8 Proven Techniques to Skyrocket Your Website’s Search Traffic
Ever find yourself wondering why your affiliate site isn't performing as well as you'd hoped, especially when it seems like everyone else's is thriving? You're not alone. Many affiliate marketers face the challenge of capturing and maintaining online attention in a highly competitive landscape.
But there's good news! In this case study, we're going to explore some effective strategies to elevate your site's performance. Matthew Woodward, Search Logistics Director and SEO expert, shares 8 impactful techniques that could significantly change your approach to increasing your site's visibility and traffic.
We'll cover everything from the intricacies of search engine optimization to creating content that engages and retains your audience. You'll get insight into the strategies that can help set your site apart and ahead of the competition.
If you're ready to improve your site's performance and achieve greater online success, this case study is for you. Discover how you can make a real difference in your affiliate marketing efforts.
Take a look at how this site’s search traffic has grown over the last 3 months:
How'd they do it? By making continual improvements – tinkering with the technical stuff, beefing up the content, and building links (with the help of LinksThatRank).
If you're looking to boost your search traffic too, here are 8 things you can try on your own website:
8 Ways to Increase Your Website's Search Traffic
When it comes to improving your website’s search traffic, there are 3 key elements you should focus on:
- Technical: This involves the behind-the-scenes aspects of your website: things like infrastructure, architecture, and ensuring your site is mobile-friendly.
- Content: High-quality content is crucial. Create valuable, relevant, and engaging content that resonates with your audience. Think about what your users are searching for and provide answers or solutions.
- Links: Building links from other reputable websites to yours is essential. These external links act as endorsements, signaling to search engines that your content is trustworthy and valuable.
By addressing these 3 areas, you’ll be on your way to improving your website’s visibility and attracting more visitors through search engines.
Technical Improvements
Technical SEO is the bedrock of a successful website in today’s digital landscape. By optimizing the technical aspects of your site, you create a solid foundation for improved search rankings, increased organic traffic, and enhanced user experiences.
While strategies like keyword research, content creation, and backlinks are essential, they’re not the only ones you should focus on.
Here are 2 more things you should implement right away to strengthen your technical SEO:
1. Mobile Compliance Review
Did you know that displaying popups or lightboxes on mobile devices can directly violate Google’s guidelines?
It is crucial to avoid any type of popup that obstructs users from reading or scrolling through the content.
What is Mobile First Indexing?
Before 2016, Google would analyze two versions of your website:
- The Desktop version
- The Mobile version
However, Google has since adopted a “Mobile-First Indexing” approach.
Now, Google primarily crawls and indexes websites using a mobile-based bot.
What that means for you is: If your website doesn’t look good or perform well on mobile devices, it won’t rank well in both mobile and desktop search results.
So, let’s focus on making your site mobile-friendly!
Check for Popups on Mobile
Google doesn’t allow site owners to display pop-ups or lightboxes on mobile devices that obstruct users from reading or scrolling through the content. These intrusive pop-ups can negatively impact user experience.
Here’s an example of what your mobile popup SHOULDN’T look like:
However, there’s good news!
On the desktop version of your site, you have more flexibility. You can use pop-ups without affecting your rankings or SEO.
If you currently have a mobile pop-up or lightbox that blocks your content, disable it now and replace it with a smaller banner that doesn’t hinder users from scrolling through your content.
Remember to review each page to ensure there are no intrusive pop-ups.
By following these guidelines, you can enhance user experience while maintaining good SEO practices.
2. Advanced Schema Review
In 2011, major search engines collaborated to establish a standardized method for organizing data on web pages. This initiative is known as Schema.org.
When you incorporate schema-structured data into your website, it can significantly benefit your visibility on Google and enhance your chances of attracting targeted traffic.
Here are some types of data you can structure using Schema.org:
- Reviews
- Products
- Recipes
- Prices
- FAQ Pages
- Category Pages
- Opening hours
- Addresses
- Telephone numbers
- Events
For example, if you publish recipes; this is then displayed next to your search result:
Let's break down the 3 main benefits of using schema data:
- Attract Attention: When you use schema data, it makes your web page stand out. It’s like putting a spotlight on your content, making it more noticeable.
- Boost Clicks: Schema data can increase your click-through rate (CTR). In other words, more people will click on your page when they see it in search results.
- Get More Visitors: By using schema data, you can drive more traffic to your website.
Who doesn’t want that, right?
How to Check for Schema
Before incorporating any schema data into your website, it’s crucial to verify whether you already have any existing schema in place.
Take a close look at your essential pages, including the homepage, category page, content pages, product pages, and event pages, among others.
Then, use this free schema validator tool, type in your page URL, and click “fetch”.
All detected schema markup on the page will be displayed on the right side.
From there, you’ll also be able to see if there are any “warnings” or “errors” that need addressing.
Which Schema Should I Use?
Schema data varies for each website. While there are 30+ distinct schema types, not all of them apply universally.
For instance, on SearchLogistics, we utilize the following relevant schema:
- Speakable
- How To
- Dataset
- CollectionPage
- FAQ
- Article
- Video
- Product
- Review
- Person
- WebPage
- Organization schema
To tailor your schema, explore the different types available on this page and compile a list of those pertinent to your site
Quick Content Improvements
Now, let’s break down the second pillar of SEO: Content.
Think of it as the heart of your website. Without good content, your website won’t attract visitors.
Content includes everything you put on your site: articles, images, videos, and more. It’s what people read, watch, and interact with.
