6 Effective Actionable Steps to Get More Search Traffic Today

Do you want more revenue for your business? A top ranked website means more traffic and more traffic means more revenue. Simple, right? Being ranked #1 on the organic search results will bring you over 30% of traffic with the top 3 spots taking over 60% of all traffic! These are people with real intent.

Why is Intent Important?

Let’s talk about intent for a minute. People with intent are those who are actively looking for the service you provide. People who are actively looking for your service will require less convincing and explanations. In short the cost to acquire them as customers is significantly reduced. You absolutely want to attract people with intent. For example, you are in the real estate industry as a real estate investor. You like to buy houses off-market. You know that if you buy a house directly from the owner you can get a great deal, particularly if they are looking to sell their house fast. This is content and as a real estate investor this would be someone you absolutely want to talk to.

Now we understand intent, let’s move on.

According to the marketing statistics of Hubspot, businesses that prioritize blogging and search engine optimization are more likely to improve their bottom line. But, how can we make sure that our online efforts are increasing our visitors?

Text content is the foundation of search traffic. Thus, always create a descriptive and relevant text related to your website niche to help it rank well in search.
More than 50% of buyers use Google to search for a product or service before they make a purchase.
Meanwhile, about 49% of Internet users use Google to look for new features of products or services.
In a study in 2019, 65% of the total e-commerce session generates search traffic, 33% is from organic search, while paid search generates 32%.

Do not easily get discouraged. You can still improve your blog!

The recent survey of Infront Webworks shows that the websites on the first page of the search engine result receive 95% of the web traffic. Moreover, the subsequent pages will gain only 5% or less of the total traffic.

We all wish there is a skip button to immediately improve your rank and gain more search traffic. However, there will always be hassles and hurdles along with your hustle. In order to succeed with these actionable steps, you need to have creativity, dedication, persistence, and resourcefulness. Especially, when the Google algorithm is constantly changing.

You are lucky enough to have come through this post. We are giving out some important things to help you get more search traffic. So, if you want to gain reliable and qualified search traffic, but you have no idea where to begin? Read this article and take the steps of the important points that you find.

Effective Actionable Steps for Search Traffic

It would be better if you already know some of the strategies, but we will approach the actionable steps in a unique angle to make it more effective. Here are the things we are going to teach you:

Target topics with search traffic potential
Write and post 3,000+ words
Build pages, link reputable resources to build credibility
Write a guest post
Email generation
Restructure blog posts

Target Topics with Search Traffic Potential

In order for you to improve your search rank, you need to know where you stand. Fortunately, there are several tools and resources available to help you in tweaking your search traffic.

Before we continue, spare some time on commercial keywords. Most content writers overlook the impact of these types of keywords on their search engine rankings and earn revenue. You have to understand that Google rankings determine informational and commercial keywords.

Most information keywords are for target audiences that are not in a buying mood. Meanwhile, those people who are looking for products or services for solutions are into keyword phrases with “best”, “buy”, “review”, and other keywords that will convert well in the e-commerce industry.

After searching for potential keywords, you need to determine relevant content for your blog. To start, you need to write content about the topics people are searching for– topics that have search traffic potential. There are two ways to start with the help of SEMrush tool:

Look for high-volume, low-competition keywords

Search one keyword or a few relevant keywords or phrases into the search bar in SEMrush Keywords Explorer. SEMrush will provide a keywords ideas report that will give you thousands of ideas. You can filter the list by the following metrics:

Search volume: It is the overall search demand or the number of times the keyword is searched. Set the minimum search volume to 1,000 to look for keywords that have the potential to gain more traffic.

Keyword difficulty: Ranking difficulty which ranges between 0 to 100. It is best to set the maximum keyword difficulty to 10, it will filter non-competitive keywords.

Setting the results to a minimum range will give you a manageable list of low-competition topics. Moreover, you should also analyze the difficulty and search intent in reality before targeting a potential keyword.

An example where this keyword research can really pay off can again be found in the real estate industry. If we dive into very similar but subtly different keywords. We buy houses in Phoenix versus We Buy Houses. The first keyword (or keyphrase as I like to call it) has a search difficulty of mid 20’s according to AHREFS. If we remove the word phoenix the difficulty jumps up to 56. This illustrates a much higher degree of competition. Therefore if you are located in Phoenix, or any city for that matter of fact, this research would make the chances of potential customers finding you significantly better.

