What is SEO traffic?
SEO traffic is the number of visitors a website receives from search engines, such as Google, through organic search results as a result of implementing search engine optimisation strategies and tactics.
SEO traffic differs from other types of website traffic, such as direct or referral traffic, as it specifically focuses on improving a website’s visibility in search engine results.
According to research from Bridge Edge, organic search traffic remains the dominant source of trackable website traffic.
By implementing an effective SEO strategy, a website can increase organic search traffic and potentially attract more customers.
1. Start with an SEO strategy
An SEO strategy is a plan of action to reach a goal designed to improve a website’s search engine rankings and traffic, involving keyword research and analysis, content planning, content production, content optimisation, link building, and technical SEO.
In my experience, working on SEO over a prolonged period of time gets you to your goal instead of treating SEO as a once-and-done activity.
I implemented an SEO strategy over 8 months for this SAAS company where the organic search traffic has grown from 3328 to 46548 visits a month, according to Ahrefs.
From this Ahrefs screenshot, I’ve driven over 7500 organic visits to the Ahrefs website and secured them 4 number 1 positions from 9 articles I wrote.
However, organic growth for new websites with little authority is much slower.
I’ve been working on a new site for 4 months, and growth is much slower because they are starting from a low position.
Let’s start with keyword research.
2. Do keyword research to identify what users are searching for
Keyword research is the process of identifying and analysing the keywords and phrases potential customers are searching for and using that information to create content that is most likely to rank highly in search engine results.
Using the insights gained from keyword research, you can implement the other parts of your SEO strategy.
How I do keyword research
My preferred keyword research strategy is keyword clustering which organises related keywords into groups creating a logical structure for pages and content called “hubs” and “spokes”.
- Start by generating a list of keywords related to the topic, product or service you wish to target.
- Export the relevant keywords into a clustering tool like Keyword Insights to group related keywords into clusters.
- Keyword Insights delivers a spreadsheet report showing each cluster (page) and the combined search volume, which I use as a content plan for myself or client projects.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-BpFleu1JI4%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Read my detailed guide to keyword clustering.
3. Consistently produce and publish content using a content plan
In this content plan example, over 300 pages or clusters were created, enabling me to produce and publish content for this client for the next 6 to 9 months, which is essential to their SEO success.
As part of the plan, I included these additional columns to help the client decide which topic they want to focus on.
- Add to plan – used for the client to decide whether or not to produce content targeting this keyword/cluster.
- Publish date – the date the article will be published.
- Content link – to add the content brief or draft for editing.
- Added to site – to notify team or client the article is published.
Having decided on all the keywords or clusters to target, the next step is to create a content brief or draft.
4. Use a content brief or draft
An SEO content brief is a document provided to a writer with instructions to create content that answers the search query being targeted and optimised for search engines, helping to improve the organic rankings of the content.
Whilst every brief varies, my briefs include information such as:
- Keyword
- User Intent
- Content Format
- Page Title
- Introduction
- Headings
- Conclusion
Let me run you through how I create a brief.
Use SERP analysis to infer user or search intent
User intent is the purpose or goal of the searcher when they search Google.
By analysing the search engine results pages (SERPs), you can infer the user’s intent by looking at the page titles and content of the top search results.
For example, if a user searches for “how to bake a cake,” the SERPs would likely include recipes, tutorials, blog posts, and videos related to baking a cake, indicating that the user’s intent was looking for cake baking instructions.
However, if a user searches “where to buy a birthday cake“, the SERPS would probably include shop category pages or local cake shops serving the users’ intention to buy.
Content Format
The intent will dictate the content format you need to produce so you can maximise your chances of ranking high.
So, for example, if the query you’re targeting contains “how”, in most cases, you’ll create content in the format of a “how to” guide.
| Keyword or Title includes | Intent | Content Format |
| How | The user is searching for instructions to get a result or outcome. | How To |
| What | The user wants an answer to a question. | What Is |
| Best/Top | The user wants to find, use or buy from a list of products, services, or solutions. | Best |
| List, best, number | The user wants suggested resources, products, services, and tips. | List Post |
| Service | The user needs a service that solves their problem. | Service Page |
| Review | The user wants to know more about a product or service before buying it. | Review Article |
| VS, Comparison | The user wants to see the features and benefits of competing products or services before buying the right one. | Comparison Article |
| Alternatives | The user is dissatisfied with a product, service, or company and wants another similar solution. | Alternative Article |
| Guide | The user wants to learn more about a topic. | Guide Post |
Page title
Next, I write the page title.
