How to increase organic traffic and boost website rank

SEO is more than meets the eye. It covers understanding your audience, providing value, and making sure you’re attracting the right people, not just numbers. After all, quality engagement beats empty clicks every time.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at practical tips and strategies to help you bring in more organic traffic and, more importantly, connect with visitors in a meaningful way. Let’s get started on boosting your website’s rank and growing your online presence.

13 proven ways to get organic traffic

There is no single proven way to increase organic traffic. In fact, it’s a combination of different tactics that, when used together, can drive sustainable growth. To get started, you can check out our SEO Audit Checklist to understand the key factors affecting your traffic and ensure your foundation is solid. And if you’re just launching a new site, our 7 SEO Tips To Boost Your New Website’s Rankings will give you a head start. Meanwhile, below, we’ll uncover the 13 effective SEO tactics that can help you get results that matter.  

1. Create original and useful content for the user’s intent

For a successful SEO strategy, you need high-quality content — no ifs or buts! Search engines’ primary duty is to ensure people find the exact answer to whatever they are searching for. As such, they prioritize content that is original, useful, and tailored to the user’s intent. 

As Google emphasizes in its guidelines on Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, the better you understand the intent behind a search, the better you can serve the audience. To achieve this, your content must directly address the requirements of your target audience and offer them value beyond mere keywords. What are they looking for? Are they comparing options? Or are they willing to buy? Your content must directly answer specific needs. 

For instance, when targeting informational queries, you need to provide comprehensive guides or detailed how-tos to fulfill this intent. On the other hand, commercial purposes might be better served with comparison articles, case studies, or reviews.  And if you’re looking for professional support in creating such tailored material, our content marketing services can help you craft strategies that engage and convert.

Beyond just text, incorporating various content formats like infographics, videos, and other interactive tools can enhance user engagement and appeal to various learning styles. These formats keep visitors on your site longer, reduce bounce rates, and increase dwell time, which sends positive signals to search engines.

2. Build high-authority backlinks

Backlinks from reputable websites serve as a stamp of approval for your content, informing search engines that your site holds authority and trustworthiness. This helps improve your rankings and naturally increases organic traffic.

To earn high-quality backlinks, consider these strategies:

• Guest blogging. By writing guest posts for relevant industry sites, you can share valuable insights with a new audience. This also gives the opportunity to link back to your own content, boosting visibility and authority.
• Building broken links. Another nifty strategy is to search for broken links on other sites and suggest replacing them with your content. It benefits both parties: they repair the broken link while you earn a valuable one. Tools like Moz’s Backlink Checker or Majestic can greatly assist in finding such opportunities. 

Of course, all backlinks aren’t equal — quality trumps quantity. It’s more valuable to have a few backlinks from credible sources in your niche instead of hundreds from questionable sources. As such, we recommend focusing on acquiring them on reputable sites in the industry instead of chasing huge numbers.

3. Focus on targeted long-tail keywords

When it comes to keywords, don’t focus on broad terms. Instead, hunt for long-tail phrases — those specific, niche ones — that are often less competitive and can bring in highly qualified traffic. In other words, these key terms may not get as much search volume, but those who use them are more likely to engage with content.

For instance, instead of targeting «branding services», you should focus on «branding services for tech companies» or «branding services for SaaS companies». These specific keywords target a particular audience, helping you rank higher in search results more easily.

To find these long-tail phrases, use tools like Ahrefs or Serpstat to see what the audience is searching for. And don’t forget about voice search! With the surge in the use of smart devices, an increasing number of people are using conversational searches like “How do I SEO optimize my content?” rather than typing short and choppy phrases. Targeting these natural, question-based keywords can help you get more traffic.

4. Publish content regularly

To keep your website thriving, you need to regularly share fresh, high-quality content. Consistent updates support growth in rankings and organic traffic. Neglecting this can cause your site to lose visibility and momentum.

Fresh content helps with search engine rankings, builds trust with the audience, and shows that your site is active and relevant.

