Website Ranking vs. Traffic: Which Should You Focus On?

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April 23, 2025 50

Website Ranking vs. Traffic: What Should You Focus On?

When it comes to digital marketing, two things matter a lot: your website’s ranking and your website’s traffic. Both are important, but they help your business in different ways. So, should you work on ranking higher on Google or getting more people to visit your site?

What Is Website Ranking?

Website ranking is your spot on search engines like Google when someone types in a keyword. For example, if someone searches for “cheap web hosting,” the websites that show up first have high rankings.

How Do You Get a Good Ranking?

Search engines look at many things, such as:

Using the right keywords
Quality and number of backlinks
Your website’s trust level (domain authority)

Mobile-friendliness

How fast do your pages load
How do users interact? (Do they stay or leave quickly?)
How useful and relevant your content is

Why Is Ranking Important?

Websites on the first page of Google (especially the top 3) get the most clicks. Good rankings help build trust and make your brand look like an expert.

What Is Website Traffic?

Website traffic is the number of people visiting your website. There are different types of traffic:

Organic – from search engines
Direct – when someone types your URL directly
Referral – from other websites
Social – from platforms like Facebook or Twitter
Paid – from ads on Google or social media

Why Is Traffic Important?

More visitors mean more chances to:

Get leads or customers
Make sales
Grow your brand
Build your email list
Earn money from ads

Ranking vs. Traffic: What’s the Difference?

Aspect	Website Ranking	Website Traffic
Meaning	Your spot on search engines	Number of visitors to your site
Measured By	Tools like Google Search Console, SEMrush	Tools like Google Analytics
Main Goal	Show up for keyword searches	Get as many useful visits as possible
Focus	SEO and keywords	SEO, social, email, and ads
Impact	Helps bring free (organic) traffic	Affects conversions and sales

Why High Rankings Don’t Always Bring Traffic

Ranking well doesn’t always mean you’ll get a lot of visitors. Here’s why:

1. Low search volume

If only 10 people search that keyword a month, you won’t get much traffic

2. Bad titles/descriptions

People might skip your site if it looks boring

3. Wrong audience

You may rank for the wrong keywords that don’t match what people want

4. Too much competition

Ads, featured boxes, and other content can push your result lower on the page

Why Traffic Isn’t Always Good

More traffic isn’t always helpful. For example:

Visitors might not care about your product
Bots might be inflating your numbers
If your site is hard to use or off-topic, people won’t stay or buy anything
You could have 100,000 visitors but only a few sales, while a site with 5,000 visitors could sell more if the traffic is targeted.

When to Focus on Website Ranking

You want to build authority: Ranking for useful keywords makes you look like a trusted expert.
You’re thinking long-term: Good SEO takes time but pays off later with steady free traffic.
You want free visibility: Once ranked, pages can bring in traffic without paying for ads.

When to Focus on Website Traffic

Launching a campaign: If you’re promoting a new product, you need visitors now.
Earning from ads: Sites that make money from views need as many visitors as possible
Using many channels: If you use email, ads, and social media, your goal is to get visitors from everywhere, not just Google.

Best Strategy: Focus on Both Together

Instead of picking one, combine both smartly. Here’s how:

1. Target the Right Keywords

Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Keyword Planner to find:

High traffic keywords
Low competition
Keywords with commercial intent (people ready to buy)

2. Optimize Your Pages

Use good SEO (titles, headers, keywords)
Add strong calls to action (CTAs)
Make your site fast and user-friendly

3. Promote Your Content

Share on social media
Send to your email list
Build backlinks from other sites

4. Track and Improve

Use Google Analytics to check visitor behavior
Use Search Console to track rankings
Update your content based on performance

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Chasing useless keywords: Don’t rank for terms that don’t help your business
Bad content: Even if you rank well or get lots of visitors, low-quality content drives them away

Not tracking useful numbers

Look at more than just visits or rankings. Watch:

Bounce rate
Time spent on site
Pages visited per session
Conversions (sales, sign-ups, etc.)

Example: Eco-Friendly Store

Let’s say you sell eco-friendly home products.

Focus on ranking only: You rank #1 for “eco-friendly sponge” but only get 200 visitors/month
Focus on traffic only: You run Facebook Ads and get 5,000 visitors, but only make 3 sales.s

Best case:

You rank in the top 3 for “best eco-friendly home products” (3,000 searches/month), run targeted Instagram ads, and link to products and sign-up forms in your blog. Now you’re ranking, getting traffic, and converting.

Final Verdict: What Should You Focus On?

Business Type	Focus More On	Why
E-Commerce	Traffic first, Ranking later	You need quick sales first, then build long-term growth
Blog/Publisher	Ranking	More organic visits = more ad income
Local Business	Ranking	Helps people nearby find you
SaaS Company	Both	Rankings help awareness, and traffic brings signups
Affiliate Site	Ranking	Higher rank = more commission clicks

Conclusion

Both website ranking and traffic are important. Ranking helps people find you, traffic helps you grow your business. Instead of choosing one, focus on getting high rankings for the right keywords that bring useful traffic.

Start by setting clear goals—do you want more brand visibility, leads, or sales? Then build your strategy around that, using ranking to drive traffic and traffic to improve rankings.