Underrated SEO Tactics That Boosted Search Rankings

In the ever-evolving world of search engine optimization, staying ahead of the curve requires more than just following the usual best practices. Sometimes, it’s the lesser-known strategies that deliver the most impressive results. We reached out to 13 SEO thought leaders to uncover their most underrated tactics that have significantly boosted search rankings. From creative content approaches to technical optimizations, these expert insights reveal hidden gems that can elevate your SEO game. Dive in to discover the tactics that could transform your website’s performance in search results.

Index Cleanup Boosts Ecommerce Search Visibility

INDEX CLEANUP and CONTENT PRUNING absolutely had a BIG impact on the search visibility of our ecommerce store. We began by singling out aged out product pages, weak blog content, duplicate, or thin category descriptions, anything that wasn't drawing in traffic or conversions. 

After we performed a comprehensive content audit and prune a third of these low-value URLs, we experienced an obvious change: 60 days later, our organic traffic volume spiked by almost 40%, and crawl efficiency significantly enhanced from Google Search Console.

Google definitely rewards clarity and relevance, not just quantity. We were improving user experience by consolidating various overlapped pages and 301'd thin content back up the chain to parent URLs, as well as reducing index bloat, which is something that a lot of webmasters miss out. Less was genuinely MORE. Our crawl budget was now being used for pages that were more likely to perform well, and once this occurred, rankings for our strategically important commercial search terms started to rise.

We've made it part of our quarterly SEO regimen, and the performance gains have been steady. I'd say that if your site's clogged with outdated or low-value content, chances are you're sitting on a wealth of untapped growth.

Aleksa Marjanovic, Founder & Marketing Director, Eternal Urns

Deleting Old Posts Improves Site Performance

Instead of rewriting every old blog post, I experimented with deleting ones that never got traffic or backlinks. I exported content performance data, sorted by zero clicks and zero impressions, and removed anything that hadn't performed in over a year. Then I submitted those URLs for removal in Search Console.

This cleaned up the site and allowed new content to rank faster. Within a month, crawl stats improved and average position lifted across several main pages. It turns out not every piece of content is worth saving. Sometimes, deleting is a better move than rewriting. You help Google focus on your best work, not every draft you've ever published.

Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Kur

GEO Content Boosts E-commerce Search Rankings

Adapting content for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) had a huge impact on search rankings. We recently worked with a client in the e-commerce space who was struggling to rank for location-specific searches. We adjusted their content to align with AI-driven search engines and virtual assistants, which prioritize content designed for generative queries.

We incorporated structured data and natural language processing techniques into the content to ensure it would be picked up by AI-powered systems. We as well optimized the content to answer specific local questions directly, like "where can I buy [product] near me?" and included location tags relevant to their target market. This resulted in a 20% increase in local search visibility and a 15% rise in conversion rates within the first two months.

Dorian Menard, SEO Strategy Director and Founder, Search Scope

LSI Keywords Enhance SEO and Traffic Growth

Using Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords has been the most underrated SEO tactic that significantly improved our search rankings. LSI keywords are terms related to the primary keyword but not necessarily synonyms. These words allow search engines to better understand the context and relevance of content, ensuring it aligns with what users are searching for.

I did this first last year when I optimized content on equipment financing. I targeted keywords like "equipment loans" and "business financing" and then added LSI keywords such as "capital lease," "asset-based lending," and "equipment leasing options." This increased the semantic relevance of our pages. Over the course of three months, organic traffic to our pages grew by 28%, and our rankings for related terms improved. LSI keywords allowed our content to appear for a wider set of search queries, boosting visibility and engagement without keyword stuffing.

Gerti Mema, Marketing Manager, Equipment Finance Canada

Refreshing Old Posts Elevates SEO Rankings

One of the most underrated SEO tactics that's made a big impact for us is updating and re-indexing old blog posts that are sitting on page two or three of the SERPs.

A while back, I was doing a content audit for a client in the B2B tech space. They had a lot of articles, some of them two or three years old, that had solid structure and decent backlinks, but they weren't pulling in the traffic you'd expect based on the quality. We filtered out the posts that were ranking in positions 11 to 30, and instead of rewriting from scratch, we gave them a refresh. That meant tightening up the headers, adding new data, removing fluff, and making sure internal linking was sharp and purposeful. We also updated the publish date and requested reindexing through Search Console.

Within a few weeks, we saw a noticeable uptick in rankings for several of those articles. A few even broke into the top five. No new backlinks, no major overhauls, just smart edits and a re-crawl. It's one of those moves that gets overlooked because it doesn't feel flashy or groundbreaking, but it works consistently if you know how to pick your targets. This strategy has become a regular part of our SEO playbook at Helium. It's low effort

Paul DeMott, Chief Technology Officer, Helium SEO

Content Localization Boosts Hong Kong SEO Rankings

Content localization is game-changing for my SEO work at First Page Digital, where I noticed a 40% boost in Hong Kong search rankings just by adapting our content for local language patterns and cultural references. I recently started creating region-specific landing pages with local case studies and testimonials, which helped our clients connect better with their target audiences and improved their search visibility significantly.

David Cornado, Partner, French Teachers Association of Hong Kong

Anonymous Visitor Tracking Transforms SEO Strategy

In my 20+ years in digital marketing, anonymous visitor tracking has consistently been the most underrated SEO tactic with outsized impact. When we implemented advanced visitor tracking for a fintech SaaS client, we finded 95% of their traffic wasn't converting but showed clear buying signals through their behavior patterns.

By analyzing this anonymous visitor data, we completely restructured their content strategy to address the specific challenges these prospects were researching. This wasn't just basic analytics – we tracked user journeys across multiple site visits and optimized accordingly. Their organic traffic quality improved dramatically, with conversion rates jumping from 2% to 7.5%.

