12 SEO Techniques to Boost Organic Traffic + Rankings

SEO keeps evolving constantly. You might feel like you’ve finally got the hang of it, but then suddenly, a new Google update shakes things up.

Yet, there are some SEO tactics that stand the test of time. When you use these strategies on your site, it will improve your site’s traffic and ranking. Moreover, it also protects your website from Google’s constant algorithm shifts.

Looking at the changing SEO trends, every business owner needs to master these SEO techniques. If you can’t keep up with the emerging trends, it is best to outsource your marketing services to a leading SEO agency.

These digital marketing companies offer future-proof SEO services. It means their strategies are timeless and will help your website get traffic and ranking even when others are struggling.

In this post, we’ll discuss 12 SEO techniques and show you exactly how to make them work for you.

1. Use link building to obtain authority backlinks

Obtaining authority backlinks is like the heartbeat of how Google ranks websites. To get the top spot, you need great links. And the best way to get them? Make amazing, one-of-a-kind content that people just can’t resist linking to.

Here’s how you can nail link-building:

• Create informative and high-quality content that’s valuable and stands out. Make it so good that others naturally want to share it.
• Reach out to people—maybe do some guest posts or team up with influencers—to boost link building.
• Keep an eye on what your competition is up to. There are many online free SEO tools that help you check out their links. This will give you ideas to obtain authority backlinks.

When using link building, remember that quality matters more than quantity. Links from big, relevant sites carry more weight. However, it is best to mix things up.

Use different kinds of links and words when linking back to your site. It looks more real that way. And don’t forget to check in on your links now and then to make sure they’re helping your site, not dragging it down.

2. Use internal linking

The biggest mistake people make with SEO strategies is solely focusing on external links. Apart from getting backlinks, you also need to use internal linking on your website.

Internal links are like signposts within your own website—they guide search engines around and help visitors move smoothly from one page to another.

These links help search engines understand your site. The crawlers follow these links to figure out your site’s structure. If you have proper internal links to reach from one page to another, Google will consider your website to be more user-friendly, thereby raising your rank.

Internal linking also shares ranking power as they pass on this ranking juice from one page to another. They also make navigation easy, helping visitors to find their way around your site.

And guess what? Using internal links can actually boost how well your pages rank. Here’s how to do it right:

• Pick pages that have additional relevant content.
• Use words in your links that feel natural and make people want to click.
• Don’t go for boring links like “click here.” Instead, use words that tell more about the page you’re linking to. Google likes that.
• Keep your important pages close! Make sure they’re just a few clicks away from the main page. That makes navigation easier for everyone.

3. Content creation and optimization

The most effective way to get more traffic and better ranking is to use content marketing. People often use search engines to look for answers, things, products, and services. By offering them the best content, Google will consider your website to be actually useful and naturally give you a top stop on the search results page.

You can use different types of content like blogs, expert guides, listicles, infographics, FAQs, and more to get a better ranking. However, the key to content marketing lies in regular posting and optimization.

For example – you need to create a proper schedule and post regularly to keep the traffic coming in. You also need to choose relevant topics and use keywords in the right way to optimize your content. Another thing you can do is tweak your existing content.

SEO experts know that modifying your existing content strategically can seriously boost your website traffic. It’s called “content optimization,” and it’s pretty powerful.

Here’s how you can do content marketing and optimization:

• Figure out the right words and amount: Check what people are searching for and how long the top-ranking pages are. Some topics need short, snappy answers; others need longer, detailed explanations. It all depends on what folks are looking for.
• Test your titles to get more clicks: Titles and descriptions matter a lot. A catchy description can get more clicks, which means better rankings and more visitors.
• Spruce up your old posts: Over time, your old content might lose its shine. Give it a refresh—update it, add new stuff, make it better. It’s an easy way to climb back up the rankings.
• Answer what people ask: Check out what questions people have when they search. Answering those questions can boost how often your page pops up in searches.

It’s all about making your content the best it can be!

4. Look for long-tail keyword opportunities

Long-tail keywords are more specific and longer than the usual ones we target. They might not get as many searches, but they’re gold. The reason why long-tail keyword opportunities matter is because they show why someone’s searching, not just what they want.

For instance, “how to increase traffic on Google” is a long-tail keyword. Compare that to “Google traffic,” which is shorter. The keyword clearly shows that the person is looking for a guide or a solution to learn how to increase traffic on Google. It offers more context.

Long-tail keywords are great because they tell us what users really want when they search. For example, someone asking “how to get backlinks” wants a direct answer. But with “backlinks,” we’re not so sure what they’re after.

Here is how you can take advantage of long-tail keyword opportunities,

• Choose the topics you want to write about.
• Search those topics into a keyword tool to find related long-tail keywords with lots of searches and less competition.
• Pick the ones that really match what users are looking for. Let’s say you run a gardening blog, and you’re planning to write about “growing tomatoes.” A great long-tail keyword to aim for could be “best tips for growing juicy tomatoes in small spaces.” This keyword specifically targets people looking for advice on growing tomatoes in limited areas, which matches the intent of your content.
• Write killer content that matches what users want when they search using those keywords.

