Getting results with SEO takes a lot of work.

You have to spend hours:

• writing excellent blog posts
• finding the right keywords
• making sure your posts are optimized
• promoting your posts to get links and shares
• and so much more.

This can easily take up 40+ hours per week.

All this work often leads content marketers and SEO experts to believe that all traffic-boosting strategies take a ridiculous amount of time to implement.

Luckily, that’s only kind of true…

Obviously, creating, optimizing, and promoting content is a full-time job, BUT it’s possible to get a significant traffic bump from less than 30 minutes of work.

In fact, after I made a quick change for a client, one of his most popular blog posts increased in traffic by 33.73% in just 30 days.

 

 

He now ranks #2 for both his original keyword and a similar, high-traffic keyword.

The best part?

After about 15 minutes of research, the change only took about 30 seconds.

Here’s an in-depth look at what I did and how you can do it with your blog, too.

 

A simple (but powerful) traffic boosting strategy

Overview: we’re going to look at Google Search Console to find keywords your blog posts show up for that don’t send you much traffic (yet). Then, we’re going to optimize your posts, so they rank higher for those keywords and generate more traffic.

 

Step 1: Head to Google Search Console

Take a look at all the search queries a blog post shows up for by adding a filter under “Pages” containing the post’s URL you want to check.

You can do this by clicking “No filter” and entering the blog post’s URL.

 

 

 

Once you have the list of queries for your blog post pulled up, sort by impressions by double-clicking on the top of the impression column.

 

 

Take note of all keywords with high impressions but little-to-no clicks. (For example, I’d add #’s 4, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, and 18 from the image above to a spreadsheet.)

These are the little dorks we’re going to focus on.

 

Step 2: Get search volume for keywords with high impressions

Once you have your list, pop each keyword into your favorite keyword research tool.

I use Ahrefs, SEMRush, and KWFinder.

Add the search volume for each keyword into a spreadsheet. Take note of the highest traffic keywords on your list.

Is the keyword you’re already targeting in the top 3 of the list?

If not, you might want to consider changing your post’s target keyword.

It’s a must to target more than one keyword in your post, but you want to make sure the keyword that presents the biggest opportunity for your business (one with high traffic, low competition, and intent that matches your post’s content and business goals) is the one you add to the page title, SEO title, meta description, and URL.

Once you decide whether to change your target keyword, take a look further down the list.

Look specifically for LSI keywords (keywords that are similar/synonyms or are contextually related to your target keyword) with 100+ monthly traffic that make sense to add to your post.

Highlight these keywords on your list, then head to WordPress.

 

Step 3: On-page optimization

Start with the similar/synonym keywords you found and simply sprinkle them throughout your post.

Put them where they make sense in the body and headings (headings pull more weight.)

 

 

Example:

For the post I mentioned before, I discovered that my client got thousands of impressions, but few clicks, for a similar keyword that started with “strong” rather than “powerful”.

So, all I did was replace “powerful” with “strong” in a few headings, the SEO title and meta description (using Yoast), and a couple of places in the body, and three days later it ranked #2 for both!

It really can be that easy.

But wait, it gets better…

You can also target the contextually related keywords you found by adding new sections to your post.

The sections don’t have to be long – just make sure they bring value to the reader.

(I once ranked on the first page for two more keywords by adding only 150 more words to a post.)

The easiest kinds of sections to add, which you’ll often find keywords for during this process, are:

• (Keyword) Examples
• (Keyword) Quotes
• (Keyword) Resources
• FAQ’s about your target keyword

 

Step 4: Monitor your results

Once you’ve made your changes, wait for 30 days or so, then check Google Analytics and Search Console.

Compare traffic, click, and impression data for that particular blog post with data from the previous 30 days to see if you received a traffic bump or rank for more keywords.

If your post already has some quality backlinks, you’ll be encouraged by the results.

I have yet to see a post that didn’t improve at all after implementing this process.

 

Rinse and repeat

Since winning at SEO and content marketing takes so much time in general, it feels great to drive results with a few quick changes.

I recommend doing this with every post already on your blog, and every new post you write (after it’s been published for 30-60 days to get some data.)

Your blog posts will be happy and so will you.

 

If you’ve got a little bit more than 30 minutes, make sure to read How to Improve Your Search Ranking with Email Marketing.

 

The post How to Get a Blog Post Ranking for More Keywords in Under 30 Minutes appeared first on GetResponse Blog – Online Marketing Tips.

Source: getresponse