Lead generation through SEO is the lifeblood for many businesses looking to grow sustainably online. When done correctly, SEO lead generation drives targeted traffic, attracts potential customers, and delivers high quality leads that support long-term business growth.
Unfortunately, many digital marketers struggle to boost website traffic AND convert website visitors into qualified leads.
While paid ads and traditional marketing channels may deliver short-term visibility, they rarely produce long-term organic traffic growth.
If you want to learn how to generate more leads without a colossal budget, below are ten proven tactics to share with your site development team and other stakeholders to improve online visibility, boost SEO performance, and support scalable lead generation efforts.
Table of Contents
Optimize Your SEO Landing Pages for Lead Generation
You can drive thousands of visitors from search engines to your supposed “converting” landing page like Google, Bing, and other search engines, but if that page is a lead generation failure, your SEO lead generation efforts are wasted.
Before scaling search traffic, your web pages should first be optimized for lead conversion:
- Beautiful design
- Calls to action above the fold
- Fast answers aligned with user search intent
- Make sure your colors are on-point
- Enticing web forms for capturing lead contact details
It’s not until your page is optimized for conversions that you should work to start driving SEO for lead generation.
We discuss lead generation strategies, including SEO landing page optimization in complete detail in a separate post.
Keyword Research to Match Search Intent
Getting organic traffic hinges on understanding how your target audience searches allows search engines to understand your content and surface it in relevant search results. So, performing keyword research is vital so your audience can find your site and for successful lead generation SEO.
When it comes to generating leads through SEO, you need to consider the following:
Conduct Keyword Research and Commercial Search Intent
Not all keywords generate valuable leads. Focus on transactional keywords and targeting transactional keywords that reflect buyers who are actively searching.
Key considerations:
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Where is the user in the funnel?
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Are they seeking information or ready to convert?
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Is the keyword aligned with sales outcomes?
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Is the keyword I am targeting in my lead generation relevant to commercial search intent?
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In other words, when someone searches, where are they in the sales process funnel?
You can capture leads at the top of the funnel by offering downloads, but those leads have less value than hard-hitting leads and you’ll have to push them through a drip campaign to get any results.
And lead generation from an email sequence can take some time.
Your ideal lead is at the bottom of the funnel.
Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Moz to analyze:
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Search volume
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Keyword difficulty
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Lower search volumes with higher intent
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Relevant keywords tied to revenue
Bottom-of-funnel keywords generate more qualified leads, while top-of-funnel keywords support SEO leads nurturing through content.
Organic Traffic for Lead Generation and Search Engine Rankings
To understand organic traffic in lead generation and to improve search engine rankings, you should understand the right keywords for your business, the competition for those keywords on search engine results pages, and which top ranking pages dominate results.
When you use keywords in your site and your content, your site is easier to find.
Strong search rankings improve search visibility, drive qualified traffic, and generate SEO leads consistently.
A vital factor to SEO lead generation success and boosting traffic is doing your homework to find the most keyword searches with the lowest difficulty.
SEMRush, Ahrefs, Moz and Google’s Keyword Planning Tool can help you do this.
Broad Match, Short Tail Keywords
Commercial search intent keywords deliver massive search volume, but they are at the bottom of the funnel, are usually broad match, and VERY competitive.
That also means it can take time to generate organic traffic from these pages.
You’ll need to update your content regularly, engage a link building company and perform SEO outreach.
Broad match, short tail keywords are the envy of every SEO in any industry.
They’re also key to lead generation.
Ranking requires:
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Advanced SEO strategies
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High quality backlinks
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Strong domain authority
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Ongoing content creation
So, start with the easiest part: identifying keywords where you already rank higher in matches and the most number of searches each month, then expand into new opportunities using long tail keywords and generation SEO strategies.
Also, look for high-volume keywords that your site doesn’t rank for.
It also pays to look at your site analytics to find where the visitors are coming to your site.
Is it to one of your main site pages or on the blog?
Getting this data will tell you what search engines value on your site.
It will also tell you what potential leads might be searching.
Content for SEO Lead Generation
Having one or even a handful of nicely-designed pages isn’t good enough for SEO lead generation campaigns.
You will need to put together a system for creating regular, valuable content that is produced and optimized for ranking, conversion and your target audience at every stage.
Regular Content Production
Now that you know the keywords you want to write about, it’s vital to have a regular content marketing strategy. Search engines and readers want to see consistency, so make sure you deliver it.
There is no rule about how often you should post; it depends on how many organic leads you want to get and what you want to do with them.
The more content you write that people like, the more leads you’ll get.
If your site doesn’t get a lot of traffic on its blog, you should focus on critical keywords in the strategy above in this article.
Then, publish at least one strategic blog post per week.
Publishing each blog post with purpose improves:
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Organic search results
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Website visitors
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Search engine friendly indexing
Over time, you should start to rank organically for some keywords that matter to their company. Publishing fresh content weekly helps attract prospective customers, increase search engine results, and build authority.
Regular content can be time consuming.
If you need help, you can engage our content writing services to help with scale.
Optimize Your Content
What good is a beautifully designed website if no one visits and it doesn’t rank?
Lead generation demands you have traffic to your pages because those pages rank for the keywords that matter to your users.
On-page optimization services can help your newly-created pages outrank competing pages for very competitive terms.
Your site’s pages shouldn’t just convert users by generating leads, they should also be optimized for search engines.
We suggest our guide that outlines all the 200 most statistically significant ranking factors in Google.
