5/7/2010
SEO Tip – Don’t Overlook Conversion Optimization
It’s easy to get caught up in traffic numbers, especially when your search engine optimization (SEO) program kicks into full gear and you start seeing hefty increases in organic and referred traffic. But no matter how many visitors come to your site, the question you have to ask is this -
Is my traffic converting?
A common strategic trap companies fall into is devoting all their resources to building traffic and little or none to converting it. It’s a strange phenomenon. Part of the problem is lack of awareness. At this point, everybody knows what SEO is – at least vaguely. It’s been a couple years since I’ve talked to a firm that didn’t think SEO was important. (That doesn’t always translate into taking action. Knowing something is important and doing something about it are two very different things.)
Conversion Optimization Isn’t Just for E-commerce Sites
Conversion optimization, in contrast, is not widely understood outside the e-commerce world. (If you operate an online store and don’t understand conversion, you won’t be in business very long.) What prevails is a build-it-and-they-shall-come mentality. The goal of the website, apparently, is to be like Disneyland with free rides: Huge crowds of people looking at really cool stuff and not spending any money.
For companies whose sites are mainly corporate billboards, conversion is nowhere on the radar screen. Even companies that are blogging and actively engaged in social media often focus on SEO related metrics such as rankings, inbound links, referred traffic, and mentions. This is all good stuff, but again: If your rankings top out on every term, if you’ve loads of links, tons of traffic and mountains of mentions, but nothing is converting, what do you have at the end of the day?
You might be expecting me to answer that question by saying, “Nothing.” That would be quite an overstatement, though. A strong search engine presence and a high profile in social media absolutely advance brand strength, brand awareness, thought leadership, and authority. But in terms of ROI, in terms of getting the full value from your SEO investment, nothing sweetens the pot like well qualified leads and new orders.
Ideas for Optimizing Your Site for Conversion
- Offer a signup for a company email.
- Offer a signup for a free white paper. If it’s extremely valuable information, consider charging for it.
- If you have a blog, promote RSS and email subscriptions strongly across the site.
- Overhaul your Contact Us page. Give visitors specific prompts to guide them along the right follow-up path. Example: Rather than displaying a blank text box with the command, Contact us with your question, have a drop down menu with options such as, Click here to schedule a 20-minute consultation with our ABC product specialist.
- Analyze your site navigation. Is it intuitive? Can visitors easily find the information they need?
- Review your site design with professional designers. Where information is placed on a Web page, color schemes, font styles and sizes, and a host of other considerations have enormous impact on whether visitors take action.
- Punch up your content. Flat writing gets flat line results. Does your Web copy give visitors a reason to stick around and explore? Does it motivate them to take the next step?
- Add images and video. Words are powerful. Images and human interaction are more powerful still. Well crafted images and video create strong connections with visitors and the right message will lead them to action.
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