How I Boost Website Traffic Fast With the “Low Hanging Fruit” Content Refresh
I want to share a simple SEO method that I use to get more traffic from Google. It is free, it only takes a few minutes, and it can give you three, five, or even ten times more clicks. I call it the Low Hanging Fruit Content Refresh.
This method has worked for my clients. In just a few weeks, their rankings improved, and some even got featured snippets for their target keywords. I use it at the start of almost every SEO project because it gives fast results and builds a strong base for more advanced work later.
Step 1 – Find Keywords in Positions 5 to 15
The first thing I do is find the keywords where my site already ranks in Google. I am not looking for every keyword. I only care about the ones that are close to the top. The sweet spot is between position 5 and position 15.
Why this range? Because these keywords are already doing well enough to get some clicks, but they are not yet in the top spots. Moving them up is much easier than trying to take a keyword from page 10 all the way to page 1. With just a few changes, you can see big results.
To find these keywords, I use Google Search Console. Here’s what I do:
- I log in to Google Search Console.
- I go to Search Results under the Performance section.
- I tick the box for Average Position so I can see where each keyword ranks.
- I click the filter icon and choose “Position greater than 4.9.”
- Now I have a list of keywords that rank in position 5 or lower.
This filter lets me see the low hanging fruit right away.
Why the 5–15 Range Works
Let’s talk numbers. The first position in Google gets about 45.8% of all clicks. Position 2 gets much less, and the drop continues as you move down the page. By the time you reach position 10, the click-through rate (CTR) is only about 1.42%.
That’s a huge gap. If I have a page in position 10 that gets only 10 clicks a month, moving it to position 5 could bring in around 68 clicks a month. If I somehow get it to position 1, that same page could get 318 clicks a month. That’s 32 times more traffic without writing a brand-new post.
When you do this for several keywords at once, the extra clicks add up fast.
Step 2 – Choose the Target Keyword
Once I find a keyword in positions 5–15, I choose one to improve. I click the keyword in Google Search Console. This shows me the page that ranks for it. Then I click that page to remove the keyword filter and see all the other queries that lead people to that page.
This step is important because sometimes the keyword with the highest clicks or impressions may not be the best choice. I want a keyword that matches the page’s topic and also fits my goals.
For example, I had a blog post about writing songs. My keyword in position 10 was “how to write a good song.” It matched the post perfectly and had the most clicks and impressions. That made it my target keyword.
Step 3 – Use the “Three Kings” Method
Now comes the main change. I take my target keyword and place it in three key spots on the page. These are what I call the Three Kings:
- The Title Tag
- The H1 Heading
- The First Sentence or First Paragraph
Google looks at these places to figure out what the page is about. If your target keyword is missing from them, you might be sending mixed signals to the search engine.
I also like to add the keyword to the URL and the meta description if it makes sense. These are not big ranking factors, but they can help with click-through rates.
Real Examples of the Three Kings
If you search for “what is the stock market,” the first result is from Investopedia. They have the keyword in the URL, the H1 heading, and the title tag. They also give a clear answer in the first paragraph. They even repeat the definition in several spots so both readers and Google know exactly what the page covers.
Another example is “how to design a logo.” Wix ranks number one for this. The keyword is in the URL, the H1, the title tag, and the first paragraph.
These examples show why placing your keyword in the Three Kings is so powerful.
Step 4 – Make the Changes
Once I know my target keyword, I edit my page. I add the keyword to the title tag, the H1, and the first paragraph. I also adjust the meta description.
In my songwriting example, my page was originally optimized for “how to write a song.” I changed it to “how to write a good song” in all the Three Kings spots. This only took about 30 seconds.
Small edits like this can have a big effect because they make your page clearer to Google.
Step 5 – Ask Google to Re-Crawl the Page
After I make the changes, I want Google to see them as soon as possible. I go back to Google Search Console, click URL Inspection, and paste the page URL. Then I click Request Indexing.
This tells Google I have made changes and want the page re-crawled. Google will eventually re-crawl on its own, but this speeds things up.
Step 6 – Repeat the Process
This is not a one-time trick. I repeat it for other keywords in the 5–15 range. Each time I make a small change, I have a chance to push that keyword higher and get more traffic. Over time, these gains can be huge.
When This Is Not Enough
Sometimes I make the changes, but nothing happens after a few weeks. If that happens, I know the page may need more work.
The most important thing is matching search intent. This means your page must give people what they are looking for when they search that keyword. If the top results are guides, and your page is just a sales page, it will not rank well.
For example, if you try to rank for “integrated development environment” with a product page, you will lose to sites that explain what an IDE is. In that case, you need to either change your content to match the intent or choose a different keyword.
Study the Top Results
When I want to improve a page, I study the top three results in Google. I look at every detail:
- How long is the content?
- What topics do they cover?
- Do they have images, videos, or charts?
- Do they include expert quotes?
I make sure my page is as good or better. If their guide is 2,000 words, mine should be at least that thorough. If they use images, I add high-quality images too.
Use Surfer SEO for On-Page Help
I often use a tool called Surfer SEO. It compares my content to the top ranking pages for my keyword and gives me suggestions. It shows me which terms I am missing, how many images to use, and even my word count compared to others.
For example, when I checked my “how to write a good song” post, Surfer SEO told me I was missing the term “chord progression.” That is an important topic in songwriting. By adding it naturally into my article, I make it more complete for both readers and Google.
The Role of Backlinks
If I do all of this and still do not rank well, the problem may be backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your page. They act as votes of trust in the eyes of Google.
Getting backlinks is a big topic, but the main idea is to create useful, shareable content and reach out to people who might link to it.
Final Thoughts
The Low Hanging Fruit Content Refresh is one of the fastest ways to get more traffic from Google without creating new content. By finding keywords in positions 5–15, choosing the right target keyword, adding it to the Three Kings, and making small on-page improvements, you can see results in days or weeks.
It is simple, quick, and free. And once you know how to do it, you can apply it to any website.
