Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to website visitors who arrive at your site through unpaid search engine results pages (SERPs).

Unlike paid search ads, which display at the top of SERPs, organic traffic is earned through successful search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts that improve your website's ranking for relevant keywords.

Why is Organic Search Traffic Important?

Organic traffic is a valuable source of visitors because it represents genuine user interest. People actively searching for information or solutions related to your offerings are more likely to convert into leads or paying customers compared to those reached through paid advertising.

Additionally, organic traffic tends to be more sustainable and cost-effective in the long run compared to paid search campaigns.

The Benefits of Organic Traffic

Increased Website Traffic

The more organic traffic you can acquire for your website, the more leads you have coming your way, and the more leads you have, the more chances you have at a sale.

Effective SEO strategies can vastly improve website ranking for relevant keywords, attracting a wider audience of potential customers organically.

Improved Brand Reputation

High organic search ranking positions your brand as an authority in its field, building trust and credibility with potential customers.

With improved brand awareness and trust, your business becomes more attractive to first time customers who might've been unsure whether or not your business was legitimate or met their needs.

Targeted Audience

When your SEO strategy focuses on keywords and phrases specific to your niche, the organic traffic you garner will be well suited to purchasing your goods or services.

Organic traffic often comes from users actively searching for solutions you provide, resulting in a more targeted audience with higher conversion potential.

Cost-Effective Acquisition

Everyone's budget is different, and many brands can't afford to pump thousands of pounds into PPC efforts to help get their businesses off the ground.

Organic traffic is acquired through SEO efforts, which can be a more cost-effective strategy compared to paid advertising campaigns in the long run, and help ensure you aren't paying through the nose for direct traffic to your website.

Strategies to Increase Organic Traffic

Keyword Research

Every article, blog post, and case study needs a starting point, and that comes in form of keyword research.

Keyword research is the process of identifying relevant keywords and search terms your target audience uses to find information related to your industry and offerings. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can be helpful for this purpose, as can ChatGPT.

However, the most effective way to find out what people are searching about in your industry is to search the term yourself and see what questions people are asking in the 'People also ask' section.

Technical SEO

Many 'SEO experts' will tell you that a good SEO strategy stops and starts with high-density keyword articles, but that simply isn't true and hasn't been since about 2015!

You must also factor in the importance of technical SEO, ensuring the technical aspects of your website are optimised for search engines. This includes factors like website speed, mobile-friendliness, proper website structure, and a secure connection (HTTPS).

Imagine you are building a house. Technical SEO is the foundation of the project, and keyword research is the walls. Without solid foundations in place, it's only a matter of time before those walls fall down.

On-Page Optimisation

Optimise your website content and structure for targeted keywords, ensuring search engines can understand and rank your content effectively.

This includes optimising title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and image alt text and ensuring high-quality content that provides value to users. These are simple steps that might seem obvious to some, but can make a significant impact for Google search results.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is the best way to increase organic traffic and improve brand awareness by creating content for every element of the marketing funnel.

To do this, create high-quality, informative, and engaging content that provides value to your target audience. This can include blog posts, articles, infographics, case studies, or any format that addresses their needs and interests.

Content should be optimised for relevant keywords but prioritise user experience and information value.

Backlink Building

Getting links from other websites (known as backlinks) is another important signal Google looks for when ranking pages.

After all, if lots of high-quality websites are linking to your content, it's probably worth a read, so Google should rank it accordingly!

Earn backlinks from high-authority websites in your industry. Backlinks act as a vote of confidence for search engines and can significantly improve your website's ranking.

Consider guest blogging on relevant websites or creating link-worthy content that others might want to cite.

Be careful opting for a high-volume backlink approach. Google has clamped down on this approach in recent years, instead preferring websites that gain high-quality links over high quantity.

How to Measure Organic Traffic

Website Analytics Tools

Utilise website analytics tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or Ahrefs to track organic traffic sources, identify top-performing keywords, and analyse user behaviour. Look for metrics like organic sessions, organic traffic sources like Google, and landing page performance.

Search Console Insights

Monitor insights provided by search engine consoles like Google Search Console) to see which keywords your website ranks for, identify areas for improvement, and analyse organic search clicks.

Search Console can also help identify technical SEO issues that might be hindering your ranking. Many brands we have worked with didn't realise that certain pages were still yet to be indexed, and therefore they weren't ranking at all in Google!

How to Maintain Organic Search Traffic

One common mistake people make is thinking that organic traffic is a one-and-done approach. Once a page is in place, you can move on and forget about it.

Well, unfortunately, that is not the case!

Organic traffic is not a one-time achievement. Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, and SEO best practices change accordingly.

Stay Updated on SEO Trends

Keep yourself informed about the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates to ensure your website remains compliant and optimised for search engines. Google has several major algorithm updates per year, and it's essential to keep an eye on your traffic after one of these updates.

If you are taking a long-term approach to your SEO performance, you should see minimal disruption to your rankings and traffic.

Continuously Create High-Quality Content

When creating content, it's easy to get into a cycle of producing content to simply tick it off your to-do list. This is understandable, given the many constraints content marketing managers find themselves put under.

However, each piece of content should be viewed as an opportunity to impress your target audience and drive new customers to your brand.

Fresh and valuable content keeps users engaged and signals search engines that your website is active and relevant.

Refine Your Keyword Strategy

As your audience and industry evolve, revisit your keyword research to adapt your strategy and target new opportunities. It might be that what was working and was resonating with your audience last year will not have the same effect in the future, and your approach needs to reflect that.