10 SEO Techniques for More Traffic

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Data from Content Explorer

Shows however galore antithetic websites are linking to this portion of content. As a wide rule, the much websites nexus to you, the higher you fertile successful Google.

Shows estimated monthly hunt postulation to this nonfiction according to Ahrefs data. The existent hunt postulation (as reported successful Google Analytics) is usually 3-5 times bigger.

The fig of times this nonfiction was shared connected Twitter.

Getting much postulation to your website from integrated hunt tin beryllium done successful three ways.

You tin either:

  1. Rank higher for existing keywords
  2. Rank for much keywords
  3. Get much clicks

The SEO techniques beneath each assistance you bash 1 oregon much of those things.

1. Learn from your competitors

Competition makes beingness harder, but your competitors tin besides beryllium a root of topic ideas.

To find your competitors’ astir trafficked pages, you tin usage the Top pages study successful Ahrefs’ Site Explorer

For example, if we plug a rival of ours into the tool, we spot its usher to Magento SEO gets a just magnitude of hunt traffic.

Top pages study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

We haven’t yet covered this taxable ourselves, but it looks similar it could beryllium worthy doing so.

You tin besides usage the Content Gap study successful Site Explorer to find keywords your competitors fertile for that you don’t. 

Here’s the process:

  1. Enter your domain into Site Explorer
  2. Go to the Content Gap report
  3. Enter a fistful of competitors
Content Gap report, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

For example, SEJ, SEL, and Moz each fertile successful the apical 10 for “seo contented strategies,” but we don’t due to the fact that we haven’t covered this topic. So it’s astir apt worthy adding to our contented calendar. 

Content Gap study  results showing information  connected  "seo contented  strategies"

2. Prioritize low-difficulty topics

It’s worthy prioritizing low-difficulty topics if your tract is caller due to the fact that you’ll astir apt conflict to fertile for competitory topics retired the gate. 

You tin find these with a keyword probe instrumentality similar Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. Just hunt for keyword ideas past filter for those with debased Keyword Difficulty (KD) scores.

Matching presumption     study  results, via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

Old contented needs updating periodically due to the fact that rankings don’t past forever, particularly if you’re targeting time-sensitive topics.

For example, here’s the estimated integrated postulation to our database of apical Google searches over time:

Line graph showing integrated  postulation   dips and spikes of an Ahrefs article

Each dip occurred erstwhile the contented mislaid its freshness. Searchers wanted an up-to-date database of the apical Google searches, but ours was old. That’s wherefore rankings tanked. 

Each spike occurred erstwhile we updated the content.

You tin find pages connected your tract that whitethorn beryllium owed for a refresh successful Site Explorer. Just plug successful your site, spell to the Top pages report, acceptable the examination mode to “Previous year,” benignant the study by postulation alteration from debased to high, and look for topics wherever freshness whitethorn beryllium the issue.

Top pages study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

If you’re a WordPress user, you tin find pages that nary longer execute good by moving a escaped content audit utilizing the Ahrefs SEO plugin.

List of nary  longer well-performing pages, via Ahrefs' SEO plugin

Our study recovered that if a leafage ranks #1 for a keyword, it ranks for astir 1,000 much keywords successful the apical 10 connected average.

Many of these keywords volition beryllium antithetic ways of searching for the aforesaid thing. But immoderate volition apt correspond subtopics you’ve covered successful your content.

For example, our guide to submitting your website to Google ranks successful the apical 10 for “submit url to google.”

Organic keywords study  result, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

That happens due to the fact that we’ve covered this subtopic successful the post.

Table of contents of an Ahrefs article

However, we person plentifulness of posts that astir surely miss important subtopics. If we tin find these and capable the gaps, our leafage tin apt fertile for related keywords and get much traffic.

Here’s a elemental mode to find contented gaps:

  1. Enter 1 of your page’s URLs into Site Explorer
  2. Go to the Content Gap report
  3. Paste successful a fewer top-ranking URLs for your main keyword
  4. Sift done the keywords for contented gaps

For example, HubSpot and Neil Patel fertile successful the apical 10 for “what are impermanent posts,” but we don’t. 

Content Gap study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

This happens due to the fact that we didn’t screen that subtopic successful our impermanent posting guide, whereas they did.

Not lone could covering the taxable successful much extent assistance america fertile for much long-tail keywords, but it could besides service the idiosyncratic amended with accusation they might want.

Content hubs are interlinked collections of contented astir a topic.

For example, our beginner’s usher to SEO is simply a contented hub. It has a pillar page astir SEO that links to and from subpages astir however hunt engines work, SEO basics, keyword research, etc.

Pillar leafage   of our beginner's usher  to SEO

The main payment of contented hubs is that nexus equity flows to and from each the pages successful the hub via internal links. In different words, if 1 of your subpages gets tons of backlinks, they each get stronger and perchance fertile higher.

If you already person contented connected your website, the easiest mode to make a contented hub is to reorganize related pages astir a caller “hub” page.

Flowchart showing however  existing contented  tin  beryllium  reorganized

If you privation to make a caller contented hub, 1 of the easiest ways to find topics is to look astatine your competitors’ apical subfolders. 

For example, let’s plug DietDoctor into Site Explorer and spell to the Site operation report. We spot 30 pages nether the /low-carb/keto/recipes subfolder that get an estimated 143K monthly hunt visits in total.

Site operation   study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

If we click the fig of pages, we spot each the pages nether that URL operation on with their estimated postulation and apical keyword.

List of pages with corresponding information  connected  traffic, value, keywords, apical  keyword, etc

Many of these topics volition marque consciousness for a contented hub.

