Links trump traffic when it comes to search engines. Dixon Jones at Majestic shared great tips on getting better backlinks and therefore improving your search engine rankings. 

Here's a few actionable ones:

1. Sort out your 404 error pages and redirect. Raw log files or Google search console can help you find those.
2. Find underperforming pages and link to then internally (where it makes sense)
3. Original research people can reference is ideal for longevity