It's a common problem: your website has cost you time and money, and now its just sitting there in cyberspace looking pretty and doing nothing much else. You need more website traffic! So what can you do to turn things around and not only make your site pay for itself, but get it to give your business a decent boost?

There are a lot of ways to get more website traffic, but the very first thing you need to do with an under-performing site is to check that the basics are in place. If you're building a brand new site you can do it right from the start.

First, are you using the best keywords? Keyword research is the very foundation of getting more website traffic. It will give you a whole list of phrases people are using to find sites just like yours. You'll see how many searches there are for each keyword or key phrase, and how many other sites you're competing against for that phrase. Ideally you're looking for phrases with a high number of searches and low competition.

Do a related terms search as well, to find search terms that are related to your seed word, but that don't contain it. For example, a related terms search on "concrete" may turn up "cement" and "render". You'll probably find some jewels that you can do a vertical search on and find a whole lot more relevant key phrases.

The more keywords you uncover, the more chance you have of finding those elusive ones with low competition but high demand that you can rank highly for.

I recommend using a subscription keyword tool for the best results (you do seriously want more website traffic don't you?) but if you've never used a keyword tool before try out a free one first.

Fundamental number two is to write useful content. When you search the web you're looking for information, right? So are your potential customers. Give them that information and give them plenty of it. You'll find it much easier to get a high search engine ranking and more website traffic, and the visitors you get will be more likely to deal with you.

You'll know what to write about from your keyword research, and from your own industry knowledge. What are the questions your customers always ask you?

Fundamental number three is to optimize your page for the search engines. Each page should be focused on one keyword, and you need to put "hooks" throughout your page so that the search engines know what it is about.

The keyword should be used in the page title, the meta description, the page heading, and sprinkled through the text. Most experts say the keyword should be around 1-3% of the content. Try to use it in a text link as well.

Don't go overboard with the use of the keyword or the search engines may see it as spam and actually lower your page rank.

Incoming links, usually called back links, are another essential part of getting a high ranking and more website traffic. Search engines see quality back links as a vote for your site. The more votes you have, the higher your ranking. Not all back links are created equal though. The best link is a one way link from a related authority site, and from a page with not many other links on it. The worst is a reciprocal link from an unrelated low quality site, with the link to your site buried on a page with hundreds of others.

When your site has about twenty pages of good content, start submitting it to relevant directories for a good one way link, and join a quality link exchange program for good reciprocal links. Don't join link farms or exchange links with trashy sites.

Having a high search engine ranking is not much good if no-one clicks through to your site. By writing an appealing title and meta description you can double or triple your click through rate. They should both contain your keyword, and they should also be written as an ad for your page.

Look at other titles and descriptions on the search engine results page and see what would get you to click through. Don't copy, but use them for inspiration. Try a few variations of your own, and you should be able to come up with something that will boost your click through rate and get you more website traffic.

So if your website traffic isn't where you want it, go back to your site and check the basics. If they're not right you now know what to do.