Saturday, November 26, 2011

SEO's Dirty Small Secret - How to Score Top Rankings and Lose Sale

By Sara Mark


A cautionary tale of winning top look for engine rankings and losing sales

Jupiter Search predicts on the internet ad spending will achieve and exceed 18 billion money by 2010. But how significantly of that targeted traffic actually converts to sales? First write-up Google ranking may be the ultimate quest of Internet marketing, but converting targeted visitors into shoppers stands out as the Holy Grail.

Heavy web site targeted visitors and top look for engine rankings don't guarantee each impressive sales. As well often, SEO organizations suck businesses to the mindless pursuit of being variety one on Google. Claiming bragging rights to individuals coveted spots are seductive, but being at the top doesn't pay the bills.

There's a dirty little secret during the SEO marketplace proper now and knowing what it's and how to avoid it techniques the difference in between getting customers who glimpse and ones who buy.

Before you hire an SEO business or perform any optimization yourself, find SEO's dirty smaller secret first.

A case learn over a damage SEO can do for ones sales

An attorney hires an SEO company to generate leads from his net site. The contract word is for 3 months at $1400 per month. Services include pay-per-click ads and Google AdWords. First write-up search engine effects are guaranteed. The attorney expects leads to arrive pouring in inside the very first 3 days. No SEO website jobs or copywriting is performed or even suggested.

The first month netted A single buyer out of 2,356 hits. Billing 5 hours at $200/hour resulted in a loss of $400 to obtain that a single client. Click-through rates inside the ads were respectable, but bounce rates were too. Statistics showed site visitors spent less than Two seconds over a landing page and rarely clicked additional to the site. This trend continued throughout the Three months.

$4200 goes down the drain. This case understand is not distinct in any way. There's no shortage of businesses spending thousands or tens of thousands of money on SEO businesses and either don't measure the ROI or are grossly disappointed in the results.

If a business doesn't divulge SEO's dirty little secret, run- do not walk, the other way

The SEO company should have reviewed the net web site copywriting and design before generating an SEO strategy, a smaller amount heading full throttle on the campaign. Sure, the company delivered in traffic, but failed miserably from the sales department. Sales are the bottom line for any business, not traffic. And right here in lies the dirty tiny secret: SEO effects only in traffic. But conversion optimization results in sales.

Business can't live on targeted visitors alone

Conversion optimization (CO) may be the process by which your internet site copy and internet site function removes barriers restricting targeted visitors from completing your site's goal- whether it is purchasing, subscribing, filling out a contact type or downloading material. SEO brings visitors for the site, but CO compels them to act.

The attorney's internet site content was weak and bleak- a mere bullet factor list of services. All that targeted traffic hit the world wide web highway searching for one more attorney who proved he cared about their case, had the skills to win it and also the experience to accomplish so. This attorney extremely most likely has these qualities and more, but traffic never gave him a chance.

Investing in a conversion optimization strategy very first would have changed this situation study drastically. Following signing a $4200 SEO contract, the attorney opted to forego the additional expense. But inside the end, a CO investment would have saved him thousands of cash and who knows how numerous clients.

A bonus: conversion optimized web site copy would have improved his organic look for effects long right after the PPC and AdWords campaigns ended.

4 steps to avoid the attorney's fate

Step 1: Evaluate your internet site's analytics and statistics

Through your web site host or a technique like Google Analytics, you have entry to everything visitor behavior-related. What article they state on, what article they leave from and how long they stay. This info tells in which to begin your conversion optimization strategy.

For example, a PPC ad delivers site visitors to a landing write-up in your newsletter subscription. If the ad brings 100 visitors, Five sign up and 95 click off in a smaller amount than 2 seconds, you know wherever to start- beef up the copywriting on the landing page. Bailing on a order form? Function may be the issue.

Step 2: Believe being a visitor, be the visitor

To optimize your web site for conversions, you must see its usability from a visitor's perspective and improve the function while streamlining the action process.

o Improve the navigation. The less clicks to have on the desired action, the better.

o Streamline the action process. Navigate the method regularly to check for error messages or snags.

o Test and double test the e-commerce system. Use a procedure that does not bog down or scare away the buyer. Again, the less steps the better. And offer aid along the way.

Step 3: Earn trust to earn business

Along with website copy that doesn't read like infomercial regurgitation, add other points that promote and build trust.

o Use the newest secure encryption method and make sure your clients know you use it. Ordering pages need to have https, not http. Effortless icons and verbiage go a extended way.

o Preserve security certificates current. Quite a few browsers display invalid/expired certificate warnings.

o Emphasize service guarantees and product warranties. Consider offering an extra protection layer that competitors don't. Advertise this in PPC ads too.

o Review your content. Answer queries on-site that your CSRs generally field. FAQs work well for services. Offer spec sheets for products.

Step 4: Don't ignore human nature

Impulse buys occur on the internet just as they do in physical stores. Make it easy for customers to add on to a purchase. Amazon offers free shipping on orders over $25.00. Do people add an merchandise to a $19.99 obtain to receive free shipping? You bet they do.

o Highlight other popular products, greatest sellers or "others who bought this merchandise also purchased..."

o Introduce new products/services alongside established ones. "If you like this, you'll adore this."

o Enhancements and other complementary products/services like batteries, cables, etc.




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