If your website sells products or services and you want to be successful, you will of course need to generate a significant amount of online traffic. Although it can be quite a challenge trying to persuade people to make a purchase, there are numerous ways in which you can influence their behaviour. 

Here are several actionable SEO tactics you can utilise to direct customers to your website.

Optimise your site’s content for Google’s algorithm

Google uses an algorithm to determine your website’s ranking on its results pages. In addition, the search engine periodically updates this algorithm in order to better match results with users’ expectations. Unfortunately, this can cause your website’s ranking to drop.

For instance, Google’s 2021 Core algorithm update may have included anti-spam features. As a consequence, if you own a website, you need to consider taking actions that will counter any potential negative effect on your online traffic. One way of doing this is to avoid linking your content to low-quality sites.

You should also ensure that your site is regarded as high-quality by Google. You can achieve this goal by adopting various strategies, including:

• Reducing the “bounce rate” while encouraging visitors to remain on your site for longer. As a general rule of thumb, you should try to retain their attention for three seconds or longer.
• Persuading visitors to take action at an early stage.

Always mine for new keywords

You can find your keywords, especially long-tailed keywords, by using online platforms such as:

• Google Ads – The keywords you select are often optimised.
• Reddit – First, find the threads that your customers and prospects are using. Then, identify a keyword or two from their conversations.
• ●       Competitors – Instead of searching for random keywords, it may be easier to exploit those used by your competitors.

Update and recycle old blogs

If possible, try to recycle or update your old blogs. You should begin by reviewing and replacing any outdated ideas with current topics. You could also change the graphics or format. For instance, you can convert an old blog into a video or infographics.    

Find ways to link your content

Link building is another way of convincing your audience that your site is high-quality and authoritative in your particular field of expertise. Find other influential sites and persuade them to link your content to their site. This will help boost your search ranking.  

You can also look for broken links and ask site owners if they would be willing to replace them with your own.

Share and spread your content

Creating useful content is only the beginning of your optimisation journey. You also need to promote and share it with the online world. Backlinks and social media platforms are excellent tools in this regard. You can also shorten your URL and make it more readable.

Increase your outreach email response rate

Email is by far the cheapest and most effective way of boosting your online traffic. However, many people are wary of opening an email from an unfamiliar web address.

So, how can you convince them to open an email from you?

One Harvard University study recommends using the word “because”. Research has shown that people tend to accommodate requests that use this word as it seems to make the proposal legitimate.

For instance:

I’m reaching out to you because I enjoyed reading your Facebook article, “The Top 10 Uses of (Product Name)”. 

Coincidentally, I also have a health blog and recently published an article about your product.

Want to take a look?

Cheers,

John

The recipient will immediately understand the reason behind your email and will be more willing to respond to your interest.

Improve your online video rankings

As Google owns YouTube, you need to take this platform seriously. Although Google cannot “read” images or videos, it can use the video titles and descriptions to understand the content. It is therefore imperative that you write your titles and descriptions carefully as this can help boost your search ranking.

Create your own unique keywords

You can use your brand as your keyword. If your products and services have unique features, you should use and optimise the brand as a keyword.

Plug any “content hole” to boost your site’s traffic

If a rival website is discussing a topic that your site has not yet covered, this means you have a “content hole”. You can prevent this from happening by visiting your competitors’ websites to determine whether they have incorporated any content that should also be appearing on your site.

Increase your conversion rate

Once people begin visiting your website, you can now focus on converting them. There are five ways of doing this.

1.    Remove any unnecessary form fields

Although people are usually willing to complete online forms, the majority will immediately leave your site if the process is too time-consuming or overly invasive of their privacy. Therefore, it is essential that you shorten the procedure by removing any excess fields. However, you should also consider your need for vital lead information.  

2.    Include reviews and testimonials

Prospective customers can often be hesitant about products they have not yet used. For this reason, you should try to convince them by making use of positive testimonials and reviews. In addition, incorporating the logos of companies you have worked with can serve as social proof of your authenticity.

3.    Keep your visitors’ attention focused on your product offers

You must ensure that the content on every page is clear and straightforward. In addition, try to keep the navigation menu simple and free from any elements that could distract your visitors’ attention.

Your landing page should only include the following elements:

• A headline and essential subheadings
• Product benefits and features
• Positive testimonials and reviews
• A brief description, picture or review of your products

4.    Simplify the initial sales process

People often like to complete tasks they have started. For this reason, it is always advisable to ensure that the first step in the sales process is straightforward and quick.  This will help persuade users to complete their purchase. For instance, if you are providing free and exclusive content, rather than asking visitors to provide a long list of information, you should only ask for their email address. You can then send the rest of the form via an email link.

5.    Use strong CTAs

“Sign up now” or “Start now” are generic CTAs, and as such they are unlikely to convince your leads to take action. Fortunately, you can use psychology to make your CTAs more compelling. For instance, including the word “yes” in a CTA may give a positive psychological push to your prospects.            

Conclusion

Finding ways to increase your organic traffic can seem like an endless task. Indeed, your SEO efforts can be further compromised by the fact that Google is continuing to update its algorithm. This is why you need to be attentive to maintaining or increasing your online traffic. Although there are numerous SEO tactics and tools available, you should only use those that will work for you. You may also need to enlist the services of an SEO expert who can analyse your website and recommend strategies that will help boost your traffic.