Seo tips that actually help drive traffic?

Seeking Advice
1

Hey all, I’m working on getting my blog set up, and I keep hearing people say that SEO is dead. What’s actually working to get real traffic these days outside of using Medium and Pinterest?

2

Just be the most interesting person around.

3

SEO isn’t just about any traffic. If you’re a local business, like a plumber or a dog groomer, local SEO and Google My Business will matter a lot more. Blogs won’t mean much if you’re sitting with a poor GMB rating.

4

Here’s an idea: actually deliver what people are searching for, give them what they want.

5

Smart said:
Here’s an idea: actually deliver what people are searching for, give them what they want.

Yep, Google keeps pushing for ‘helpful content’ now more than ever.

6

Get high-quality backlinks from trusted sites, maybe add a forum on your site, and start selling some products too.

7

If Google is still returning 10 results for a keyword search, SEO isn’t dead. It’s all there.

8

Here are some basics:

  • Make sure your content is user-focused and genuinely helpful.
  • Internal linking is a must.
  • Optimize on-page SEO.
  • Get relevant backlinks from sites with real traffic (avoid obvious link sellers).
  • Build up social signals where you can.
  • Consider PR link building with tools like Qwoted or HARO for visibility.

Some say SEO is dead, but a slow-and-steady approach with these strategies can still pay off.

9
  1. Create content for specific areas.
  2. You’ll need to invest a bit if you want to climb the rankings.
10

SEO is based on three pillars: content, links, and technical work. Focus on these for a site that actually attracts organic traffic. Create useful content, get strong backlinks, and leverage social media as part of your traffic strategy. But ultimately, good content and site authority will keep your site growing over time.

11

Check out Grumpy SEO Guy’s episode 21 for some basics—it’s surprisingly solid. To rank, you need four things:

  1. Avoid penalties
  2. Publish content—even simple content helps
  3. Build relevance with your content and backlinks
  4. Get authority from quality backlinks

Most SEO advice focuses on all kinds of unnecessary stuff that doesn’t directly affect ranking. People talk about speed, conversions, and everything else, but that won’t get you to the top if you aren’t covering the basics here.

12

@Gino
How can I check if I’ve got any penalties?

I get good spots on Bing and DuckDuckGo but barely show up on Google even for my own site name. I relaunched the site recently after it was offline for a while.

13

@Charlie
Take GrumpySEOguy with a grain of salt—he’s more of a content creator than an actual SEO. But as far as penalties go, if you’re set up on Google Search Console, you’ll be able to see if there’s anything affecting your site.

14

@Benny
Thanks! I’ll still watch it for a start, but yeah, the Google results have been confusing compared to Bing.

15

Charlie said:
@Benny
Thanks! I’ll still watch it for a start, but yeah, the Google results have been confusing compared to Bing.

I’m in the opposite boat—doing better on Google but struggling with Bing. SEO’s a journey for sure.

16

@Benny
I used SEO press and also tried a few prompts from Site Guru. Still figuring out how much impact it’s really having.

17

@Benny
Also added Bing’s analytics console to see if that sheds any light.

18

@Charlie
If you’re in Google Search Console, check under ‘manual actions’ to see if there are any penalties listed there.

19

Hudson said:
@Charlie
If you’re in Google Search Console, check under ‘manual actions’ to see if there are any penalties listed there.

Thanks, I’ll take a closer look there!

20

@Charlie
Penalties often show up as a big drop in rankings. You can monitor with a tool like Serpfox (free for a few keywords).