Google's Dramatic Change to Search You Can't Ignore
May 28, 2024 • 4 Minute Read • Andrea Goldstein, Senior Director, Digital Marketing
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A Guide to Boosting Organic Website Traffic
Apr 02, 2024 • 4 Minute Read • Stephanie Nardone, Content Marketing Manager
Standing out in a competitive landscape demands a strategic approach to organic search. As search engine algorithms evolve continuously, businesses must adapt and refine their strategies.
Ready to boost your website traffic? We compiled these effective strategies for creating a winning organic search game plan.
1. Keyword Research and Optimization
Identify Relevant Keywords
You don't need to be a search engine optimization (SEO) expert to understand that keywords help your pages, product descriptions, and articles show up in search engines. After writing your content, add in relevant keywords that make sense and do it strategically, ensuring your title, for example, has keywords. But don't sacrifice readability just to get all your keywords in there. Search engines recognize content based on relevancy when people are searching for specific terms. The "key" here is in the strategic placement and not overdoing it.
Tools like Google Keyword Planner are great for identifying relevant keywords. For instance, if you run an online craft beverage store, keywords like "craft beverages online," "artisanal soda shop," or "premium cold brew coffee" could help optimize your landing pages. If you're a lender, keywords like "instant banking loans" or "online banking loans" could be added there.
The main idea? Craft engaging product and service descriptions, articles, and pages, adding in relevant keywords that align with search intent. Don't forget to optimize your meta tags, striving for a seamless user experience when your pages show up in their search results.
2. Quality Content Creation
Create content that showcases your product or service and addresses audience needs and interests. Regularly update your blog with informative articles and engaging content. Be a guide to your website visitors as they shop and show that you're an expert in your space.
For example, publish relevant insights on the craftsmanship of your products or offer recommendations and considerations around services.
3. Mobile & Performance Optimization
Make your website mobile-friendly, as Google prioritizes mobile-optimized sites in search results. Additionally, your website loading times should be fast on both website and mobile devices. A slow website can lead to high bounce rates and negatively impact search rankings.
Website performance is directly linked to user experience, affecting whether your visitors will convert. Optimizing website speed and ensuring mobile responsiveness is critical. Regular updates, maintenance, and implementation of a content delivery network (CDN) can improve loading times, positively affecting user engagement and conversion rates.
4. User Experience (UX)
When enhancing your overall UX, look at the navigation and where there's friction. Is your call to action content clear? A positive UX with engaging and deliberate elements will reduce bounce rates and encourage repeat visits.
Feature a visually appealing and easy-to-navigate website with clear sections for different product or service categories and a streamlined checkout process.
Read more on design and UX trends in retail customer experience for tips and ideas.
5. Social Media Content
Join the party on social platforms—whether your target audience is scrolling for work or play, they're on social media, so it pays to be on there too. More than half the world's population hangs out on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, where storytelling, connection, and selling thrive beyond dancing and cat videos.
Leveraging these platforms can help increase visibility and drive traffic to your website so they can buy. Encourage social sharing by incorporating social media sharing buttons on your website, and don't underestimate the power of user-generated content (UCG) on these sites. Shoppers are more likely to purchase if they see customers offering a glimpse into the product in the real world. Plus, it humanizes your brand.
Quick Tip: Share engaging content on platforms, providing behind-the-scenes glimpses of your product production or encouraging customers to share their favorite moments with your brand.
6. Link Building Strategy
Increase the number of high-quality backlinks to your site through strategies like guest posting, influencer outreach, and partnerships. Collaborate with industry bloggers or influencers to review and link to your products or services.
7. Technical Audits
Regular audits can help identify and resolve technical issues such as broken links, duplicate content, and crawl errors. Implement proper header tags, detailed and short meta descriptions, schema markup, and high-quality images.
8. Product Page Optimization for Ecommerce
Make the shopping experience even smoother. Optimize your product pages by writing irresistible product descriptions and using high-quality images with unique features. Also, showcasing customer reviews can help establish trust and credibility with potential buyers. Implement a secure, efficient, and seamless checkout process. By taking these steps, you can minimize cart abandonment and provide customers with an enjoyable shopping experience.
9. Local Searches
Potential buyers will probably move on if your business says it's closed when it isn't. How often have you abandoned your research on a local company because their Google profile wasn't current?
Improve your business' visibility by ensuring your Google My Business profile contains accurate local information and by using location-specific keywords to appear in local searches.
For instance, you can add location-specific keywords such as "small-batch drinks in [your city]" and update your profile with precise details about your online shop or site.
10. Analytics Tools for Tracking
Tools like Google Analytics can be used to track and analyze website performance. Monitor keyword rankings, user behavior, and conversion rates to identify areas for improvement.
For example, analytics tools can track online store performance, analyze customer behavior, and refine marketing strategies based on conversion rates from different channels.
The Bottom Line: Mastering Organic Search is an Ongoing Process
As shopping habits change and algorithms become more sophisticated, businesses must be savvy, too. You can stay ahead and adapt by implementing a robust strategy encompassing tactics around relevant keywords, content refinement, UX, SEO, and meeting your customers where they are on their shopping journey.
Ready to elevate your online presence? Our team can guide you through the digital marketing journey. Contact us to learn how to implement these tactics, boost your website traffic, engage your audience, and achieve sustainable digital growth.