How to improve your journal 's impact factor in 12 months
1. Starting point: a slowly moving indicator
The Journal Impact Factor measures citations received on articles published in the previous two years. Its narrow timeframe penalizes disciplines where knowledge matures slowly. However, accreditation committees still consider it. The challenge is to boost this figure without resorting to shortcuts—massive self-citations, poorly written review articles—that ultimately damage reputation.
Dr. López, editor of the Journal of Engineering , saw her Journal's Impact Factor (JIF) remain at 0.6 for three years. The diagnosis revealed two problems: editorial delays (70 days until the first decision) and low digital visibility. The plan she adopted in 2024, which we replicate here with her permission, combined process efficiency, thematic calls for submissions, and targeted dissemination.
2. Diagnosis (Month 0)
Before moving forward, you need to understand where you are:
- Create a Google Sheets document that allows you to visualize your key editorial metrics and citations. You can use tools like Dimensions or Scopus to automatically import your article data.
- Start by calculating your journal 's self-citation rate. If it exceeds 20%, you should establish a clear editorial policy that limits its use and ensures responsible citation. Self-citations are not inherently bad, but excessive self-citation can reduce credibility and even lead to penalties in certain databases .
- Next, identify the articles with the greatest citation potential. In almost all journal , 10% of the articles generate 50% of the citations. Identifying these will allow you to understand what type of content generates real impact and how to replicate it in future calls for submissions.
3. Strategic axes (Month 1–12)
3.2 Andean Geology Bulletin
Organizing special issues on emerging topics such as diagnostic AI or green hydrogen attracts manuscripts with a high probability of being cited. Inviting top-cited authors with a personalized email increases the response rate by 18%, according to Scholarly Kitchen (2024).
3.2 Reduce the time-to-decision to less than 30 days
An article accepted in February has eight more months to be cited than one accepted in October. Index integrates automatic reminders; designing incentives for reviewers—certificates, public recognition—accelerates the process.
3.3 Immediate Open Access
Releasing the final version with an active DOI as soon as it passes typesetting increases downloads by 1.8 times (Unpaywall data, 2023). If your budget doesn't cover APC, opt for open licenses and repository deposits.
3.4 Intelligent diffusion
Organize short webinars where the author explains their findings; turn them into 90-second clips for social media. Include the DOI in the description and a link to the HTML version—which is lighter than the PDF for mobile devices.
3.5 Responsible Citation Supervision
An internal committee reviews each issue before deadline to detect excessive self-citations or irrelevant references. Documenting this practice adds transparency and avoids penalties from Clarivate.
4. Detailed Calendar
Month | Aim | Indicator | Tool |
1 | Complete diagnosis | Dashboard ready | Sheets + Dimensions |
2 | Call to special issue | ≥ 20 shipments | MailMerge |
3 | Decision in ≤ 35 days | Monthly average | Index analytics |
4 | Publish 5 OA articles | Active DOIs | Crossref |
5 | SEO Campaign | Visits ↑ 30% | Screaming Frog |
6 | Webinar with key authors | 100 attendees | Zoom |
7 | Self-citation review | < 18 % | Sheets |
8 | Second thematic call | 15 articles | MailChimp |
9 | Clips on social media | Altmetric ↑ | Buffer |
10 | Monitoring of alternative metrics | Immediacy +0.1 | Dimensions |
11 | Final pipeline adjustment | TTD ≤ 28 days | Index |
12 | JIF projected evaluation | +0.3 points | Sheets |
5. Complementary metrics that matter
- CiteScore Tracker: updates monthly and offers a broader view.
- Immediacy Index: measures citations in the same year as publishing ; a good short-term indicator.
- Altmetric Attention: values dissemination in media and networks.
Increasing the impact factor of your journal in a year is possible if you have a structured plan and the right support.
Schedule a free 30-minute meeting now with an Index advisor to review your current situation and receive a plan with the three priority actions to improve your visibility and citation.