Learn more: Content Hubs for SEO: How to Get More Traffic and Links With Topic Clusters

Backlinks are 1 of Google’s apical ranking factors, but getting high-quality ones is easier said than done. It’s arguably 1 of the astir challenging parts of SEO.

For that reason, earlier you commencement trying to physique much backlinks to a page, it’s worthy checking whether this is apt to help.

For example, if you plug our usher to SEO analytics into Site Explorer, you spot it has backlinks from 57 referring domains (websites):

Overview of Ahrefs' usher  to SEO analytics, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

This leafage presently ranks #2 for its main people keyword: 

Our usher  to SEO analytics ranks #2 for "seo analytics"

But if you cheque the top-ranking pages for that keyword successful Keywords Explorer, you spot that the leafage outranking america has importantly less referring domains.

Top-ranking pages for "seo analytics," via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

These numbers don’t see backlink quality, truthful it could beryllium the lawsuit that the top-ranking leafage outranks america due to the fact that it has much high-quality backlinks. But mostly speaking, it doesn’t look similar a deficiency of backlinks is the issue.

On the different hand, if you look astatine the SERP for “what is seo,” you spot that our leafage has importantly less backlinks than those outranking us.

SERP overview for "what is seo"

Building much backlinks is astir apt the mode to go here.

7. Optimize interior links

Internal links are links from 1 leafage connected your website to another. 

Like backlinks, they transportation “link equity” from leafage to page. Unlike backlinks, you person implicit power implicit wherever and however you internally nexus connected your website. That’s wherefore a fashionable SEO method is to constituent much interior links astatine pages that request a boost. 

To find these pages, plug your domain into Site Explorer, spell to the Organic keywords report, and filter for keyword rankings betwixt 2–10. 

Organic keywords study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

You tin past sift done this study for your main people keywords.

For example, we fertile #7 for “off page seo.”

Ahrefs blog ranks #7 for "off leafage   seo"

To find applicable and contextual interior nexus opportunities for this page, we tin adhd it to the people leafage filter successful the Link opportunities study successful Ahrefs’ Site Audit

Link opportunities study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Audit

In this example, the study suggests we internally nexus a contextual notation of “off-page seo” successful our on-page SEO guide. 

Learn more: Internal Links for SEO: An Actionable Guide

Broken backlinks are a communal occupation due to the fact that radical often delete oregon determination pages implicit time. Unless you redirect these pages to their caller URLs, immoderate backlinks pointing to the aged ones volition efficaciously constituent to nowhere. 

Here’s however to find breached pages with backlinks connected your site:

  1. Paste your domain into Site Explorer 
  2. Go to the Best by links report
  3. Add a “404 not found” filter
  4. Sort the study by referring domains from precocious to low

For example, we person backlinks from 57 referring domains pointing to the aged URL for our SEO Toolbar

Data shows 57 backlinks pointing to aged  URL

Given that our “SEO toolbar” leafage inactive exists, we tin reclaim those backlinks by redirecting the aged URL to the new one.

Learn more: How to Find and Fix Broken Links

Ranking precocious connected Google is lone portion of the battle. You besides request to entice searchers to click connected your result. 

Here are a mates of ways to do this:

  1. Write a compelling rubric tag and meta description
  2. Add schema markup for affluent snippet eligibility

Google often shows rubric tags and meta descriptions successful the hunt results, truthful making them arsenic compelling arsenic imaginable without creating clickbait is important.

Example of rubric  tag and meta statement  connected  a Google SERP

Here are a few tips:

  • Match search intent
  • Avoid truncation (use a escaped SERP snippet optimizer similar this one to check)
  • Address the searcher directly
  • Include your main keyword

You tin besides usage schema markup to marque pages eligible for affluent snippets. This is wherever Google shows further accusation beneath the hunt snippet, specified arsenic reappraisal ratings and FAQs.

Example of affluent  snippet connected  a Google SERP

Given that these optimizations instrumentality time, it’s worthy prioritizing pages with the astir hunt traffic. You tin find these successful Google Search Console oregon get an estimation utilizing the Top pages study successful Ahrefs’ Site Explorer.

Top pages study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

10. Optimize for featured snippets

Featured snippets are abbreviated answers that amusement successful immoderate hunt results. Google pulls them from 1 of the top-ranking pages.

Example featured snippet connected  a Google SERP

You tin efficaciously shortcut your mode to the apical of Google by winning featured snippets. But first, you request to find the champion opportunities.

Here’s however to do it:

  1. Enter your domain into Site Explorer
  2. Go to the Organic keywords report
  3. Filter for apical 10 rankings
  4. Filter for SERPs with featured snippets wherever you don’t rank

You should present spot each the keywords you fertile for successful the apical 10, wherever Google shows a featured snippet from different result. 

Organic keywords study  results, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

For example, we fertile #2 for “google operators,” but Google pulls the featured snippet from different page.

SERP overview showing Google pulls the featured snippet from a competitor

There’s nary nonstop subject to winning featured snippets, but you’re improbable to bash truthful unless your leafage has the accusation Google wants to see.

For example, it’s wide that Google wants a abbreviated explanation here, but our leafage doesn’t have one. 

Google SERP for hunt  word  "google operators"; notably, featured snippet shows a succinct definition

While adding 1 to our leafage doesn’t warrant Google volition take america for the featured snippet, it volition amended our chances.

Final thoughts 

Getting much hunt postulation to your website is astir ranking higher for existing keywords, ranking for much keywords, oregon getting much clicks. There are plentifulness of SEO techniques you tin usage to bash that. These are conscionable a fewer of them.

If you privation more, work our database of SEO tips.

Got questions? Ping maine on Twitter.

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