Here is an assignment for you. Which is easier to rank for? We buy houses Denver or we buy Denver houses? You will be amazed at the difference in competition.

This doesn’t just work in real estate. Insurance, healthcare, lawyers and banking are all high powered industries that allow you to rank more easily with a little keyword analysis.

Make a plan of the list of topics by focusing those with a higher value. Keep in mind that traffic is only a vanity metric, there is no point of having a lot of traffic if it does not convert into revenue.

Use the Content Explorer Technique

In this method, you have to use the content explorer tool of SEMrush. It is a searchable database that contains billions of web pages. You can look for low-hanging content ideas that you can easily rank for by adjusting the filters to <5 referring domains and >1,000 organic filters.

You can look for the topics on the pages with high business value and have great relevance to cover. Using the content explorer to look for topics is an effective content plan, you are digging up the interests of your audience.

Learn more about content creation with our comprehensive guide on different types of content styles.

Write and Post 2,500+ Words

We all want to write and post engaging content. However, not all of the writers will succeed in this strategy. Do you know why? They are not attentive to sites that have successful posts. If they did, they would have already known the three techniques on how to write and post engaging content.

Actually, the first technique has already been employed since then. Write an attention-grabbing headline. Experts have observed that 8 out of 10 people will read your content if you have an intriguing headline

Attention-grabbing headlines will have a connection to the readers. It will hook them to read more of your content to find answers or solutions to the intriguing headline. A good headline deals with several emotions of the readers. It encourages them to click through high-quality and informational content.

The next technique is to have the right length of content. Most shareable posts are 1,000 words long. However, longer posts attract more shares, these long posts have 2,500 to 3,000 words. The more words mean the more opportunities for Google algorithm to notice your SEO.

Believe us when we say posts are best when they are 3,000 words long. Why?

In 500-word long posts, the readers are not caught on the topic. They will still look for answers or further explanation of your answer.
A long post will give you more opportunities for backlinks and organic leads.
It is obvious that long posts made time in digging and researching about the topic. Thus, readers gain every information they need to know from your blog post. Moreover, they do not have the need to go to other websites for supplemental information.

Lastly, make sure that your content has a killer idea that will make it the talk on social media.

How to create killer content?

Understand the target audience: We have to know the things our audience is passionate about. When you search for the primary keyword on Google or Quora, you will read most of their pressing concerns and questions.

Generate content ideas with a reliable topic generator tool

Use Ubersuggest: You can utilize your content generation with Ubersuggest, it will give you ideas that can help with generating blog post ideas.

Collect ideas from comments and ideas: Blog comments are a helpful place to connect with readers and gain useful content ideas. You will mostly find the best comments in authority blogs.

Content curation for ideas: There is no need to start out from scratch, you can check on the best contents and come up with new ideas.

Furthermore, we know that we suggested keeping the length of your blog long. But, think of your readers, some of them are easily distracted. That’s why keep your content snappy and intriguing.

Build Pages, Link Reputable Resources to Build Credibility

Link building is crucial to gain search traffic. That’s why you have to know the different types of links you need to apply to your blog.

Anchor Text Links: These in-text links appear within the content. Surveys claim that placing an anchor text link on “above-the-fold will increase conversion rates. But, to prevent acquiring some penalties from the algorithm, combine it with generic keywords.

Image Links: Images are also helpful in building links when writing articles or guest posts. When you upload images, place the keyword for anchor text in the “Alt Text” box. The images will be linked back to your website.

Editorial Links: When you create useful content, other writers will share it to their target audience through their own content or social media. You will be cited multiple times in blogs related to your content or services.

Scale Link Building: The ultimate method to generate links that are Google-friendly while improving your search traffic potential is through link diversity. You can create page content that will gain links from websites that are relevant to your own.

Write a Guest Post on Websites Related to your Niche

Guest posts are important in boosting traffic for the blogs you write. It is an effective action wherein you write posts for another blog, and in return, the editor or owner of the site will allow you to link back your website.

The biggest challenge for guest posting is looking for a website that is willing to accept your guest post. How can I search for A-listed blogs related to my niche? Here’s what you can do, visit Google, and search for the following:

Your primary keyword + submit a guest post
Your keyword + write for us
Your keyword phrase + guest post guidelines

Searching these will give you the right websites to submit a guest post and promote search traffic to your landing page for your email list.

Unfortunately, when the target audience reads your guest post, they usually disregard the author’s bio section. We cannot blame them, most of the websites place their author bio boxes at the bottom of the page.

