How A Page URL Increased Organic Traffic by 500+% From Changing Its Layout

In search engine optimization (SEO), getting high organic traffic is the goal of making the website relevant. Your website can rank on top of search engine results with more organic traffic.

As much as creating and optimizing relevant content will get you the numbers, the website’s layout greatly contributes to earning organic search traffic. This case study shows how changing the web layout can give traffic to your website and how to do it right.

Initial Situation

The best immediate opportunities can be found on pages 2-3 of Google. Ranking there for a keyword indicates the search engine estimates those pages are highly relevant but might need further optimization to be eligible for a top ranking on page 1.

Proper layout and formatting help search engines understand the structure and importance of content on a page. This allows search engines to determine better what the page is about and how to rank it. 

What We Found

Content layout is important in SEO for several reasons:

• An optimized layout that is easy for users to read and scan improves user experience. Better user experience leads to increased time on site and page engagement, ranking signals for search engines. 
• Mobile-first responsive design ensures content is easily readable on all devices. This improves performance and accessibility, which are important SEO factors. 
• Images, videos, and other multimedia files should be optimized and relevant to support the text. Proper layout incorporates these elements in a way that enhances the content. 
• Excessive or unnecessary layout elements should be avoided as they can negatively impact page load speed and user experience. Faster speeds are important for search engines. 
• An accessible and clean scanner-friendly layout lets search engines understand the structure and importance of content on the page.

What We Did

Our Approach 

We provided a prototype article layout that can be adapted to existing URLs that need a little boost to improve their current rankings.

The Steps We Took

SERP analysis is a very important step. Before analyzing the URLs, we first analyze what other pages rank on page 1 for the target keyword and compare it to the client’s page to ensure that all necessary updates will be made. Specifically, we:

1. Identify the pages’ key elements: Does the page contain images, table of contents, videos, or key takeaways compared to the ranking URLs on page 1?  
2. Optimize the content: We conduct a search engine results pages (SERPs) audit to check what entities are missing on the page and what other subtopics should be added based on the results.
3. Review user intent: Understand what users are searching for and tailor the content being optimized accordingly.
4. Test and refine: Monitor the pages’ position and other metrics and make adjustments as necessary.

What Results We Achieved

After applying all the steps and monitoring for progress, the results are shown below:

Approximately nine months later, the case study page has increased its overall organic traffic contribution to the site by more than 500% from April 2023 to January 2024! 

This has also led the page to rank higher on SERPs from position 9 to 1—contributing to the overall organic traffic increase as the page has become more accessible to target users.

The layout update has also helped the page rank for a higher search volume keyword, “holding deposit,” which can target larger users.

Remember, content layout can improve your website content's visibility, engagement, and relevance. A well-designed layout can make pages more visible and engaging while also improving readability, usability, and credibility.

How To Increase Organic Traffic with a New Website Layout

Making significant changes to your website’s layout is not an overnight task. It’s a product of careful planning and backing up your website’s content. As you transition to a new layout, here’s what you must do.

1. Plan all changes

Come up with a comprehensive plan for your goals for the new layout. It can be about:

• Enhancing content organization and creation: Redesigning your layout can help you organize and create content more effectively.
• Elevating branding: Revamping your layout can help you implement changes to the site’s look and feel and package it as a leveled-up version of your previous brand.
• Improve SEO performance: You can boost your search rankings with a new layout since it’s more accessible to search engine crawlers, like Googlebot, for indexing content. You can also check the indexing status on Google Search Console. Aside from that, you might also want to get rid of broken links to solidify your site's reputation.
• Drive organic search traffic: You’ll attract more visitors and website traffic through its new look and gain improved search results and referrals.
• Cater to search intent: You can address the users’ needs in searching content on your website based on what they need with a new website layout. If they want information, your site will deliver it. You can redirect them to a web page that handles purchases if they want to purchase something. Conduct keyword research with keyword research tools like Ahrefs and choose ones with a high search volume. Implement these keywords into your content to drive organic traffic.

2. Back it up

Back up all your files, from written content and database to images and videos, with a file transfer protocol (FTP). This keeps you from losing data in case your backing up goes wrong. Another alternative is using a web hosting service to back up your files.

3. Make changes

You need to change two things that control your site’s layout. First, modify the HTML to make changes to your page’s structure. Second, modify the CSS to give your website new colors, spacing, and fonts. Test your changes by viewing the site on different browsers and devices.

4. Publish and adjust

Once you’re done implementing the changes, publish them on your website’s server through the hosting manager or FTP. Feel free to adjust anything that bogs down the usability of your website.

Changing the layout of your website into a new and improved one can profoundly impact SEO. This massive change may help increase organic website traffic as crawlers gain access to the site’s new look. You can organize your content into more presentable portions and show the important ones on the banner page first. A fresh website layout can freshen up how people view your business.

If you want to learn more about increasing your website’s organic traffic, schedule a call with us today!