5. Use your competitor’s broken backlinks

Link building can be very time-consuming. But you can save time by targeting your competitor’s broken links. These links are like finding a treasure. Here’s how you can obtain authority backlinks from competitors:

• Check out your competition and use a tool like Backlink Analytics and type in their website. See what pages of theirs are broken (basically, links that don’t work anymore).
• Look at the links pointing to those broken pages. These links are your golden opportunity.
• Filter out the good links (the ones labeled “Follow”). These are the ones you want to go after.
• Reach out to the owners of those websites. Tell them their link is broken and suggest they link to your content instead.
• Repeat this for a few competitors, and voila! You’ve got yourself a list of broken links to turn into your own backlinks.

6. Use keywords in alt text for images

The images you use on your website are a part of your content. So, make sure you optimize them so Google crawlers can easily read them. One way to do this is by using keywords in alt text to images.

Alt text, short for alternative text, is like a caption for images, and it’s pretty important for a few reasons.

• It describes images for people who can’t see them, like those using screen readers.
• If an image doesn’t show up, the alt text steps in to explain what should’ve been there.
• Search engines use alt text to figure out what images are about. Google confirmed it’s still a big deal for SEO.

To use keywords in the alt text, you can write a short, natural description that matches the image. Remember to keep it simple and clear.

Also, make sure the target keyword makes sense and is relevant to the content and the image. By making your images and site more accessible, you’re also getting a thumbs-up from Google.

7. Improve your website design and user experience

Besides just keywords and content, how users feel about your website really matters. Google’s all about this now, especially after its Core Web Vitals update.

Check if people click away from your site super-fast because Google takes this factor into account. It figures your content might not be what folks are looking for.

One big thing that bugs people is slow-loading pages. Studies show that a bunch of visitors bounce if a site takes longer than four seconds to load.

But it’s not just speed that matters for a great user experience. Stuff like how easy it is to get around, making things accessible, and organizing content properly also count.

Here’s how to make your site a comfy place for users:

• Match what people want with what you show. That means giving them what they’re looking for right at the start.
• Make it easy to find stuff. Use clear headlines, short paragraphs, and maybe even a table of contents for longer reads.
• Trim down those image sizes. It helps pages load faster.
• Get rid of any extra stuff that’s not necessary, and avoid using things that distract, like flashy images or crazy fonts.

Making things smooth and easy for your visitors is a win-win. They’ll stick around, and Google will like what it sees.

8. Drive traffic through social media

While SEO and social media marketing are two different things, you can use them together to increase your website traffic and ranking. If you want to bring more people to your website so that they can see your products and services, you can do so using social media.

For example, businesses with a good social media presence write blogs and share a links on social media to entice people to read them. If what you have written is really interesting, it will increase your website traffic.

You can share posts and short videos on social media and add CTA to divert the traffic to your website. When Google sees that people from social media platforms are visiting your site, it will boost your ranking.

9. Make your content more visual

People love visuals because they’re super engaging. Take Facebook, for example—posts with images get a whopping 230% more attention than those without. And on websites, visual stuff gets a huge 94% more views than non-visual content.

If you want to get more traffic, try using graphics, infographics, photos, or even GIFs. They tend to get more links. However, remember to optimize your visual content so that Google can rank them.

10. Optimize for core web vitals

Google uses Core Web Vitals to measure how users experience a webpage. It includes checking your site’s load time, interactivity, and how stable it looks while loading.

Google suggests site owners optimize these metrics because they matter for a good user experience, even though they don’t heavily impact rankings.

11. Improve your E-E-A-T

Google updated its rules to add an extra “E” to E-A-T, which now means Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Here’s how to nail that extra “E”:

• Check your content: Keep things fresh and accurate. Update frequently, especially for important topics like finance or health. Make sure your sources are legit.
• Tell your story: Your “About” page is key. Highlight your qualifications, career journey, and any testimonials or speaking engagements.
• Get noticed: Build links! When others refer to your work, Google sees you as an authority. Social media shares count, too—helpful content gets shared more.

So, show off your expertise, keep things updated, and get your content out there. You’ll gain trust and get noticed.

12. Optimize your heading

Here’s something interesting! Google often rewrites about 58% of title tags based on the page’s main heading. This clearly shows how much importance Google gives to the headings in your blogs.

To optimize your heading, pick the main keyword for your post and use it in the headers. Make sure to tweak your H1, H2, and H3 headers by including the main keyword in at least 40% of them. That way, your content stays relevant and helpful without overdoing it with keywords.

Here are some tips to optimize your headings:

• Use important keywords, but don’t go overboard.
• Keep it short—around 50 to 60 characters is good.
• Describe your content accurately.
• Avoid sales talk or making promises you can’t keep.
• Make each heading unique for every page.

Conclusion

No matter how much Google’s rules change, writing good content and optimizing your website can help improve your organic traffic and ranking. These are some of the main SEO techniques you can use as a part of your SEO strategy. For expert solutions, you can hire an SEO agency to take care of all these activities. They have a team of experts, the right tools, and years of experience to handle all these tasks with ease.