Search engine optimization (SEO) objectives and tactics are easier to prioritize when we think of the impact of growing organic traffic first. We discuss five tactics in this article. From technical SEO and link building to technical marketing, anything that we do about SEO tactics makes an impact.
Anything that drives organic traffic follows one of five mechanisms. We must remember the impact that these mechanisms make in order to make prioritizing objectives and tactics much easier. This way, everything falls into place.
Once we understand these five methods of driving organic traffic, we can shift our mindsets from thinking about what SEO tactics we should apply to thinking, “How can one of these five tactics boost traffic?”
Driving organic traffic by ranking for net-new keywords may be the most effective technique. This organic traffic driver simultaneously takes the most effort to perform. Several ways to find net-new keywords include:
1. Comparing keyword gaps with competitors
2. Identifying keywords related to the ones that already help content rank
3. Including related keywords or topics in the content
4. Getting suggestions from ranking tools
Google usually takes a while before it understands and adjusts to the net-new content’s launch. New content takes time to ramp up before its full potential unfolds. During this ramp-up time, Google makes assessments and decides whether it ranks high or requires adjustments.
Link profile and content quality may affect ramp-up time. We also must not randomly place keywords in the content for any reason.
Rank Higher for Already-Ranking Keywords
We must aim for higher positions with the keywords that we already rank with. Instead of gunning for keywords that rank on page two, push for keywords in the top three positions to drive more SEO traffic.
Search engine results pages (SERPs) follow a rule where the top position is more valuable than the second. Once we move a keyword from the second to the first position, we can get more traffic than moving a keyword from the third to the second position.
If we aim for the highest rank, we must tick more checkmarks. This requires creating more valuable content with more authoritative sources and experience.
How can you Increase SEO Click-Through Rate?
We can drive more organic traffic by improving our site’s click-through rate. This technique involves making content that catches users’ attention and immediately fulfills their expectations. Here are three basic options to get more attention:
Title Tag Optimization: This lets a search engine know whether a page is relevant. Titles can have a high impact on ranking and draw attention in the SERPs.
Meta Description Optimization: This summarizes a page’s content well enough to have a searcher click for more information.
Rich Snippets: Also known as Rich Results, these are excerpts of regular search results displaying extra data. Some sites might utilize certain rich snippets better than others. For instance, review or e-commerce sites benefit more from reviews than sites of other industries.
What are Long-Tail Keywords?
With long-tail keywords you can drive more traffic by expanding the primary keywords that make content rank well. The content can rank for longer-tail keywords related to the primary keyword.
Long-tail keywords are more specific keywords that help content rank better. They can be variations of the main keyword or expand upon it. The following reasons may explain boosts in ranking keywords:
● The content received more backlinks or inbound links
● The content was updated
● The content was expanded
These changes to content let Google know that the content is relevant.
Ranking in Serp Features
Users tend to scan search results in a “pinball” pattern instead of the traditional F-pattern. We can take advantage of this by utilizing SERP Features such as:
● Featured snippets
● FAQ snippets
● Local packs
● Top stories
● PPA boxes
● Image carousel
Depending on how many SERP Features that a query search displays, CTR varies and changes.
Conclusion
Google constantly indexes and weighs new content against existing content as the web grows and evolves. We can adjust to these changes by adopting tactics and considering their impact on boosting organic website traffic.
Aiming to rank for net-new keywords requires the most effort yet has the greatest potential to increase organic website traffic. Meanwhile, aiming to rank in SERP Features requires the least effort while having the lowest potential return.
Since we make investments on potential returns and not tactics, we must look at our options and see which methods may create the biggest impact before taking action.
