stay in touch with website clients!)
- Social media posts and profiles
- Professional directories and listings
- Word of mouth referrals
You may have more control over your traffic than you think!
You can actively guide people to specific pages on your website instead of hoping they find you through a Google search.
One of my favorite takeaways from Sage’s Triple Your Traffic workshop, and something I’ve implemented in my own business, is the idea of sending people back to my website to download anything they sign up for.
That means, instead of emailing people a link to a PDF that lives in my Google Drive or Dropbox (which does nothing to help my traffic), I can keep that PDF in my WordPress media library and direct people back to my website for more good stuff!
Common Traffic Blockers (and How to Fix Them)
Sometimes the issue isn’t about getting more traffic—it’s about removing the roadblocks that keep visitors from finding you. Let’s look at some common problems:
Your Site Takes Forever to Load
We’ve all done it—clicked away from a site that’s taking too long to load. Your visitors will, too.
Run a quick speed test at GTmetrix.com or Pingdom.com to see how your site performs. If it’s slow, this might be why people aren’t sticking around.
Your Site Isn’t Mobile-Friendly
Pull up your site on your phone right now. Can you read everything easily? (Navigate to all the important pages to check beyond the homepage.)
If it’s hard to read on your phone, you’re probably losing mobile visitors—and that could be up to half your potential traffic!
Your Content Doesn’t Connect
Sometimes we get so caught up in the technical stuff that we forget the basics: Are you clearly explaining what you do and who you help?
Your website content needs to grab attention quickly and show visitors they’re in the right place.
It’s one thing to have it fixed for you, but when you are given the knowledge to fix your own issues it is even better, since site maintenance is common for websites. Liz was professional, understanding, patient, and extremely helpful and it was a pleasure receiving some of her knowledge.”
Ready to Take Action?
Here’s my favorite rule: Fix one thing at a time.
- Haven’t installed analytics yet? Start there. The sooner you start collecting data, the better.
- Already tracking traffic? Update a blog post or add internal links.
- Still delivering freebies via Dropbox? Move them to your website and reclaim that traffic.
If you’re ready to clean up your existing content and boost traffic from the posts you already have, I use and recommend LinkBoss. It helps you build smart internal links between your blog posts—so visitors stay longer, see more, and are more likely to take action.
Small changes lead to steady growth. And if you’re looking for more structure, I’ve created a free guide just for you!
Grab 6 Steps to Website Success!
It’s the next best step if your site is live but not bringing in the right people yet.
Want to dive deeper into attracting more visitors to your site?
I’d love to help! Send me a message from my contact page or book a website audit where we can create a plan to get more of your ideal clients finding and choosing you online.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I check how much traffic my website gets?
Use Google Analytics or Fathom Analytics to see your visitor counts, top pages, and referral sources.
2. What are the main ways to drive traffic to my website?
Start with your existing network: email list, social media, Facebook groups, and directories. Link back to your site often.
3. Why do I have website visitors but no sales?
Chances are your content or call-to-action isn’t clear enough—or you’re attracting the wrong people. An audit can help uncover gaps.
4. Can slow loading times hurt my traffic?
Definitely. Not only will visitors bounce, but Google may also rank your site lower in search results. Use tools like GTmetrix to test your speed.