The page title is the large text that appears in the search results and in the top bar of a web browser that describes the page’s content to help rank the page and increase the click-through rate.
My 3-step formula for writing a page title is as follows:
- Put your target keyword near the beginning.
- Include user intent.
- Include an outcome or benefit.
Write an introduction
The purpose of writing introductory text at the top of a web page is to provide visitors with an overview of the page’s content and purpose.
A good page introduction concisely explains what the page offers and motivates people to read more or scroll down.
Use headings
H2 headers are HTML tags placed at the top of each paragraph on a webpage to help search engine crawlers understand a web page’s structure and content and break it into smaller, digestible chunks, making it easier for readers to scan and find information.
Add a conclusion
You don’t always need to write a conclusion in a content brief or article; you can add key points or a call to action to learn more.
5. Produce content from the brief or draft
The type of content you produce will be dictated by the search query you are targeting and the content format you need to satisfy user intent.
The main content formats are as follows:
How to guide
The user is looking for a guide with step-by-step instructions to help solve a problem or achieve an outcome.
A how to guide should include the following content:
- An introduction inviting the reader to learn about the target keyword and achieve an outcome by following the instructions in the article.
- A series of headings or steps providing detailed instructions on what the user is trying to accomplish and how to complete each step.
- A conclusion reinforcing the outcome of following the steps and a call to action inviting the next step for the reader.
Here’s an example.
List post
A list post is a content created for users looking for resources, products, services or tips about the target keyword.
A list post should contain the following content:
- An introduction that includes the number of items, the target keyword and how the list benefits readers.
- Headings containing each item followed by details of what the item is, how to use it and how it is beneficial.
- A conclusion encouraging readers to try one of the tips, techniques, or strategies from the list and a call to action such as “learn more” or subscribe to an email offer.
Here’s an example.
Beginners guide
A beginner’s guide is content for readers looking to learn more about the target keyword.
A guide for beginners should contain the following content:
- An introduction inviting readers to learn about the target keyword and how they will benefit from reading the guide.
- An explanation of the target keyword under the first heading and why the topic or keyword is important.
- Further headings describing and demonstrating each step or answers to key questions.
- A summary reminding readers about the target keyword, the benefits and a call to action such as learning more, starting a trial or subscribing to an offer.
Here’s an example.
A product or service comparison article
A comparison article is where the user is looking to compare or evaluate the features and benefits of competing products or services before deciding to buy.
The content should contain the following content:
- An introduction should explain what you are comparing and why and encourage users to read the article.
- A heading that introduces the first product or service, what it is, who it’s for and the key features and benefits.
- A heading that introduces the second product or service, what it is, who it’s for and the key features and benefits.
- A heading comparing the common features of each product and your opinion on which feature is best for the user.
- A conclusion recommending which product, service, or company is the best choice for a particular task, outcome, or budget and a link to buy each product or service.
For example.
Product review
A product review is written for users looking to review a product or service they are familiar with or learn more about before purchasing.
Content in a product review should contain the following content:
- An introduction invites the reader to read your review and determine if this product is right for them or their business.
- The first heading should summarise the product, who it’s for, the intended use, features and benefit and a buy now link.
- The remaining headings should detail the product and who you should buy by describing the features and benefits, pros and cons, and proof such as reviews, ratings, testimonials, and alternative products.
- Then the review should summarise your option about the product and a link to buy the reviewed product.
Here’s a good example of a product review.
Service page
A service page is written for users looking for a service that can solve their problems.
The content to include on a service page includes:
- An introduction to how the company can help and encourage readers to learn more about their service.
- Headings that describe the problem, an outline of the service’s features and benefits, the steps or process used to deliver the service, the cities and towns the service is available, FAQs about the service, proof, case studies and quotes and convincing reason why customers should choose to use this company or service.
- Service pages have a persuasive call-to-action that links to an inquiry page, form or telephone number.
Here’s an example of a great service review.
Ecommerce category page
Product category pages on e-commerce sites give visitors the necessary products and information they need before they click through to view the product that interests them.
A category page should contain the following content:
- The product names, product images, price, stock availability, product description summary and a link to each product.
- You should write copy for your category pages to help Google understand the contents of your pages and give visitors an idea of why they might want to buy from you.
Here’s a great example of a shop category page.
Ecommerce product page
An e-commerce product page contains product information to help customers make an informed purchase decision, including:
- Product image and description.
- Price and availability.
- Technical specifications.
- Reviews and ratings.
