Has it been a little while since you started using SEO and you’re wondering when you will start to get more website traffic? The number one question always asked is, “When does SEO start working”? The answer is – It varies. There is not a one size fits all kind of answer when it comes to SEO. SEO isn’t just about optimizing content. There are many levels to optimizing content. There are 4 ways that you can optimize your content for a faster process.
4 SEO Tips to Apply to Your Content to Grow Your Website Traffic
With my first blog, I had many categories and tags that didn’t even match my niche. I didn’t research how to use these things at first correctly. As an example, I had a blog category and would use tags like mom, DIY, and “How to” – Since I didn’t understand the whole SEO concept, I was using keywords, but not optimizing my content for Google or my ideal reader.
I wasn’t writing for any specific audience. I had no plan and wasn’t writing problem-solving content. You obviously don’t want want to grow your business that way. You either won’t grow at all or it will take you forever because there is no clear strategy that you are using to grow.
SEO Content Tips for Website Traffic Growth
Content impacts more when you plan it ahead of time. You don’t want to create content on the fly. Plan a few weeks in advance what you are going to write for your next few pieces of content. If you have mapped out your content and keywords ahead of time, you have saved yourself about an hour of time and can dedicate that hour to optimizing your content with low competitive keywords, important links, niche-specific tags, and making a juicy problem-solving piece of content.
There are 4 key parts of a solid SEO strategy that is very easy to overlook.
1. Niched Keyworded Categories & Tags
There are many reasons why you would use niched keyworded category words and tags. For one, using very niched keywords helps you tighten your content and write more specifically for your ideal reader.
For keyworded categories, you would be using the most popular keywords of your niche, which would most likely be highly competitive ones. This is part of website SEO as a whole. You would not be using highly competitive keywords to be ranked for content in Google. You are doing this so search engines know how to categorize your content.
Using Categories and Tags Properly
If you have broad categories, think of a keyword that you to make more niche specific for your overall topic and keyword phrases for your tags. The more niche-specific you can be, the better your content has a chance of ranking in search. The most important thing to remember though is NOT to use keywords for categories AND tags together. If you have used keywords for a category, don’t use that same keyword as a tag. You can use that keyword as a tag, but use a short phrase with that keyword in it. Using keywords for blog categories is an important part of SEO.
For example, if you have a category for blogging, you wouldn’t want to have a tag for blogging. Blogging would be a core category that you would write about, so you would need to think of some sub-topic keywords related to blogging, like blogging tips or blogging resources.
Try to create categories and tags that are relatable to your content. Don’t make various random ones. Keep the variety of categories and tags small.
Applying SEO to Categories & Tags to Grow Website Traffic
A category is just what it is. A category is basically the label for what the content is. A tag is like a glossary or an index. This is to help personalize your content so that when someone is searching for something specific on your website they can quickly jump to that specific content they need then and there.
2. Focus on low competitive keywords for content (keywords on every page and in content
You won’t rank for a highly competitive keyword right away. The goal is (no matter how small) the search volume is for a keyword that you can rank for, that your content is ranking on page 1 or 2 of Google for that specific keyword. That’s where you want your content to be. So even if you have a keyword and the search volume is 200 and the SEO score is 20, that keyword is up for grabs.
Ideally, you want to be looking for a keyword or phrase (that’s even better) that has an SEO score of 29 or lower. Depending on where you are with your domain and how long you have been writing content, don’t make the search volume the main focus. Focus on the SEO score. To give you a number for the search volume, though, shoot for 10 or higher.
3. Get very specific & clear about what you are solving in your content
There shouldn’t be any room to question what your expertise is. This should reflect in the keywords that you are using, the problem you are solving inside of your content, and who it is you are writing for to bring in that website traffic.
It helps to map out your content in a Google sheet. Create a category, then what I call like placeholder titles – content ideas for future posts.
The length of content also matters. Make it skimmable and the right length for your reader, not Google. User experience matters a great deal when creating content. Google favors content that is strategically created for the reader.
To make your content super niche, think of what you are solving for your ideal client first, and write that out. Focus on expanding on that specific topic in deep detail and get juicy about it. 3 things you need to clarify for your reader inside of your content is:
- Why they need to do these steps – Explain each step and how doing them is going to bring a positive outcome.
- How to solve their problem – Always provide a simple, specific win in every piece of content that you create. That makes you their go-to!
- CTA (Tell Them Factor) – If you want them to do an action after consuming your content, like downloading a PDF, joining your group, or joining your email list, never forget that CTA. And don’t just drop one CTA thinking that’ll do the trick. Your CTA should be strategically placed in a couple of different places in your content and on your pages.
4. Strategic internal linking, aka, contextual linking
When you read someone’s content, they have linked to other pieces of related content, which is only part of the strategy. The goal of internal linking is to link to extremely valuable content, like a sales or services page. The more links that a page on your website has, the more valuable the content is for Google to show in search. So instead of linking to other pieces of relatable content your main strategy, make your main focus linking to a very important page to your website.
Don’t link to pages where it doesn’t make sense. If there is any way in your content to briefly summarize your products, services, or whatever you are offering, mention it briefly and then link to it – at least a couple of times strategically within that content. It is still important to link to pieces of relatable content, but the higher priority are those sales pages, product offers, or service pages.
How Long It Takes to Grow Website Traffic With SEO
How long it takes to grow your website traffic with SEO depends on the length of time that you have had your domain, as well as how optimized you have your content. It is possible to see growth within 6 weeks depending on what keywords you are trying to rank for but could take up to a year. There really is no definitive timeline. The good thing about SEO is when you have optimized your content, and it does start working, SEO kind of works like a hands-off marketing technique. You not only are marketing your content, but SEO is also marketing your content for you too.
If you want to learn how to strategically grow your website traffic with SEO, I’d love for you to join my group. I do monthly trainings on how to apply SEO to your content and how to create juicy optimized content that makes your reader want to stick around and read. This is your official invitation and you can request to join here. I also have a free content strategy resource roadmap that will help you strategize your content, categories, and tags, and how to search for the best keywords for your niche. You can find that resource here.
Hey there skimmer
Wanna listen instead of read? Listen to episode 18 // How Long Does SEO Take to Improve Website Traffic to My Blog?
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