Well, this is actually a problem. Do not let your guest post come to waste. If the readers cannot see the link to the author’s bio, then they cannot visit your site. Fortunately, we have some tips to share with you, let’s apply the “upside-down” technique.

Write an informational yet entertaining guest post.
Place sections of “helpful resources” throughout the guest post.
Link contents on the helpful resource topics.

Strategically link your published content as one of the helpful resources.

That’s how you bring more traffic than the author’s bio. Impressive, right? Grab the opportunity and start writing guest posts. Reminder, do not solely post for links. Make the topic relevant to their blog!

Email Traffic Generation

In the statistics for email marketing strategy, Oberlo claims that there are almost 3.7 billion active email accounts worldwide, and more than 270 billion emails are sent each day. More so, email marketing experts suggest that on each $1 you spend on email marketing, you will receive more than $30 back.

The ROI may sound great but, do not get too excited, most of the email lists are not active and do not yield enough results in search traffic. So, how can you ensure you have an active traffic list?

Simply generate a segmented list that will nurture your active subscribers. Make sure that each segment will receive a personalized email to invite them in continuing your offer. Do you know some of the benefits of having a segmented email list?

You are collecting target leads.
Open rates are high for newsletters.
Increase click-through rate.
Build a profitable business
A reliable source of qualified traffic

Restructure and Update Posts

Before we summarize this post, we would like to give you an idea in the process of restructuring your older posts to make it more suitable for your target audience. Sometimes, we are unaware that our readers are not totally immersed and satisfied with the information they get from your content.

How can you restructure your posts? Check the comment on your post.

If the comment section did not contain any comment, not even a “thanks for the information” or “nice post”, then your post probably did not get the readers attention.

Now, you know how your blog post needs restructuring. If you can gauge your content to your core audience, they will in turn promote, cite, and share your blog posts. With these actions of your audience, you are getting more traffic to your blog.

How can you gauge your articles to your audience’s interests? Understanding them. When you have an idea with their interests and behavior, you are at a competitive edge.

Use Alexa for Blog Engagement Analysis

Alexa is a helpful tool in analyzing the engagement activities of your website. You will notice a search bar at its homepage. Enter your blog address and click “run analysis.”

Look for the site metrics to know the current engagement level of your website. There are several metrics displayed. In the site metrics, let us discuss in-depth the impact of bounce rate, daily pageviews per visitor, and daily time on site.

Bounce Rate:

It tells the percentage of the total website visitors that view only one page and navigates away. In this case, 77.7% of the visitors only clicked the post and left. We have some advice on how you can decrease your bounce rate:

Use a responsive layout – the bounce rate will decrease once your website is compatible with other devices.
Readable text – One of the reasons why your target readers navigate away because your texts are not readable. Use a readable font type. It will most likely make the readers stay on your website.
Speed up load time of website

Daily pageviews per visitor:

Pageviews of visitors is an important metric to observe. It tells the average number of pages that visitors viewed during a specific timeframe. It tells how visitors are interested in the content. We have two important tips to increase your page views:

Cross-link your contents
Place a related articles section

Daily time on site:

Lastly, the daily time on site indicates the quality and value your content delivers to your audience. Helpful and entertaining content will get your audience engaged on the content. Also, we have simple strategies to increase your daily time on site by more than 60%:

Use headings, bullets, and lists
Write long content, but keep it around 2,500 to 3,000 words. Note: Content quality is the key.
Use visuals or pictures to increase readability.
Apply conversational style in writing your blog posts.
Write a conclusion and label it

Other than the engagement metrics, Alexa provides audience demographics. From the data it provides, you can create posts that are interesting and relevant to your target audience. Do not forget these three basic steps in restructuring your blog posts:

Identify under-performing contents
Improve and update the content
Republish the post

New and repeating the audience will notice the post. There’s nothing wrong with making your old posts better.

Conclusion

Last, but not the least, consistency is the solution. All of these actionable steps are already proven, but implementing them will not give you overnight results. You have to be consistent in order to gain fresh visitors, increase newsletter subscribers, boost conversion rates, and build a more sustainable business.

Also, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of quality to content marketing. Long-form articles are not a guarantee for high ranking, not anyone can write down 3,000 words. Quality is more important than quantity. However, if you are able to combine the two, you will surely dominate the game.

Did you learn something from the action steps to get more traffic? Did we leave out some strategies that could have worked well? Speak your mind and leave a comment, we would love to discuss with you!