- Related products or upsells.
- Promotions and discounts.
- Add to cart button.
- Shipping and returns information.
6. Edit, fact-check and proofread
Having an editor with industry experience provides a second pair of eyes that will dramatically improve the readability of your copy.
In addition to using an editor, statistics and quotes should be fact-checked, original sources cited and copy run through Grammarly to check spelling, grammar and for plagiarism.
Earn featured snippets
A featured snippet box appears at the top of a search engine results page (SERP) and is designed to give users quick access to the answer.
Here’s an example of a featured snippet I wrote for Ahrefs.
The writing structure I use to try and earn featured snippets is as follows:
[start with the question] [conjunction] [provide answer] [include an explanation/details]Add internal links
Internal links are important because they allow search engines to crawl and index your pages better and improve your ranking by distributing the link strength of one page to another.
The best places to add internal links, according to a Moz study, are in the text’s body, high up the main content and with relevant anchor text as opposed to links in the navigation menus, footers and sidebars.
Link to external, reputable sources
Externally linking to relevant, credible sources can signal to search engines you are citing a trusted and original data source, increasing your website’s trustworthiness and credibility.
7. Boost traffic with videos
According to Advanced Web Ranking, videos appear in 25% of UK desktop search results and 39% of UK mobile search results.
Videos appear under all search results and the video tab.
Go to GSC and look at your top pages; these are the pages you should try to embed a relevant YouTube video onto.
Click the video pages report, and I see videos embedded on 9 out of 96 pages.
I’m getting 5 clicks from these 9 pages, so scaling up embedding videos on some of the other pages could boost search traffic.
- Find the top query of each page, e.g., “SEO campaign”.
- Google the queries and click the Video tab to check if videos are being displayed.
- Produce a video with the same title as your page, e.g., “How To Launch An SEO Campaign”.
8. Off-page SEO to boost organic traffic
According to an Ahrefs study of 1 billion web pages, there is a very strong correlation between the number of unique websites linking to your website and your website traffic.
So, to grow your search traffic, increase the number of websites linking to you.
Link earning strategies
Earning links is done by understanding your link intent audience and creating content such as stats, facts, data or sources they can reference in their content.
The key strategies for earning more links are as follows:
- Creating statistics others can reference in their resources.
- Creating detailed checklists to help people start or complete a task.
- Creating templates to help people get their desired outcome.
- Design visual content to explain complicated subjects or simplify studies or statistics.
Guest posts
Guest posting can be a great way to earn links to your website; I’ve guest posted for Ahrefs and Webflow; however, as Wham said, “if you’re gonna do it, do it right, right“
Step 1: Make a list of prospects
The first step is to find potential websites to guest post on.
Enter the following in Ahrefs Content Explorer and filter accordingly to identify websites in your niche with high domain authority, good content, and active engagement from their readers.
SEO AND (“write for us” OR “guest post” OR “become an author” OR “guest article”)
Step 2: Practice your pitch
When I pitched guest post ideas to Ahrefs, they had gaps in their content compared to their competition, i.e., a content gap analysis.
Gather 3/4 keyword opportunities per prospect, the search volume and traffic potential.
Step 3: Reach out
When reaching out to them, pitch the search volume or traffic potential you’ve identified and include links to some of your best articles.
Step 4: Pitch the content pitch
The next step is to create a content pitch or draft so they can preview what the article will look like.
Step 4: Write Your Post
If the website agrees to your guest post request, you’ll need to write your post. Read the following content guidelines from Single Grain.
- Guest posts should be unique content.
- Well-researched tutorials, how-to articles or case studies.
- Actionable takeaways in the article.
- Include a captivating headline.
- 5-6 screenshots or relevant images.
- Focus on 4-5 sentences per paragraph.
- Minimum of 2,000 words per post.
Note: this is a considerable time and resource commitment, but a link from a website in your industry with a DR score of 80 should improve your authority and earn you some referral traffic.
Step 5: Include a link back to your site
When writing your post, ensure to include at least one link back to your website should the host not include your URL in their author link.
9. Implement best practice design and technical SEO
A well-designed website helps users quickly locate, browse, and read content on your site, and it is easy for Google’s web crawler to collect and index your pages.
From an SEO perspective, I am obsessed with the above the fold elements of a web page to help SEO.
Above the fold
Above the fold is the part of a web page users see before scrolling and usually includes the logo, navigation, image, headline and call to action.
These elements, when clearly visible, should grab the user’s attention and encourage them to take the action you intended.
