A formulaic approach to search traffic

Yesterday a Fat Stacks forum member posted a link to one of the better SEO reads I’ve enjoyed in a long time.

This is for anyone who seeks a formulaic approach to building niche sites.

The model is very similar to what I do except it boils it down to a numeric formula which is super cool.

Before I send you to it, please keep in mind that I’ve not reverse engineered it or directly tested the theory. However, it passes my sniff test.

Good stuff, right?

It really is, especially for newer sites.

I’m not sure how accurate it is for higher traffic sites. According to the theory, a site with 15,000 daily visitors should be able to rank like clockwork for terms with 15,000 monthly searches.

I’m not so sure that’s the case.

But that’s not the important part.

The important part of the model is twofold:

First, it explains very simply what KW search volume you should be going after during the early months and even early years of a website. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of it.

Second, it suggests that over time you can build up a rock solid traffic foundation that is likely to remain in place for years.

Is the theory ironclad?

I don’t know.

It’s certainly better than nothing.

It’s pretty much the approach I’ve taken except it distills it into a simple formula.

Despite it practically spoon-feeding you a formula, there are three variables solely in your control that will determine whether the theory works.

Three Variables in Your Control

First, there’s keyword research. It’s one thing to say “target keywords with 0 to 10 monthly search volume”. It’s another thing to find them.

That’s where my course bundle (save $200 on it this week) comes in handy. It includes an entire course/module on keyword research. I’ve been honing and coming up with different ways to find low-competition keywords for years. I share all of them in the bundle.

Second, there’s the quality content requirement. The theory will far more likely hold true if you publish good content. I doubt it would work if you published gibberish. On the flip side, you don’t need to publish 6,000-word tomes for each keyword either. There’s a middle ground. Publish content that you, if searching the term, would be delighted with.

Third, there’s your content formatting, which is also important for this entire process. Mind your h2, h3 and h4 tags. Include images. Format it so it’s good for readers.

Power Boosts

And then there are the “power boosts” over which you have full control.

One such power boost you control is internal linking. While boring and tedious, it’s something you can do right now to give your content a boost; specifically your higher search volume content.

Another power boost you control is social signals. You can create your social accounts and post your content to them right now. It’s free. It’s fast.

And yet another power boost you control is pagespeed score. I’ve had great success improving pagespeed scores with Nitropack. While that does cost some money, it’s fast and it works well for me.

Will these “power boosts” double your traffic? No, probably not.

But they’ll help.

What about word count?

I read through a few pages of follow up questions and answers and the writer of that forum thread said they pay no mind to word count. They write enough to address the keyword topic.

Will I adopt the method?

I do in a roundabout way. I’m not quite so formulaic and don’t plan on it. Not because I don’t think it’ll work but because I’m not one to follow strict formulas. I prefer a more fluid approach even if it’s less efficient.

But for folks who prefer a formulaic approach, it’s worth giving a shot.