To improve the quality of your search engine traffic, we simply focus on the very specific search terms that represent the type of visitor you want. If you sell "toy wooden boats," then target that search precisely, instead of the more generic "toys." The more specific the search term, the more precisely you can target the desired visitor.

The benefits of targeted traffic are many: higher conversion rates, lower costs, and a better experience for all of your site's visitors

A strategy of precisely targeting search engine users can usually be accomplished at a very low cost. For many site owners, it's as simple as reformatting your web pages to optimize for the keywords that you're already using. The web abounds with free advice on how to optimize a web page - stick to the basics, no fancy tricks, and that's all it takes.

The disadvantage of this approach is that the volume of traffic is likely to be very low. Simply optimizing your content will gain you a lot of rankings for less competitive search terms, but not necessarily top rankings. The more unique content you have on your site, the more traffic you'll get, but there are limits.

As a first step, this is an excellent choice, but long term success will demand more from you. A great deal of SEO effort today is focused on generic search terms that aren't well targeted, but the trend over time is for all search terms to become more competitive. Even extremely targeted search terms may have "accidental" competition from less relevant sites, due to the far-reaching impact of link popularity campaigns.

There are several ways to increase the amount of targeted search engine traffic your site attracts. The main methods are: keyword research to improve focus and uncover more search terms; content development to target more search terms; strategic link development to improve rankings; and pay-per-click advertising to increase your overall presence.

The least expensive of these methods is keyword research. Simply discovering the most popular combinations of search terms, and refocusing existing content to target the best search terms, will undoubtedly improve your overall results. Thorough keyword research is fundamental to any "better traffic" strategy.

Content development may not cost much, depending on your business. Many businesses have a wealth of content in marketing materials, technical documentation, even their email support archives. All they have to do is repurpose it for online use. To cover a broader range of search terms, most sites need additional content.

Some search terms, no matter how specific, will attract more competition. A #1 ranking can easily bring in ten times the traffic of a #10 position, and the difference is often a matter of a few well-targeted incoming links. Spending a little time or money to get those links can dramatically improve your rankings and traffic.