Overall site traffic - 3 quick questions

[inhouseninja]

3 things :

1. Does Google factor in overall site traffic in rankings?  So for 2 sites, all other things being pretty much equal, the one with higher traffic will be listed higher?

2. Does this logically imply that sites with lower traffic overall face an uphill struggle to be ranked highly???

3. As an extension to this, would it be true to say that by increasing site traffic, say with Google Adwords or other online or offiline or whatever advertising, that might help get higher SEO rankings???

Thanks so much for your responses.  This forum is great!

[CodyWheeler]

Well explained. Traffic increasing SEO is definitely an indirect result of the higher activity a site increases - as long as it's quality traffic.

To elaborate on what Ryan said, if you're going to adversite, make sure it's going to be high quality traffic that is going to want to interact with your site. Traffic alone won't help. It has to be suited to your audience so they'll like, share, talk about your site, etc.

That's what is going to help you win the uphill battle.

[RyanKent]

Does Google factor in overall site traffic in rankings?

No. Alexa ranks for traffic. Google ranks are based on over 200 factors including relevance to search, quality of content and community support (i.e. links, social sharing, etc).

Indirectly speaking, sites with higher traffic have their content viewed more. If the content is popular or well presented, then visitors are likely to either link to it or share it in facebook, twitter, etc. Google ranks are affected by those activities.

Does this logically imply that sites with lower traffic overall face an uphill struggle to be ranked highly?

It is always a struggle to rank higher. Good SEO tactics combined with quality web design and great content will help you climb the ranks over time.

By increasing site traffic, say with Google Adwords or other online or offiline or whatever advertising, that might help get higher SEO rankings?

Here is the catch. Let's say you start a new site with great content and a desired product. You use television ads, Adwords, or other means to get a million visitors to your site. What's next?

If those visitors then link to your content, spam their social networks, etc. then those activities will help your rankings. On the other hand, if those visitors don't like what they see and leave your site, then your rankings will remain unchanged.

The summary answer to your questions is: increased activity offers you the OPPORTUNITY to earn better rankings, but does not help you rank higher directly.

[EGOL]

1. Does Google factor in overall site traffic in rankings?  So for 2 sites, all other things being pretty much equal, the one with higher traffic will be listed higher?

I have not heard that google will give you higher positions for having higher traffic.  HOWEVER, with personalized search turned on, if a searcher has visited your site before it might receive a higher position in a SERP.

**2. Does this logically imply that sites with lower traffic overall face an uphill struggle to be ranked highly??? **

Holding the high ground is always valuable.  If you have a site with a LOT of traffic that is a LOT more people who might link to you, like you, tweet about you, etc.  The site with the high traffic has a huge advantage.  Some sites receive thousands of likes and tweets, etc every day!

3. As an extension to this, would it be true to say that by increasing site traffic, say with Google Adwords or other online or offiline or whatever advertising, that might help get higher SEO rankings???

I don't think that traffic flowing into your site through these other routes has a direct impact on your rankings.  However, as mentioned above it is a higher population of people who might link, like, tweet, etc.

You mention "offline"..... if those people type "yourdomain.com" into the google search box or toolbar then that will signal google that people are "asking for you by name".  I think that these domain queries have enormous value.  I've never heard anyone from google say that they are kickass or any SEOs saying that they tested, but I would bet that they count for a lot.

[Jack-ToolkitWebsites]

Hi there,

As far as we can tell traffic doesn't effect the rankings, something to watch for though is the bounce rate- if two sites have the same levels of traffic, but one has a lower bounce rate, generally the site will rank better.

[MarieHaynes]

I don't think site traffic has a bearing in the algo at all.  It would be too easy to spam.

I don't think anyone has found a connection with using Adwords contributing to their SEO in any way.

Of course, if a site has a great backlink profile it's going to rank higher for more terms and GET more traffic...but that's a result of a good quality site and good SEO, not the cause of the good rankings.