How does this affect SEO? Search engines are drawn to sites that consistently offer new content. When regularly publishing posts, articles, or resources, they are more likely to crawl your platform frequently and, of course, boost rankings. Moreover, it also keeps your audience engaged. If they know you’re regularly posting valuable content, they’ll keep coming back for more.

Besides this, you must stick to a clear strategy. To create one, our blog, How to Create an Effective SEO Content Strategy, can land a helping hand.

One more good practice is to create a content calendar and follow a steady schedule. You don’t have to post every day, but consistency is key — whether that’s once a week or once a month.

5. Update outdated material

Speaking of consistency, don’t let your older posts get rusty. What was important a year ago may no longer be relevant today. Search engines prioritize content that’s up-to-date and accurate. So, if you have blog articles that are starting to feel a little stale, give them a refresh.

By keeping existing content fresh, you retain your audience’s trust and enhance your site’s visibility in search results.

There are several ways for you to do this: update statistics, add new insights, and fix any outdated information. This greatly enhances the relevance of your content and gives it a second life. And while creating new materials every day can be exhausting, you don’t have to do that — revamping old content is just as effective at driving traffic.

Additionally, when you make a refresh, promote this news again. Share it on social media platforms, push it through newsletters, and watch as more people engage with it.

6. Optimize for rich snippets

Ever notice those search results that stand out with a little extra information, like bullet points or images? These are known as rich snippets, and they can greatly enhance your visibility in search engine results.

To optimize your content for rich snippets, make sure it’s organized in a clear format for search engines. Consider using bullet points, tables, and numbered lists whenever appropriate. Also, add schema markup to your pages. This improves how search engines interpret your content and increases your chances of appearing in those rich snippets.

For example, when writing a recipe, include a simple step-by-step list. If you’re addressing a common question, make sure the answer is clear and direct. This way, both search engines and users will choose this exact post over others. Tools like Yoast can greatly assist in this.

7. Leverage schema markup for more visibility

Schema markup is essential for helping search engines better understand your content. It can improve how the page is displayed in results, adding elements like product prices, event dates, ratings, and more. This information can make your listing more attractive, leading to higher click-through rates. And more clicks mean more traffic. 

Structured data also affects the show up in rich results like featured snippets or knowledge panels, giving your content greater visibility on the results page. If you haven’t added it to your site yet, there are plenty of tools that can help simplify the process. Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper is a great place to start.

8. Enhance internal linking for better navigation

Internal linking — linking between various pages on your own site — might not sound glamorous, but it’s incredibly powerful. It helps distribute site authority, simplifying the process for search engines to crawl and index your content. Moreover, it boosts user retention by guiding them to related materials.

Let’s consider a practical example. When writing a blog post on SEO strategies, you can link to other relevant content you’ve written, like one on link-building techniques or keyword research. This will boost SEO and enhance the user experience, allowing visitors to easily find more information on the topics they’re interested in and keeping them engaged with your site.

When you create internal links, be sure to use descriptive anchor text. Instead of saying “click here,” сlearly describe what the user will find if they follow the link — this influences your SEO and makes it clear to readers where they’re headed.

9. Fix and redirect broken pages

Broken links and pages (a 404 error) are huge red flags. The fact is that when someone lands on it, they’re likely to leave the site immediately, which hurts your bounce rate. What’s worse, search engines may lower your rankings if they come across too many similar issues.

To avoid this, regularly audit your site. After you’ve identified a non-functional page, set up a 301 redirect to a relevant one — this preserves any link equity the broken page had and ensures a seamless experience for your users.

However, if you don’t have technical expertise, fixing broken links and pages can be confusing and complex, sometimes ending up with even more problems. To get it done correctly and avoid potential setbacks, consider working with technical SEO services professionals who specialize in identifying and resolving these problems efficiently.

10. Improve titles for web pages

Page titles are crucial since they’re often the first thing users and search engines see. To make them strong and straight to the point, you must incorporate the main keywords and clearly outline what your content has to offer. 

