How to improve your SEO conversion rate.
How can you make the most of your SEO campaign?
When it comes down to it, SEO is all about a return on investment. Being on a budget as most companies are, you need to put you money where it matters. While a good SEO campaign will drive the traffic you want to your site. If your website design is out dated SEO will only ever be a band aid solution.
Trust in your site:
A recent report from the BBC highlighted that 1 in 5 are worried about purchasing online due to fear of personal security. This is a serious point, but what can you do to reassure the buyer that you are worthy of their business. A well maintained website that is constantly updated, adding client testimonials and security buttons, such as paypal, mastercard secure code and verified by visa, will give buyers the sence of protection they need in order to hand over their bank details and make a purchase.
Site Usability:
I recently came across a fantasitc site, really loved the products and decided to make a purchase. However after clicking add to basket nothing happened, so I added it again, still nothing happened, a couple more tries and then I gave up, they lost a sale. All for the lack of some indication that it had been added to my basket. My point here is get a few friends or family over and ask them to test your site, watch them first and then ask for feed back. You will be suprised at what little changes will make a big difference to your conversion rates.
Call to action:
This one is easy, load up your home page is it instantly obvious how to make an enquiry, phone numbers and a quick contact form are key.
Go long:
There is no denying that ranking on page one for a competative keyword is going to bring you traffic. It wont nessicarily bring conversions. It will also take up alot of your time and resources. A clever way to go about finding where your conversions are coming from is via Google analytics. Have a look at the traffic sources safe in the knowledge that these have already brought you conversions. Long tail keyphrases wont have a high search volume but the user is more likely to know what they want, and are more likely to make a purchase. When looking to buy people will decide what they want, research products that could suit their needs, and at this point are most likely to make a purchase. This is where your blog will come in handy, use it to support your longtail keyphrases, these can be anything from your best selling products to a certain brand.
To sum up, put your money where it counts. Keep your website up to date, a tired dated website will not install trust in buyers, a good SEO campaign will get your visitors to the door, but its unlikely they are going to come in for a cup of tea. Don’t loose sleep over the fact you are not page 1 number 1 for your most competitive keyphrase, catching the people at the bottom of the net with more specific longtail keyphrases will often give you a higher conversion rate.
