Is more web traffic always a good thing?

It's natural to assume that more web traffic is a good thing but this is not always true. For most web sites, the quality of the web traffic is much more important than quantity. 

By quality, you key web metrics should be measuring the performance against your key web objective, which could be sales revenue or leads or downloads etc. There is no point in being fixated on increasing web traffic (the number of visits or unique visits) if there is no corresponding increase in sales, leads or downloads.

Measurement of key web metrics is crucial to ensure that you maximise your Marketing ROI and achieve the best results for every £ spent. 

Attracting target web leads is one of the 3 key ways that I help my clients to attract and keep valuable customers. The key word here is target. Traffic for traffic's sake is pointless. e.g. When I started using Google PPC in 2003, one of my clients had already set up a Google AdWords campaign. I was able to make an immediate improvement by eliminating ineffective KeyWords and changing the ad copy. This resulted in 50% less web traffic and 50% less PPC spend but no change on sales. i.e. They achieved the same sales for half the cost.

Previously, they had focused too much on increasing web traffic and too little on conversion rates and sales. 

Key Learning

Focus on the quality of your web visitors, not just the quantity.

Get more information on Marketing ROI

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.