Search engine optimization is one of those concepts that sounds great on paper, but is all too often poorly executed. Although you entered the world of SEO with the best of intentions, an SEO audit would probably show that you’re not using this tool to the best of your ability. It’s important to remember why organic website traffic matters and how much it can truly help your marketing.

What is Organic Website Traffic?

Just as organic produce is grown without the assistance of chemicals, organic website traffic is the flow of visitors to your site unaided by paid marketing efforts. This means no AdWords and no paying for links from outside agencies. Generating truly organic website traffic means drawing visitors using only the natural tools that are available to you, like effectively working keywords into content to rank higher in search results. We know when organic traffic comes to your site by looking at the analytics. Organic traffic is the traffic that comes for a search engine result. So if you search for “inbound marketing cincinnati” on Google  then click a search result link that isn’t an ad, we would register that as an organic traffic source.

Why Organic Traffic Matters

One of the toughest parts about SEO is constantly keeping up with Google’s latest algorithms. You can think of algorithms as rules. Each search engine uses a set of rules, or algorithms, to rank your website. In some cases, a simple change in Google’s tactics can completely derail a company’s SEO efforts. But if you implement strategies to generate organic traffic, you’ll be largely immune to these changes. After all, Google’s main aim is to make sure that all searchers receive quality results with every query. By focusing on the main principles of organic SEO, you’ll be able to withstand these changes and maintain your position at the top of search rankings.

Increasing your website’s organic traffic will also help you to naturally generate leads, which means more business for your company. You’ll get interested prospects to show up on your page more frequently, making it much easier to convert them. Moving towards an organic SEO strategy will make your company more efficient in this way, which means you’ll generate more revenue. Best of all, you won’t have to spend nearly as much on your marketing.

Organic SEO Strategies in Real Life

By now, you know the benefits of incorporating tactics designed to boost your organic traffic. If your SEO audit shows that you’ve got some work to do, it’s not the end of the world. You can start moving towards an organic search strategy with a few shifts in thinking. Here are some ways to get started quickly:

Identify Keywords

Before you can ever hope to improve your SEO, you have to understand what keywords people will use in their searches. Your keywords should align themselves with your business goals and your buyer personas. It’s helpful to look at what keywords currently bring people to your site, and then use those keywords as a starting point for your revised campaign.

Another way to make your keywords stand out is to use long tail keywords. That is, move beyond a basic keyword and move into something you can truly own. For example, if your company specializes in web design, your keyword would be “Web design in Boston, MA.” Doing this not only enhances your local appeal, but it means you’re not competing with the other million web design companies out there.

Produce Great Content

It goes without saying, but your main goal in any content marketing initiative is to create stellar content, the kind that naturally lends itself to being shared. Nothing turns visitors off like poor content that reeks of black hat SEO tactics. If you do your part to generate top-notch, relevant, shareable content, the search engines will take notice and will rate you favorably.

If you’re not sure if your content is good enough, look at your industry and identify potential holes in the available content that already exists. For example, Richard Marriot found out that most of the resources publishing link building materials were either spammy, misinformed or overwhelming to the reader. By producing a concise guide to link building, he created viral content that filled a major gap. Look for similar gaps that you can fill with your content.

Spread the Word

Creating excellent content based around your desired keywords is only good if other people know it’s out there. Yes, search engines will help you in this area, but sharing your work with interested audiences is a great way to build traffic.

There are two main tools you should use to spread the word. First, you should share your content with your email list of interested leads and industry contacts. This will make sure that your content is seen by the people that would most benefit from hearing what you have to say. Next, you should share your work on social media. Even if it doesn’t set the world on fire, it will help you to build your reputation as an expert in your field. Over time, this will lead to more traffic, which will help you to build more organic traffic as your website gains a reliable reputation.

Showing off your work to the world will encourage others to link directly to your content — think inbound links — which is a major factor in climbing the search rankings. As more reputable sites link to your content, you’ll look even more favorable in the eyes of Google. This combination of quality links, killer content and relevant keywords will send you to the top of the list.

Is What You’re Doing Now Working?

The benefits of building organic Web traffic through SEO are undeniable, and they’re principles that any company can implement. It’s never a bad idea to conduct an SEO audit and see how your current tactics are really working. If you find the results lacking, consider working towards boosting your organic traffic stats. You’ll find that finessing this SEO tactic will help you with your overall SEO strategy, your lead generation efforts and your conversion rates.