The vastness of the internet means it's a competitive place to work, especially when you're trying to win over new visitors. Battles to increase website traffic are often hard-won, and the work of attracting a larger audience is never-ending — but that doesn't mean you have to set your sights months down the road to see results. There are some steps you can take to increase website traffic right away. Even if you're already drawing a respectable audience, consider how these strategies might elevate your website's performance and increase your sales opportunities.

Creating a marketing campaign is a lot of work. After months of research, A/B testing and seemingly endless promotion to get it up and running, it's reasonable to want to rest a little bit and reap the rewards of a campaign well executed. But don't get too comfortable. Marketing campaigns aren't just "set it and forget it"; they require continual maintenance to make sure you're always connecting with your base in meaningful ways and reaching as many new customers as possible. While you might not need a complete overhaul just yet, here's a spring cleaning checklist you can use to spruce up your campaigns as the last of the winter chill melts away.

Digital marketing trends can be difficult to forecast day to day, let alone for an entire year. New platforms and companies are driven by the changing preferences of the continuing influx of new users. The risk of jumping onto what may be just a passing fad, however, is offset by the knowledge that failing to adapt your marketing tactics is never the strategy for customer retention. These five digital marketing trends will continue to dominate in 2016 and will be an important part of any marketing portfolio.

1. Content Marketing

Back in the day, brands merely posted a few coupons and engaged with any random audience, and then their content would practically share itself. Consumers today are savvier and more discerning than ever. Creating content with a focus on SEO (rather than actual human readers) can cause content fatigue, which makes it tough to attract, let alone convert, potential customers. Particularly when you consider the trends to follow, brands that will break through will be the ones that continue to find relevant ways to talk to their customers. KFC has done this with clever, viral videos, but it also works for smaller brands, like Intelligentsia Coffee.

Small businesses often lament the fact that they're at a disadvantage against bigger brands, which not only have larger marketing budgets, but can afford to offer much lower prices. But local businesses still have their own attractions, including a focus on quality and a commitment to their communities.

Small Business Saturday has emerged as a smart means of raising awareness about the value of shopping local, as noted by Marketing Land. The event, which comes on the heels of Black Friday, encourages consumers to spend their money wisely with businesses that reinvest that money in their local communities. This national retail day depends on the entire small business industry to promote it for their mutual benefit. Local businesses need the support of their communities, and an annual day dedicated to this relationship can give businesses a big boost. Here are some effective digital strategies for raising awareness of the event and driving traffic to your stores on Small Business Saturday.

Digital marketing mistakes can be deadly to your bottom line. You've done the hard work of getting visitors to your site, but the job of conversion has only just begun. Here are five of the biggest digital marketing mistakes — and how to fix them.

1. Your Site Is Slow

Consumers love to look, but hate to wait. With the average page size coming in at a whopping 2 MB, according to SitePoint, load times are slower than ever. Search Engine Journal notes that making your page load just one second faster can increase sales by 7 percent. Shoot for a 1 MB page size.

In order for a business to be successful in today's digital world, it has to have a strong online presence. In fact, according to Entrepreneur, 2.5 billion people log onto the Internet every day. This constant activity provides online marketers with a multitude of opportunities to attract new potential customers. Here are some tips for getting found online.

Content Strategy

Whether you own a dog walking service, a coffee bar or a gym, a solid content marketing strategy plays an important role in your company's online presence. By providing valuable, targeted content, you can naturally boost your search engine rankings. Furthermore, you can establish yourself as a trusted resource and a leader in your field, which will help you attract new potential customers.

Thanks to the early days of the Internet, when keyword-stuffing and link-spamming were prevalent, search engine optimization — or SEO — got a bad name.

But what is SEO today? Flash forward, and some people still carry a stigma when considering what SEO means for online businesses. But over the years, a maturing Internet landscape has pushed out those questionable tactics. Content that leans on cheap SEO tricks of old won't get any kinds of results that reward their creators. In their place, legitimate SEO practices have evolved that increase brand and content visibility while serving as indicators of value for consumers.

Today's SEO only has one thing in common with its unsavory predecessor: It works.

When it comes to keyword best practices, the main rule is that the rules are always changing. However, the idea that user experience is king still resonates, and that's where the main conundrum lies: What makes a good user experience is a concept that search engines continue to refine and redefine, which explains why, even with paid search marketing, a top position is not guaranteed. There is no magic bullet to get a higher search ranking, but you can do your best to stay on top of the game with these keyword best practices.

1. Go With the Flow

Companies have always tried to influence consumers who are already prospects, and with the widespread availability of information available to consumers on the Internet, the ability to make those connections is much stronger. Google points out that your keywords should reflect the different queries that could help someone find your site when they're searching. Think of your keywords as your customers' verbalization of the problems they're trying to solve, and create content around relevant answers. For example, if you sell women's evening shoes, posts about trends in evening wear will draw a wider range of prospects and give you more options for keywords.

When running a website or blog, marketers often reach a point where they feel like they've exhausted natural post topics and titles. As a result, their content creation efforts begin to fall flat. But compelling content is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy. In fact, according to Social Media Today, content marketing is poised to be "one of the most vitally important marketing strategies" this year. Here are a few tips and tricks on creating compelling content for your website or blog.

1. Switch the Format and Try a New Angle

Simple, 400- to 600-word blog posts or news articles can be effective at the beginning of the content creation process on a particular platform. However, these "safe" posts may not generate the excitement you're hoping to see from your content in the long term. As time goes on, they may begin to underperform in terms of traffic and social media shares. To keep your visitors interested, you should try experimenting with new formats, such as a listicle or even a video.

In the wake of Google's Panda, Penguin and Hummingbird updates, SEO myths are plentiful and often seem credible. Things always seem to be changing. Is linking really beneficial? Is SEO dead? Is there a magic keyword that tops all search results? What techniques should you adopt and what should you avoid? Here are four debunked myths that will help you separate fact from fiction.