Off-page SEO through strategic content placement rather than just link building is another overlooked approach. For a B2B client, we created industry-specific content on high-authority platforms where their prospects already engaged, rather than chasing random backlinks. This doubled their domain authority in 9 months while delivering qualified traffic that converted at 3x the rate of their previous SEO efforts.

The combination of these approaches works because it focuses on prospect intent rather than just algorithm manipulation. When you understand exactly what your anonymous visitors are searching for before they identify themselves, you can create content that ranks precisely because it delivers what real users want.

Kiel Tredrea, President & CMO, RED27Creative

Optimizing Internal Anchor Text Boosts SEO

One of the most underrated SEO tactics I've used is optimizing internal anchor text. A lot of people focus only on backlinks and overlook how powerful it can be to link between your own pages using clear, keyword-rich anchor text. 

For example, instead of linking with "click here," I use phrases like "best digital marketing tools" if that's what the page is about. It helps Google better understand the structure and relevance of your site, and over time, I've seen this small change boost rankings for important pages.

Rehana Aslam, Search Engine Marketing Specialist, Internet Marketing Firm Net

Schema Markup Yields Big SEO Gains for Startups

Schema markup implementation is hands down the most underrated SEO tactic I've used with startups that delivers outsized results. Most small businesses completely overlook structured data because it seems technical, but it's a relatively simple way to feed search engines exactly what your pages are about.

For a local bakery client, we implemented schema markup that clearly identified their business hours, menu items and customer reviews. Within 6 weeks, their rich snippets started appearing in search results with star ratings and business info directly visible. This led to a 27% increase in click-through rates for local searches.

Another powerful tactic is strategic internal linking based on topic clusters rather than just keyword matching. For a SaaS client, we reorganized their blog content into interconnected topic hubs that significantly improved crawlability and topical authority. Google could better understand their expertise areas, resulting in 18 new first-page rankings for competitive industry terms.

Technical audits focused specifically on Core Web Vitals often reveal low-hanging fruit. I recently helped a mobile app developer who was struggling with organic visibility despite good content. By optimizing their largest contentful paint (LCP) and eliminating cumulative layout shift issues, we improved their mobile usability score by 31 points, which directly correlated with improved rankings for their target keywords.

Rodney Moreland, Founder, Celestial Digital Services

Strategic Internal Linking Reduces Pogo-Sticking

The tactic that I have done that many people don't fully utilize, which had a huge impact on our search rankings, is reducing pogo-sticking through strategic internal linking. It's a simple concept that's often overlooked. When users land on a page and quickly leave to search for better results elsewhere, that signals to Google that the content didn't meet their needs. By guiding users to other relevant pages on your site through carefully placed internal links, you keep them engaged longer, which is a clear signal to Google that your site satisfies search intent.

Danilo Coviello, Digital Marketing Specialist & Founding Partner, Espresso Translations

Rewriting Old Posts Dramatically Improves SEO

Refreshing old blog posts with a full rewrite has done more for our SEO than any new content we pushed. I looked at pages sitting on page two with decent impressions but poor click-throughs and stripped them down to the core question the reader actually cared about. We cut long intros, improved headers, made the layout mobile-friendly, and rewrote every sentence to sound like a conversation, not a lecture. The title alone often needed a total reset. Once we tied in relevant internal links and replaced outdated stats, those posts started ranking again within weeks.

One specific post jumped from position 32 to 5 and brought in over 5,000 new monthly sessions. It converted better too, because the new structure matched what people wanted to see without wasting time. We applied that same update method across our top 20 aging posts and saw a 37 percent lift in organic traffic in two months without increasing publishing volume. That shift told me most brands overlook what's already working. It's not just about writing more—it's about refining what's already in play. If your site has content older than a year, you're likely sitting on opportunity without realizing it. Let me know if you want the checklist we follow during our updates.

Dr. Chad Walding, Chief Culture Officer and Co-Founder, NativePath

Repurposing Content Drives SEO Success

Repurposing and updating old content has been the most underrated SEO tactic I've used that delivered solid results. I've seen old blog posts turn into traffic magnets with the right approach, but it's not just about slapping a new date on an article. It's a process that starts with a content audit. I look at which pages are underperforming, which ones have outdated information, and which keywords they're ranking for. Then I dig into those keywords and see what's missing or what's changed. Maybe a competitor has published something better, or maybe search intent has shifted.

James Myers, Sales Director and Office Manager, VINEVIDA

Bottom-Funnel Articles Enhance SEO and Conversions

One of the most underrated SEO tactics I have used is publishing "bottom of funnel" support-style articles that answer questions our users ask post-purchase. Most people chase high-volume keywords, but I like zeroing in on the stuff people actually type after they have bought something or are about to.

I tested this with a guide titled "Agility Writer advanced settings walkthrough" and saw it rank in the top 3 within a week with zero backlinks. It bring in highly qualified traffic and it also reduced support tickets. It's easy to overlook these kinds of queries because the search volume might be 20 or less, but those clicks often lead to conversions or better retention.

Adam Yong, SEO Consultant & Founder, Agility Writer

Conclusion:

These 13 underrated SEO tactics offer a treasure trove of strategies to enhance your search rankings and drive meaningful results. By thinking outside the box and implementing these expert-recommended approaches, you can uncover new opportunities to optimize your site and outpace the competition. Whether it’s refining your technical SEO, leveraging unique content strategies, or tapping into overlooked tools, the insights shared by these thought leaders prove that sometimes the most impactful tactics are the ones hiding in plain sight. Start experimenting with these ideas today and watch your rankings soar!