Let’s face it, when it comes to driving traffic online, SEO traffic quality can’t be beat.
When you compare it to other online traffic sources including PPC, affiliates, email, and SMS, you typically find that when it comes to average time on site, low bounce rates, and conversion rates, SEO reigns supreme. Those who navigate organic SEO search generally take their time and make informed, more careful decisions – this is what leads to a higher conversion rate and more qualified customers.
The hurdle of SEO is that it can take many months or even years and incredible expertise to gain positions in the top search results on Google. However, just because you aren’t ranked high in Google doesn’t mean you can’t have access to the highest quality SEO traffic and even occupy multiple positions – without even ranking your own website.
In this article, we talk to industry experts and startups to understand how you can access SEO traffic whether your site is ranked or not.
Check who is already on page 1
You might think that doing SEO for your business means optimizing your own website and ranking it, but why not consider who is already on page 1 and if you can collaborate with them in some way. Whether they’re price comparison sites, news sites, or just individual brands, there may be a way to help them monetize their traffic or collaborate in some way.
“As a broker, we are much freer to do SEO than other big brands and institutions,” explains Justine Gray, founder of online mortgage broker, Deedle.
“Large companies and banks are very nervous and forced by compliance to publish a lot of content on their site and make regular updates. But for a small team like us, it’s very simple.”
“In some ways, we’re more likely to get to page one than a larger company – and as a result, companies of all sizes try to partner with us. They may find there are too many internal hurdles to do good SEO for themselves, but we’re open to collaboration.”
Use Top 10 Lists
“The top 10 listings have a very powerful ranking advantage on Google,” says Sithara Ranasinghe, co-founder of the health insurance site, MediCompare.
“There are some industries where Google really favors top 10 listings over a traditional site. If you’re looking for something casino-related or something technical like email marketing or best software, you typically won’t find individual sites on page 1, but rather review sites or accumulation sites listing 10 different options.”
“I think Google likes this more unbiased offering to the customer and the ability to see and compare different products. So if you’re new to the market or looking to get SEO traffic, you should just approach someone who is already ranking on page 1 with a top 10 list or try to build one through a high domain authority site.”
“There are sites that are very good at this, like CNet and Forbes, that leverage their authority and strong domain – and there’s no reason why you can’t have multiple listings on page 1 and clean up the SEO traffic, regardless of your rankings.
Use price comparison sites
Price comparison sites for products like mortgages, credit cards, hotel reservations, travel insurance and even technology have become huge over the past decade.
“Being a price comparison site can be an advantage with Google,” says Mark Gomer of Proper Finance. “You target a large number of products and can get backlinks in multiple industries and also benefit from people purchasing, which increases your overall user time on the site.”
“When implemented well, you may rank very well for some products but not for others, but ultimately you can focus your energy on what you do.”
“If we have a strong position on Google for something like mortgages or secured loanswe could potentially work with 50 or 100 companies to help clients compare the best rates – all of whom have access to SEO traffic, even if they aren’t ranked anywhere.
Leveraging News Sites with High Domains
There are so many SEO factors to consider, such as good technical optimization, site speed, and quality content. But sometimes, having a good backlink book and high domain authority is the quickest and easiest way to rank on Google and get to the first page for key terms.
“When you look at major news sites, these are usually link magnets because of their authority – and they often pull in lots of links from other authorities such as schools, universities, councils and governments,” says Richard Allan, founder of funding platform Capital Bean.
“So when you create a landing page on your own site, you might have to wait months or years to gain authority – or you might never rank at all. But if you took that landing page, with all the right keywords and intent-driven content, and placed that article on a major news site like SF door or Forbes, you can sometimes rank very quickly by leveraging their domain authority.
“If you take less competitive industries or more personalized long-tail keywords, they may not be used to having a site with a 60 or 70 domain authority on page 1 and when you come in with a new article you get the quick indexability of being a news site and can often get to page 1 within a day just because it’s on Google News.”
Final Thoughts
SEO traffic is incredibly high quality and sought after, but as any SEO professional will tell you: it takes a long time to achieve and doesn’t always last forever.
But as our experts explained, ranking on Google doesn’t have to be just about your own website. By seeing who is on page 1 and using sites with high domain authorities to include your business, you can fill multiple positions. And given Google’s fluctuations, you can use these techniques to always have some sort of presence on Page 1 at all times.
We leave you with one last question: why take one position on page 1 when you can have several?
