Editing Web traffic (section)

==Sources==
===From search engines===

The majority of website traffic is driven by [[Web search engines|search engines]].{{cn|date=September 2022}} Millions of people use search engines every day to research various topics, buy products, and go about their daily surfing activities. Search engines use [[Index term|keywords]] to help users find relevant information, and each of the major search engines has developed a unique [[algorithm]] to determine where websites are placed within the search results. When a user clicks on one of the listings in the search results, they are directed to the corresponding website and data is transferred from the website's server, thus counting the visitors towards the overall flow of traffic to that website.

[[Search engine optimization]] (SEO), is the ongoing practice of optimizing a website to help improve its rankings in the search engines.  Several internal and external factors are involved which can help improve a site's listing within the search engines.  The higher a site ranks within the search engines for a particular keyword, the more traffic it will receive.

===Increasing traffic===
{{Main|Online advertising}}

Web traffic can be increased by the placement of a site in search engines and the purchase of [[advertising]], including [[bulk e-mail]], [[pop-up ads]], and in-page advertisements. 

Web traffic can also be purchased through web traffic providers that can deliver targeted traffic. {{citation needed span|date=December 2022|However, buying traffic may negatively affect a site’s search engine rank.}}

Web traffic can be increased not only by attracting more visitors to a site, but also by encouraging individual visitors to "linger" on the site, viewing many pages in a visit. (''see [[Outbrain]] for an example of this practice'')

If a web page is not listed in the first pages of any search, the odds of someone finding it diminishes greatly (especially if there is other competition on the first page). Very few people go past the first page, and the percentage that go to subsequent pages is substantially lower. Consequently, getting proper placement on search engines, a practice known as SEO, is as important as the website itself.{{cn|date=May 2015}}