Instead of using a generic title like “Marketing strategies,” go for something more specific like “5 Powerful Marketing Tactics to Skyrocket Your Business Growth.” It tells users exactly what to expect and includes keywords that can improve your ranking.

When creating titles, keep them concise (between 50-60 characters) so they display completely in search results. However, avoid clickbait, as once misleading titles can get initial clicks, if the content doesn’t deliver, users will leave immediately, and your bounce rate will go up.

11. Use YouTube content to enhance brand visibility

YouTube is a large platform offering a great opportunity to reach a broad audience. More so, creating engaging video content can help drive traffic back to your site. Such materials are especially effective for how-tos, tutorials, or product demonstrations.

Make sure to include links to your site in the description and direct viewers to specific landing pages. Also, don’t forget to insert the keywords into titles, descriptions, and tags. This will help your videos rank higher on both YouTube and Google.

12. Post links to web pages on social media 

Leveraging social media is one of the most powerful ways to promote content and drive traffic to the site. Whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram, sharing web pages on these platforms allows you to reach a broader audience.

Personalize your posts to each network for optimum impact. For instance, Pinterest and Instagram are best for visual materials, while LinkedIn is perfect for in-depth articles or professional insights. Don’t overlook the impact of hashtags — they can boost your content’s visibility and attract new audiences to posts. 

Engage with your followers, join discussions, and repost your content for those who might have missed it the first time around. Running engaging contests or giveaways is another effective way to drive traffic.

13. Create a blog

If you don’t already have a blog, you must start one now, as it’s a tried-and-true method for attracting an audience. With such a section on site or platform, you have the opportunity to target long-tail keywords, share valuable insights, and establish yourself as an authority in your niche.

When owning a blog, you can interact with readers. It’s possible to drive comments, shares, and even email subscriptions, cultivating a community around your content. Plus, these materials are highly shareable on social media, giving you another avenue to promote the site.

Blogging is not just writing. It’s hard work that includes consistency, strategy, and valuable content.

But here’s the thing — blogging only works if you’re consistent and strategic. Make sure the posts are valuable, well-researched, and targeted at specific keywords. Your efforts will take some time, but after a while, it can become a massive source of traffic. 

How and why to control organic search traffic

Having effective strategies is essential for a website’s visibility, but you must also know if they are working or not. Analytical tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) are indispensable here, providing detailed insights into user behavior and key performance metrics to help you assess the site’s success. 

Speaking of metrics, organic traffic is a key one. It shows how many visitors are coming from search engines, offering a clear view of how well your SEO strategies are working. If your organic traffic is low, consider revising keyword targeting or content approach.

Other important factors are the bounce rate and session duration. If the first metric is high, it means that visitors are checking out after viewing a single page, which could suggest the content isn’t relevant or engaging. With the second one, you can see particular areas where people spend a short time. Both indicators show ways to improve page load speed, content quality, or refine navigation to keep users exploring longer.

Beyond these metrics, tools like session recordings and heatmaps provide additional insights. Heatmaps reveal where visitors click and scroll, helping you identify the most engaging areas of your pages. On the other hand, session recordings help you observe how users navigate your site, revealing potential usability issues.

To get the most out of the tools, you can create custom reports in GA4 and focus on the most relevant data.

For more information, read our article How to Create Custom Reports in Google Analytics 4? 

If you’re unsure how to leverage GA4 fully, our Google Analytics consulting services can provide tailored insights and help you set up your analytics to align with your goals.

Closing chapter 

Growing your organic traffic and improving your website’s ranking takes time and a smart approach. But with these 13 strategies in place, you’ll build a strong online presence that will regularly attract the right audience. As search engines and user behaviors shift, it’s all about staying flexible and keeping an eye on what works.

If you’re ready to take your site to the next level or just need a bit of expert help, our SEO Services and Website Promotion can give you that extra boost. Be sure, with consistent effort and strategy, you’ll see your organic traffic — and your success — grow over time.