So, in this part, I’m going to show you:
- How to keep content fresh
- How to optimize content
So, let’s dive in!
3. Optimizing Existing Content
In the past, content optimization was a time-consuming process that required a deep understanding of SEO.
But now, there are several tools that take the guesswork out of it and allow you to optimize your content more efficiently.
In this section, I’m going to show you how we optimize content quickly and which pages you should focus on first.
Which Content Should You Optimise First?
To determine which pages you should optimize first, all you have to do is follow this 3-step process:
- Assess your rankings:
- Begin by making a list of all the pages on your website that are currently ranking between positions 4 and 20 for their target keywords.
- These pages have potential but need improvement to climb higher in search engine rankings.
- Select your top 3 pages:
- From the list, identify the three most critical pages for your business.
- These pages should directly impact your revenue or lead generation if they rank in the top 3 on Google.
- Focus on optimization:
- Concentrate your efforts on these 3 pages first.
- Use content optimization tools to analyze and improve their SEO performance.
- Consider factors like keyword usage, readability, and relevance to user intent.
Remember, eventually you’ll want to optimize all your content. But starting with these key pages will help you make the most significant impact.
How to Optimise Your Content with Surfer
To optimize content, we ALWAYS use and recommend Surfer SEO. This is how good the tool is!
They analyze 500x different ranking factors to produce easy-to-implement recommendations.
If you haven’t used Surfer SEO yet, let me show you how to use it:
First, go to the “Audit” tool and paste in your page URL.
Then, select your target keyword and country.
Now, check the following reports in this exact order:
- Exact keywords report
- Partial keywords report
- Page structure report (only red issues)
Make sure to fix all the issues and then refresh the report in the top right corner
Next, check the word count is correct and add more content if needed.
Refresh the report again.
Lastly, work on the “Terms To Use” section focused purely on the “Phrases” report.
You can ignore the “Words” and “Numbers” sections in the “Terms To Use section”.
When you’re done, click on the “Refresh” button on the Surfer audit report for the last time and double check everything is correct.
That’s it!
It’s super simple, and all you have to do is follow the Surfer SEO’s instructions.
4. Keep Content Fresh
Google values well-established pages that receive consistent updates over time. This practice signals that your website is actively maintained and its content remains reliable.
Now, let me guide you through the simplest method to update your content step by step!
Which Content Should You Update?
Start by making a list of content that hasn’t been updated in the last 6 months.
Then, for each of those pages, you are going to:
- Update the title
- Rewrite the introduction
- Add an FAQ section (or update the existing one)
- Make sure the content is still accurate
- Check the images are still current
- Ensure every link still works
Once, you’ve done that, you’re ready for the next stage: re-indexing.
Re-Index with Google Search Console
As soon as you refresh a piece of content, you need to re-index it with Google Search Console.
Perform this action each time you update any content.
Typically, it takes approximately 8 to 72 hours before you observe the updated changes reflected in the search results.
Rinse & Repeat
I am committed to keeping our content fresh for both Google and our visitors.
Here’s my approach:
- Scheduled Updates: Regularly set tasks or calendar entries to update content every 6 months. By doing so, you’ll consistently offer fresher content than your competitors and maximize your ranking opportunities.
- FAQ Maintenance: For content that includes a FAQ section, focus on updating just one question with a concise 40-50 word answer every 6 months. This simple step will help maintain its freshness.
- Monthly Check-In: Consider making this a monthly task to stay ahead of the game and ensure your content remains relevant.
So, please make a list of content that hasn’t been updated in the last 6 months, and refresh it with the steps above.
Simple Link Building Strategies
Now, let’s focus on the third and last pillar of SEO: Link Building.
This pillar is often considered as the most difficult.
So, if you need help with link building, you can use an agency like LinksThatRank that builds high-quality, relevant backlinks in most niches.
5. Determine Which Pages Should I Build Links to
It’s essential that you only build links to pages that will increase your revenue and your chance of winning the number #1 position.
So I made a video to show you exactly how to figure out which pages you should build links to on your website:
6. Decide How Many Links Do I Need
Now, the next step is to calculate how many backlinks you’re gonna need to get into the top 3x rankings for a given keyword.
Understanding this is crucial because once you determine the number of links required, you can calculate the cost of targeting any specific keyword.
The process is straightforward – just watch this video:
That is how you calculate the “backlink gap”. And you can do it for any keyword!
7. Link Building for New Sites
If you have a new website that is not getting enough traffic, focus on getting backlinks from high-authority sites with a DR of 35 or higher, especially if to your homepage.
Doing this will improve your website's credibility and visibility to search engines.
In other words:
Early strong links = faster growth: Building guest posts from strong sites at the start helps your website grow and attracts future visitors.
8. Link Building for Established Sites
If you already have an established website with a DR of 20 (or higher) that's getting good organic traffic, you should focus on building links to specific inner pages.
Check out tutorials like this to find opportunities >>
By implementing this strategy, you can enhance the visibility and authority of your web pages, leading to improved rankings in search results.
This approach leverages your site’s current achievements and directs focused traffic to critical sections.
In summary, utilize this tutorial to fortify your established site’s link profile and uphold its competitive advantage.
Wrapping It Up
Remember that SEO success is a combination of efforts across technical, content creation, and link building.
If you pay attention to all 3 areas, your search traffic will grow:
And if you need help with the link-building side of things, the LinksThatRank team can help!
That way you can focus on more important things in your business.