Achieving substantial traffic for your website through effective SEO practices is a commendable feat. Take a moment to acknowledge your proficiency in areas like keyword research, metadata, and UX that contribute to boosting those traffic figures!
However, it’s time to shift gears from celebration to a crucial question: how much of that traffic is translating into meaningful conversions?
SEOs can’t solely focus on transactional keywords or rely on landing pages geared toward direct responses. A significant portion of the content we generate or optimize is geared towards educational and awareness-building efforts—think insightful position pieces, guides, and instructive blog posts. Consequently, acquisition rates may not match those of paid traffic sources.
Yet, this shouldn’t serve as an excuse to settle for subpar conversion numbers. Savvy brands (or clients in the agency realm) will challenge you to elevate your game, turning that traffic into valuable leads and sales. Astute SEO practitioners will embrace this challenge wholeheartedly, putting into action the following nine strategies to achieve tangible results.
1. Diversify In-Content CTAs:
- Experiment with various in-content calls-to-action (CTAs) on landing pages and blog posts. Test different elements such as language, design, placement, and style to find the most effective approach for driving acquisitions.
2. Explore Varied Offers:
- Don’t limit yourself to hard sells; consider softer lead magnets or giveaways related to your content. Testing different offers, like newsletters or event guides, can attract more email addresses and engage your audience effectively.
3. Align CTAs with Content:
- Increase relevance by tailoring CTAs to the specific content users are viewing. If a visitor lands on a blog about product A, present a CTA specific to that product, enhancing the likelihood of conversion.
4. Test Out-of-Content CTAs:
While in-line CTAs work, experimenting with placements such as sidebars, top-nav drop-downs, or banners can yield valuable insights. Monitor both conversion and bounce rates to refine your approach.
5. Prolong the Content Journey:
For educational content, guide users through the site before requesting information. Map related content to gently lead users toward the middle or lower funnel, signaling their increased likelihood to provide information.
6. Foster Engagement Pre-Conversion:
Warm up users by providing engaging activities. Surveys, for example, can not only collect valuable data but also serve as a pathway to acquiring user information.
7. Utilize Heatmaps:
Leverage tools like Hotjar and FullStory to understand user interaction across your site. Identify key engagement areas and ensure users have clear paths to conversion.
8. Learn from High-Performing Content:
Analyze Google Analytics to uncover posts or pages with high conversion rates despite lower traffic. Replicate successful elements, whether in language, product information, or CTA type, on more popular pages.
9. Conduct Qualitative Research:
- Gather insights from current users through qualitative research. Understand their preferences, what catches their eye, and what entices them to sign up. This anecdotal information can inspire new, effective testing ideas.
Enhancing Your Website’s Conversion Performance
We have extensively discussed evaluating SEO efforts beyond keyword ranking, impressions, and clicks to gauge business impact. If you’re drawing substantial traffic to your properties, you’ve laid a strong foundation for positioning SEO as a significant growth catalyst. However, the key is not just to build a base but to continually expand it. Implementing the aforementioned strategies will amplify SEO’s influence throughout the funnel, aligning with the ultimate goal. Elevating the pipeline and revenue directly linked to SEO is a powerful means to solidify your team’s reputation as a pivotal growth resource within the larger organization.
To learn more about how we can help you succeed, contact us at (866) 270-2250 or complete our contact form today.