Organic Search Traffic for SEO Optimization Metric

What is Organic Search Traffic?

Generally, when we use the term "traffic" on the internet, it means "visitors." Organic search traffic is visitors that land on your website from unpaid sources. Some organic sources include search engines like google, yahoo, or bing. 

However, not all traffic arriving from search engines is organic. For example, if the user land on your site by clicking on an advertised link in Google, it is not organic traffic. It only counts when the user queries Google for some information. Then land on your site by clicking on the unpaid search results.

So how do you get organic search traffic for your website?

It's through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 

Google considers more than 255 factors to rank a website. The most important one is content. If your website provides current and accurate information to users, google will probably boost the search results.

Other factors include the website's structure, ease of accessibility, bounce rates, backlinks, and some technical elements.

Best Practices for a successful SEO implementation

Let Google Crawl Easily Into Your Site

Search engine bots crawl in whenever you add content or a new page to your website. They do that to find content and index them. 

Sometimes technical issues can stop the bots from crawling your site. A site architecture audit can give you all the crucial information, including any possible crawl errors.

The first thing you should do is check the robot.txt and the XL sitemap. 

Robot.txt is a file that tells a search engine not to crawl on specific files. This includes the login pages or thanks you pages. Make sure you do not have any essential pages in this file. This might stop google and other search engines from indexing that page. As a result, it won't rank in the SERP.

The XML sitemap is another important file in the list. It tells Google about the necessary pages and files on your website. It also provides valuable information about those files. For example, if a page is available in another language or when a page is last updated.

Remove any redirected pages or pages with 40X/50X errors from the XML sitemap file. 

Add robot Meta tags to your site. They tell google crawlers whether to index a page or not. They also instruct crawlers whether to follow a link from the page.

Add Relevant Images

Images that add value to content are considered essential resources by Google's Algorithm. Add relevant and valuable photos, including infographics, charts, graphs, etc. Remember to add alt tags and descriptions to the images. Alt tags help search engines understand what the photos are all about. They also increase the chance of the pictures ranking in Google's image search results.

Title tags and title attributes also contribute to a better user experience. As we all know, Google and other search engines love it when sites do their best to improve user experience. 

The primary role of title tags is to inform users about the image when the image fails to load. For example, assume you have written a blog post about coffee. You add a picture of a woman adding coffee pods to the machine. 

Now you add the alt tag "woman adding coffee pods in the machine" or "preparing coffee in the machine." So, if someone visits the page but the image doesn't load, they can understand the context by reading the tag. 

It is also helpful for people with hearing disabilities. Users can use the text-to-speech tool to read the context of the image.

Create data-driven Content

When you add data like statistics, graphs, and other data-backed information, Google will love it. 

Let's assume you are writing content about cosmetic surgery. You can add more robust and reliable content by adding relevant data. This includes references, links to research, statistics, quotes from certified cosmetologists, etc.

Do Your Keyword Research Carefully

Keyword research is an essential deciding factor for the title of your content. Keyword research tells you what your customers prefer to read. It means you know which words your target audience mainly searches on google. 

There is a lot more to keyword research. It requires some planning and experience to understand which keywords to go for. For instance, if you are in the US and writing content on a topic like "cars," you will get the most searched keywords like:

• Cars

• Cars brands in the USA

• All car models

• Best car of 2023

While the above keywords are the most searched, they are also highly competitive. It means thousands and millions of other websites must compete for these keywords. 

This makes it more challenging for you to rank. One chance to beat it is to use primary data no one else has. Even then, you still need to get a spot in search results. The key is to strike a balance between high-performing and low-performing keywords. 

For this, you can take help from several keyword research tools like semrush, google keyword planner, keywordtool.io, ahrefs keyword explorer, and more.

Write Timeless Content

Choose content topics that could remain relevant for a long time. 

For example −

• Top 10 benefits of coffee

• Home remedies for adult acne

• Top 10 romantic songs of the 90s

If you write topics like "best smartphones to buy in 2023", the content will probably become irrelevant in 2024. In such circumstances, you can re-edit your content and add new information.

Add Meta Description

As the name suggests, Meta description refers to a short description of a page or title. It typically comprises 150-160 characters that appear on the search results. It informs the users what they will get by clicking the link. 

A meta description may not be a ranking factor but it increases the site's click-through ratio. When written clearly and smartly, it can pursue a user to click the link. This increases your traffic. If you keep your users engaged in your website, Google will boost your site in the search results.

Is Organic Traffic Better than Paid Traffic?

According to statistics, the likelihood of someone clicking your site link is 8.5 times more organic traffic than paid search results. However, paid traffic drive 3% more traffic than its organic counterparts.

Looking at costs, organic traffics are achieved through a lower price per lead. Meanwhile, paid traffic could be twice as expensive as organic traffic leads. While you have a high ppc conversion rate, you have to invest for the long run. 

Organic traffic, on the other hand, is a long-term goal. However, unlike paid traffic, organic traffic keeps on increasing with time. Paid traffic will only work as long as you pay for it. Organic traffic (although it requires consistent effort) is way cheaper. The customers are more loyal as the trust factor increases with organic traffic.

Conclusion

While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, by tracking impressions, clicks, total visits, website bounce rate, and keyword rankings you can get an accurate picture of how successful your SEO efforts are. This will help guide further optimization strategies and use of resources to improve organic search traffic on your website. Additionally, social media marketing still plays a significant role in improving overall website visibility when used in tandem with traditional SEO tactics, making it essential to consider as part of any comprehensive SEO strategy. Ultimately, having an understanding of the metrics can help maximize digital marketing success and increase overall organic search traffic to any website.