One of the main objectives of search engine optimization (SEO) is to improve the volume of inbound traffic or the number of visitors to a webpage. When traffic is generated from unpaid search results on a search engine such as Google, it is technically referred to as organic traffic.
The reason why organic traffic is so crucial is because it logically influences conversion rates. When members of your target audience visit your webpage, they are likely to purchase your products and services, or apply for subscriptions. With increased traffic come better chances for merchandise sales and website marketing.
You should, therefore, give this particular aspect of SEO primary focus. Here are some ways on how to increase your organic traffic:
Perform keyword research
To land visitors to your webpage, you need to know what they are looking for. You can utilize keyword research and analysis tools to determine which keywords are being typed into queries related to your chosen niche. Focus on long-tail phrases that relate to your products or services. You want to be as targeted and as specific as possible so you can grow more traffic.
Some tools will help you discern possible keyword combinations or other related keywords. You want to pay attention to these as well because they present opportunities to create content to attract more readers.
Implement quality content marketing
After finding your target keywords, develop content that is helpful to your audience. Don’t just stuff keywords into an article for the sake of SEO rankings. This practice is highly discouraged and is considered a “black hat” tactic, which could get your site banned from Google.
Instead, focus on what readers are interested in. You can expand your articles to cover related topics that are still centered on your target keywords. Refresh your content by coming up with new posts on a regular basis.
Optimize meta data
As earlier mentioned, careless keyword stuffing should be avoided at all costs. Ideally, keywords should be contained in the title, subheadings, introductory paragraph, concluding paragraph, and in several areas throughout the body of the article.
When incorporating images, make sure that the image filename and description are also optimized and match your target keywords. This will attract visitors who run image searches. It will also improve your page’s rankings.
Use internal linking
One way of keeping readers on your site is to incorporate links to other pages on which you have provided relevant content. Internal linking gives your audience other options for reading content. This also increases your site’s chances of getting higher rankings.
However, it would be best to provide 3 to 5 links, depending on your word count. Too many links can be interpreted as spamming which can also get you banned.
Get good backlinks
You can start by asking your friends, partners, suppliers, and other business owners to provide related links to your site. The key here is to get backlinks from trusted or authoritative sites, which provide relevant content or are in an industry that is similar to yours. Google assigns higher rankings to pages that are recommended by trustworthy sites.
Since getting backlinks from external sites can be challenging, you can do guest blogging or commenting. This way, you promote reciprocal relationships because you get to provide them with free content while getting links to your own site.
Utilize social media
Social media plays an important role in increasing traffic volume. You can take advantage of your presence on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to promote your website. You can post snippets or images of your site’s content and provide links to your page. This encourages social sharing, which will attract more visitors.
Conclusion
Growing organic traffic is a process that is time-consuming and seemingly endless. You may even need to consult SEO experts to scrutinize and enhance specific areas. You can be assured though that by implementing effective strategies, you get to promote your site and to expand your business exponentially.
In today’s world, SEO is a marketing investment that cannot be dispensed with.
