To succeed in the future, we must understand the past. Learn about the history of web traffic & how to benefit from web traffic.
The internet is always growing!
If you are a business owner, then you know how important web traffic is. But have you ever stopped to wonder where that traffic comes from? And how it has changed over the years? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the history of web traffic and how it has evolved over time. We’ll also discuss the start of the internet, internet growth, the internet in 2022, how websites gain traffic, and how important it is to be online. So if you’re interested in learning more about web traffic, then this is the blog post for you!
The start of the internet
In 1995, only 0.4% of the world population was using the internet according to Internet Growth Statistics 1995 to 2021 – the Global Village Online (internetworldstats.com). In 1995, the internet was still new, but think about the potential if your business was internet-focused back then. If your business was there from the start, its potential is limitless. Elon Musk’s first big company was PayPal. He started it because he understood the importance of transferring money via the internet. Later, eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion. We like to bring this up because Elon founded the first iteration of this company “x.com” in 1999. Because he invested in the internet early, he was rewarded.
Internet Growth
Since the start of the internet, its number of users has grown every year. In 1995, there were 16 million users, whereas in 2007 there were 1,319 million users. This growth is profound and business owners have utilized this web traffic over the years. If you had an online store and had to choose to advertise to your local community only or the online community, which would you choose? While there may be potential with your local community, the sheer number of online users easily outnumbers any local community.
The internet in 2022
Now that you know about the history of web traffic and how it has evolved over time, let’s investigate what the future holds for this industry. If you are wondering where the internet is headed next, it’s clear the growth will continue to be steady. We know over 5 billion people are using the internet in 2022, but how do business owners get these internet users to their websites? The most common method is called Search Engine Optimization, often referred to as SEO. In short, SEO includes any efforts toward improving the website’s search engine rankings and visibility.
Using keywords to gain traffic
The two main elements of SEO we encourage business owners to focus on are keywords and blog posts. Keywords are necessary to bring the right people to your website. If you sell photography services, your website belongs in search engine results for the keywords “photography services.” Keywords can be competitive, which means there are a lot of businesses using “photography services” as their keywords. When there is competition, we encourage you to use long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are a combination of 3 or 4 words, instead of 1 or 2. For example, if someone searches “baby shower photography services,” the results would be more specific, and in turn, would have less competition.
Using blog posts to gain traffic
Next, blog posts are required for gaining traffic and improving ranking. You may be thinking, “Do I really need blog posts?” Yes! Blog posts are also called articles. If you ask a question in a search engine, you’d be surprised to find out that you are usually clicking on a blog to find the answer. In other words, the search engine result that the user clicks on to answer their question is someone’s blog or article they posted to their website. The next time you ask Google a question, see if the result you like is a blog post.
So why do these blog posts help website rankings? Your website gains traffic and search engine authority, and potentially leads when users click on your blog posts. Next, let’s make a comparison, do you think a search engine would favor a website with just 5 pages or a website with 5 pages and 20 blog posts? The answer is the website with 20 blog posts. SEO agencies recommend websites start with 10 blog posts and then post 3 each month. Although these blog posts take time, they are key to continued web growth.
How important is it to be online?
Is it worth it for your business to be online? Think about how much time and money you spend online. If we consider the history and growth of web traffic, do you think it would be beneficial to your business to invest in an internet marketing agency? The answer is YES! Online advertising is very expensive for businesses. For small businesses, online advertising is better to be left to the experts. An internet marketing agency can use a combination of organic and paid traffic techniques to ensure your website/business has a steady flow of traffic from all sources. Furthermore, considering your time spent online and the growth since 1995, having your business online is essential!
Learning from the history of web traffic
To recap, businesses need to invest in their online presence. While the competition in search engines gets tougher every year, the amount of time people spend online continues to grow. Have you thought about your business from this perspective? Web traffic is incredibly important and we see it growing for years and years to come! What do you think, can we expect websites like Facebook and Google to always be the top sites visited every day?
Now that you know more about the history of web traffic and how websites gain traffic, do you think it is beneficial to invest in online advertising? We think so! Schedule a consultation to create your website today.