If you optimize for search engines, you are more likely to be optimizing for lead generation as well.
Your SEO content should be optimized for both users and algorithms:
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On page optimization
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On page content clarity
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Keyword optimization
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Internal linking
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Avoid keyword stuffing
Use Google Search Console to:
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Analyze SEO performance
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Identify broken links
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Track keyword rankings
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Monitor search engine results
Technical SEO for Lead Generation
Strong technical SEO supports SEO success by improving crawlability and performance:
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Website speed and site speed
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Mobile optimization for mobile devices
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Image compression using an image optimizer plug in
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Fixing broken links
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Structured internal linking
Faster website speed improves conversion rates and search visibility.
Off-Page SEO Through Link Building
Once you have created pages and posts that are optimized on-site, it’s time to start earning links to your content.
Off page SEO helps establish trust and authority. Earn inbound links from:
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Authoritative websites
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High authority websites
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Third party sites
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Guest posting opportunities
Quality links increase domain authority, improve search rankings, and drive referral traffic.
There are literally dozens of strategies for building links to your content.
Spend the time required to optimize your site with quality backlinks.
This strategy will help your pages rank.
Pages that rank get more traffic and generate more leads for your business.
Local SEO Strategies for Lead Generation
For location-based businesses, local SEO is critical for lead generation SEO.
Effective local SEO strategies include:
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Optimized Google Business Profile
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Consistent local listings
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Presence in local directories
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Multi location SEO management
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Targeting local search queries
These local SEO tactics improve search visibility and attract valuable leads ready to convert.
Know Your Lead Personas
Before you write any content, create buyer personas, so you know whom your content is for. So, you should define who is your ideal customer.
Understanding your target audience allows you to:
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Create relevant content
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Improve SEO impact lead generation
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Drive more qualified leads
When you create high-quality content that speaks to your ideal customers, you will see better organic traffic rankings. Remember that keywords and search only help so much; you need to write helpful information in that content or read it. Great content aligns with user intent, not just keywords.
When you have figured out who you want to reach the most, you can write content that speaks to them.
Make Enticing Lead Conversion Points
So, you understand how to get new traffic to your site. But you must have places on the site to make that traffic into leads. And it’s more than a contact form.
Effective lead management requires multiple conversion points beyond contact forms.
Think about when you go to a store to look for a pair of shoes. If a salesman comes up to you, usually, you say you are only looking.
It’s the same thing on your site when people see the contact form; many don’t want to reach out.
But what you write a great post that tells them how to buy a rental property, and at the bottom of the post, there’s a link or button that lets you download a free property report. This is a better experience for the user, so they are more likely to reach out.
Also, use the User Flow Tool in Google Analytics. Look at the pages that your readers will and the pages that make them leave the site. It can help make a flow-through model for your site to ensure you know where your readers are coming from, where they’re going, and where they leave the site.
Ask yourself if the process makes sense.
- Is there a way you can make it easier for your site visitors?
- Is there critical information they want to find or a question they want to answer?
Keep in mind that your visitors will have different needs and will be in a different place in their research.
Your site must have many places where people can opt in to what your company sells.
Using Video for Lead Generation
Video has been a vital element in search and SEO for more than 10 years when Google came out with its Universal Search.
Video improves SEO and lead generation by:
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Increasing dwell time
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Boosting click-through rates
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Improving organic search
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Attracting backlinks
But video is still quite underrated in search marketing even now.
One study finds that sites that use video are 53 times more likely to rank on the top pages of Google.
There are a few reasons for this:
- Google is more interested in quality content than keywords; Google knows that readers care about quality. Most videos offer informative content that answers questions.
- Search results that have video have a 41% more CTR than searches without video.
- Video makes the visitor stay on the page longer, so your content is more relevant and authoritative in Google’s eyes.
- Video attracts more backlinks for SEO. Having video and not just text will triple your linking domains.
Pages with video often rank higher and generate quality leads faster.
Curious about your site’s backlinks compared to the competition, use our free backlink checker right now!
Combine Social Media with SEO Lead Generation
The better the content you create, the more sites you can share it to, which means more visits to your website.
Never underestimate the power of social media. When you take time to make the most engaging content, you shouldn’t just stop there.
Share it on your social media channels.
A strong social media presence increases:
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Visibility online
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Social media engagement
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Content reach
Social platforms act as other search engines, supporting digital marketing and SEO efforts.
Think about every social media channel as another search engine, Keywords matter for blog posts, but they are just as key for social media channels.
Remember, the idea of social media today is to provide meaningful search results that answer questions of customers and prospects.
Iterate & Update Your Lead Generation Strategy
A/B test content effectiveness, update content accordingly and iterate regularly.
When it comes to lead generation in SEO, traffic volume can cover the sins of poor calls to action.
But, lead generation means you’ll need content that REALLY stands out. Effective SEO strategies require iteration. Focus on valuable insights, not vanity metrics.
Keep updating and tweaking on and off-site, monitoring SEO performance, and tracking conversion rates until you are able to rank for the short tail keywords you desire.
Don’t waste time on making content marketing that serves your interests; focus on your readers’ interests, and the traffic and leads will come!
Final Thoughts
When executed correctly, SEO lead generation strategy drives as many leads as possible while building long-term authority. Focus on search engine optimization, relevant content, and targeted SEO strategies to attract high quality leads your sales team can convert.
SEO isn’t just about traffic—it’s about generating high quality leads that fuel real growth.
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