Here are best practice examples above the fold elements you should have on home pages, e-commerce categories, e-commerce pages, service pages and blog posts.
Improving page speed and mobile-friendliness
Google has been using page speed as a ranking factor since 2010, and slow-loading pages will hurt your rankings.
The best solutions are:
- Compress your images with any image compression tool.
- Compress your HTML, CSS and Javascript code to load pages faster.
- Use dedicated web hosting that isn’t shared with hundreds of other websites.
- Use browser caching.
- Use a CDN to load and serve up images closer to your visitor faster.
The final part of implementing an SEO strategy is to set up keyword tracking and measure your activity.
10. Set up keyword rank tracking
By setting up keyword rank tracking with Ahrefs, you can monitor the performance of your keywords in search engine results and adjust your SEO strategy as needed.
To set up keyword rank tracking with Ahrefs, you need a paid Ahrefs account to use their keyword rank tracking tool; then you can follow these steps:
- Sign in to your Ahrefs account and go to the “Rank Tracker” section.
- Click on “New project” and enter your project’s name and the website you want to track.
- In the “Add keywords” section, enter or search for the keywords you want to track. Add as many keywords as you like up to your plan limit and specify the location (e.g. UK) for each keyword.
- Set the tracking frequency using the “settings” and “notifications” options on the top navigation bar.
- Every time I create a new page, I’ll set up rank tracking for that target keyword and add a note about when the article was published, or a change was made.
11. Measure your SEO traffic
You can measure your SEO efforts by tracking your organic traffic.
Organic traffic
To see your organic traffic in Google Search Console, follow these steps.
- Log into Google Search Console.
- Select the domain you want to track organic traffic for.
- Click on the “Search Results” tab.
- Click the pen icon next to “Date: Last 3 months”.
- Select “Last 28 days” and
- Press Apply to see the total clicks and other metrics.
Alternatively, you can automate this report, so you only need to click once to see this report.
Automate organic traffic tracking with Databox and Google Search Console
Here’s a quick guide to integrating Databox with Google Search Console to create an organic clicks dashboard.
- Log into your Databox account and navigate to the “Data Boards” tab.
- Click “Create New Databoard.
- Select “Use Wizard”.
- Click the “Google Search Console” box, then the “Continue” button.
- Click “Select Metrics”.
- Click the boxes showing the metrics you want to appear in your report, e.g., Clicks, Impressions, Impressions by Pages, Pages by CTR & Clicks, Queries by CTR & Clicks, Search Analytics and press “Continue.”
- Follow the instructions to connect to Google Search Console.
- Select your site and press “Activate.”
- And “voila”, your dashboard and report are created.
- You can customise the dashboard.
- Press copy URL, paste it into your browser and select CMD + D to add as a browser favourite or share it with clients or colleagues.
12. How to refresh decaying content to boost traffic
Your rankings and clicks often decline over time because a competitor jumps above you in the SERP with better content, more domain authority or more links to their page.
However, content decay occurs when content becomes outdated or irrelevant over time and is no longer useful for users or search engines.
"Content decay arises because user intent changes over time". Bernard Huang, Co-founder at Clearscope
Step 1: Identify content decay
The best way to identify decaying content is to use the Frase page decay report, which identifies decaying pages where you’ve lost 2 or more positions and clicks in the past 30 days.
- Select SEO Tools.
- GSC Content Analytics.
- Select your domain.
- Select Pages and then Decay from the drop-down.
- Select a page and create or open up a document.
Alternatively, look at pages in Google Search Console, last 3 months vs the previous 3 months, where the clicks have fallen.
Step 2: Review target keyword and SERPs
The next step is to review your target keyword and the SERP.
- Decide the target keyword. This may have changed since you originally published the article.
- Check if there is traffic potential should you earn a page 1 position.
- Check DR and Referring Domains to top pages to see if you can outrank some of them.
Step 3: Rewrite and republish
If you want a successful content refresh to boost traffic, I recommend rewriting the article by following steps 4 and 5 above.
- Create a content brief.
- Analyse the SERP to infer intent.
- Choose the correct content format.
- Rewrite the page title based on intent.
- Write a new introduction that includes the target keyword.
- Use headings to cover the main sections or questions.
- Conclude with a call to action.
- Use an editor or second pair of eyes to proofread the article.
- Link to reputable external resources.
- Link other relevant pages on your site to this page.
- Plug the URL into GSC’s URL inspection tool for them to recrawl the page.
- Promote the article to your email list and on your social channels.