SEO: Should the Lack of Massive Hits Concern Me?

It’s inevitable that every conversation I have with prospective, or even current clients, will eventually get around to the topic of “hits”.  It seems that this is a common term that the offline masses are familiar enough with to believe they have an understanding of it, and many believe that “hits” to their website should be the prime objective.

So what it a “hit”?

A simple definition is that a visitor has landed on one of your webpages, and it’s recorded in your analytics program as a visitor, or “hit”.

So should you be concerned when you’re not getting “massive hits” to your website?

The short answer to this question is NO.
It’s not difficult to attract “hits” to a website. Anyone who follows just he basics of SEO with very little or no understanding can accomplish that.

But the question really should be; should I be concerned if I’m not getting “targeted Visitors” to my website.  The answer to this question is ABSOLUTELY!

What do I mean by “targeted visitors”? These are folks who are searching online for a specific product or service. A solution to a problem they currently have. A local business that can provide whatever it is that will solve their problem.
They’ve already done the research, know what they want, and in many cases have already decided to buy…they’re just looking for a place to buy.

Let’s say you own a brick and mortar shoe store and you place an ad in the local paper promoting free coffee and pastries on Saturday. Or perhaps you own a car dealership and offer $20.00 free gas and a car wash just to take a test drive.

These types of marketing strategies are used frequently by offline businesses in the hope of attracting customers, or “hits” to their store.

You might have a really busy day catering to these visitors, but at the end of the day how many shoes did you sell? How many cars did you sell?  How many of your visitors, or “hits” came to your store because they were truly interested in your product?  How many of these could be classified as “targeted visitors”?

I’m not saying that this is a bad promotional strategy, but most of the folks who visit your business through a promotion such as these are not “targeted visitors”, and will visit to take advantage of your free offer, with no immediate intention or interest in purchasing your product.

The same thing applies to your website. In order to get business from your website, you need to attract “targeted visitors”. Those who are searching online for your product or service already with the intent to buy.

How do you get “targeted visitors”?

In a word; “Research”.  You must do some in-depth keyword research to find out what terms people are using when they are interested in buying your product or service.

Here’s the shoe store example;
If your SEO strategy is broadly focused on the term “shoe”, you’ll attract lots of visitors, if you can get ranked in Google for that term.  But those folks may be looking for anything from shoe repair, to dress shoes, designer shoes, basketball shoes, etc.  Not very targeted. Most of your non-targeted visitors will leave your website within the first 10 seconds because they didn’t immediately find what they’re looking for.

So you must dig into some keyword research to find the valuable terms that people are using that are “relevant” to your product or services.

By doing a little research and finding valuable keywords and phrases that are relevant to your business, you’ll be attracting the right visitors, and you’ll be providing your visitor with exactly what it is that they’re looking for.  Your chance of actually doing business with these people is much greater.  A visitor who is searching for “nike air force basketball shoes” is a much more “targeted visitor”.

These folks aren’t just browsing, they are interested in that particular brand and type of shoe.