As someone involved in running multiple informational websites, I've learned how tricky it can be to keep traffic from dropping, let alone grow it consistently. The competition is fierce, the landscape shifts constantly (think algorithm updates or changing audience preferences), and user attention spans are shorter than ever. Yet, informational websites still hold massive potential if approached strategically. Today, I’ll focus on five actionable ways to boost traffic to such sites, backed by data, case studies, and practical insights.
1. Diversify Your Content
Relying on a single type of content, whether it's breaking news, how-to guides, or reviews, is a trap many fall into. The issue? A lack of flexibility. For example, news-heavy websites might struggle when there's a dry spell in their niche, while evergreen-focused platforms miss out on trending traffic spikes.
Tip: Strike a balance by mixing evergreen resources (e.g., “Ultimate Beginner Guide to Home Gardening”) with timeline-sensitive content such as seasonal trends or cultural events. For example, a cookie recipe site could roll out holiday-themed posts during December while still maintaining basic tutorials like "How To Bake the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie." Tools like Google Trends are great for identifying topics gaining traction.
2. Leverage Social Media Smartly
Social media platforms have evolved beyond just being traffic sources; they are now testing grounds for discovering content formats your audience loves. Informational sites can greatly benefit by sharing diverse types of posts, short videos, carousels of tips, and interactive polls.
What Works:
- Repurpose valuable content from your site; condense listicles into Instagram Stories or bite-sized tweet threads.
- Tap into platforms like TikTok, yes, even for B2B niches. For instance, short, educational clips about personal finance frequently see millions of views.
A successful example comes from my time testing Pinterest. A simple infographic about intellectual property management drew unexpectedly high traffic to our IP-related blog posts. The key was including visually appealing yet simple information with direct calls-to-action leading to the content.
3. Optimize for Intent-Based SEO
SEO isn't only about keyword stuffing or ensuring the header tags are well-structured anymore. It’s about understanding search intent and tailoring your content accordingly.
Let’s break it down:
- Informational intent: Answer direct questions like "Why is the sky blue?" These work well for blog posts.
- Transactional intent: Target keywords such as "best toasters under $50."
Practical Example: Humanize your meta descriptions. Instead of writing something like “Learn more about traffic hacks,” try “Learn how to boost your website visitors by 50% in three months, no ads needed.”
On-page SEO checks are simplified with tools like Surfer SEO, which help optimize content for topic-specific keywords after confirming their competitiveness. Don’t skip technical SEO fixes either, an HTTPS website with fast load speeds ranks better. Trust me, boosting our blog's Core Web Vitals increased our organic traffic by 20% within the first month.
4. Go All-In on Video Marketing
Video isn't just trendy, it’s the present and future of content consumption. Even for seemingly “dry” topics, videos can transform passive browsers into engaged visitors.
Two key formats to test:
- Quick explainer videos: Upload 60-second clips to Instagram Reels or TikTok.
- In-depth tutorials: Invest in making high-quality YouTube videos explaining your niche topics.
For example, if you run an informational blog on gardening, a video like "Top 5 Easiest Vegetables for Beginners" can quickly go viral. YouTube isn’t the only playground; platforms often overlooked for informational creators, like LinkedIn, have started seeing higher video engagement rates too.
Here's the kicker: Don’t forget to embed those videos back into related blog posts for better on-site engagement.
5. Digital PR: Seek Out Referral Traffic
Getting featured or linked to by reputable websites boosts both trust and traffic. This isn’t about quantity but thoughtful outreach.
Here’s How:
- Write guest posts for complementary but non-competing websites. For example, a cybersecurity site could contribute to a small business-focused blog.
- Pitch journalists using sites like HARO (Help A Reporter Out). Providing quick, expert responses often lands direct backlinks from sites like Forbes and Entrepreneur.
- Create PR-worthy resources: original studies, surveys, or infographics work well. Once, a report on gender diversity in tech that my team published was picked up by over 15 sites, driving thousands of readers back to our full study.
Pro Tip: Build relationships on LinkedIn with content creators in your field. A friendly post appreciating their work has opened countless cross-promotion opportunities for me in surprising ways.
Common Pitfalls and Solutions
While boosting traffic, I’ve also observed patterns of failure worth avoiding:
- Content without promotion: You may write the best guide ever written, but if it's not distributed effectively (think newsletters, forums, syndication), it'll sit there unnoticed.
- Focusing solely on paid ads: Ads generate traffic only as long as your wallet allows. Aim for a sustainable mix of organic and paid outreach.
- Rushed site audits: Leaving too many low-quality or outdated articles can hurt site-wide authority. Regular clean-ups are critical.
Wrapping It Together
Growing an informational website takes creativity, engineering, hustle, and patience. By diversifying content, using video effectively, optimizing for modern search intent, and engaging in focused networking, consistent growth becomes far more feasible, even in saturated niches.
If there’s one final insight to take away from my experience, it’s this: never stop adapting. What works today might already need tweaking next quarter. Your aim should always be to balance originality, proven tactics, and constant experimentation, then watch your numbers climb.
For further tactical examples, check out SEJ's guide on traffic strategies. Keep building, testing, and learning!
FAQ on Boosting Traffic to Informational Sites
1. How can diversifying content help with traffic growth?
Diversifying content ensures that your site stays relevant and appeals to a broader audience. Mixing evergreen content with trend-sensitive topics makes your site more adaptable to changes in trends or audience needs. Learn more about content diversity
2. What’s the role of social media in driving website traffic?
Using social media smartly can drive substantial traffic. Repurpose your site’s content into short videos, listicles, or interactive posts to improve engagement on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, leading users back to your website. Explore social media strategies
3. How does SEO based on search intent work?
Intent-based SEO focuses on understanding user needs, informational, navigational, or transactional, and crafting content specifically for those needs. This approach improves rankings and user satisfaction. Discover search intent strategies
4. Why is video marketing critical for informational sites?
Video content, like tutorials or quick explainers, engages users effectively and leads to higher traffic. Embedding videos into blog posts also enhances site engagement metrics. Learn more about video marketing
5. What is digital PR, and how does it boost traffic?
Digital PR involves guest posting, securing media features, or building useful resources like infographics or studies. These efforts enhance referral traffic and improve credibility. Explore digital PR methods
6. Why is content auditing important for improving traffic?
Regularly updating, archiving, or removing outdated content ensures your site maintains quality, improving SEO rankings and enhancing user trust. Learn more about content auditing
7. How can Google Trends help in finding content ideas?
Google Trends highlights trending topics and reveals search interest over time, enabling creators to respond to audience demands effectively and create relevant content. Check out Google Trends
8. What are some tools to improve on-page SEO?
On-page SEO can be optimized using tools like Surfer SEO, which provides data-driven recommendations for content keywords, layout, and competitiveness. Learn more about Surfer SEO
9. How do evergreen and trending content coexist for growth?
While evergreen content provides stable traffic over time, leveraging trending topics adds immediate traffic spikes and keeps your site relevant to current events. Discover evergreen trends
10. What are examples of sites effectively mixing content types?
Sites like The New York Times Cooking mix evergreen recipes with seasonal or trending events, ensuring a steady influx of site visitors. Explore NYT Cooking
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.