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Conversion Optimization Part 4 – Landing Page Optimization
So now you are starting to get some decent traffic to your site or you have taken the plunge with Google Adwords, but, as fate would have it, none of these new visitors you have invested your time, energy, effort or capital in are converting into leads or customers. Why not? You have a great looking website, you invested in Adwords spend to drive traffic, what is going on? Great question…I’m so glad you asked. This article is going to discuss “Landing Page Optimization” for more (or better) conversions into leads or sales. Believe it or not, conversion optimization is a BIG DEAL out there in ecommerce land. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of companies out there that have built very successful business models just helping other companies master this much needed skill.
So what can I expect as far as a conversion rate on organic traffic?
The average website is converting less than 1% of all organic traffic! That’s right…less than 1%! A good site that has some experience and is making an effort to actually convert traffic may see as much as 1-3% organically. And, if you are in the 3-5% range for organic traffic conversions you are doing better than 98% of all websites on the internet. You may be thinking; “3-5%? That’s nothing! Why am I wasting my time?” Hold on there cowboy. Have you done the math? Try this on for size:
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Conversion Optimization Part 3
In this article, we’re going to cover how to guide your visitors through your website or landing page and point them to a further action. As we have talked about before, it does no good to have the best, coolest looking web site in the world if you are not turning any of your visitors into paying customers. The first steps of course Building Trust and Aligning Your Website and Business Goals, covers the basic of website design and flow needed in order to attract and hold your visitor attention. Now let’s discuss the science of getting them to buy something through the process of a conversion funnel.
Creating Value –
One of the very first things you need to establish and quickly mind you, is value. Your visitors need to see that you offer something of value to them. This can be accomplished numerous ways. I usually prefer a nice <H1> Header or Good Graphic with compelling text that is placed above the fold, has high contrast coloring and clearly states the value that you offer to your visitors. An example:
- <H1>”We have the best mortgage interest rates in the country with NO closing costs”</H1>
For someone who searched for “low interest mortgage loans” or “no closing cost refinancing” and landed on a page with this at the very top of the page, it screams to them “You are in the right place!”
So now that they know they are in the right place, now what? Sometimes the above value statement is enough to get that conversion (lead data or sale). Other times you need to provide more information for them. This will also add credibility and authority to your page so don’t shy away from this part. Get real, show even more value and advantages about doing business with you. I prefer a short opening paragraph (2-3 sentences MAX) and then 3-6 bullet points. Anything more than that and you may lose their attention. Keep your information short and avoid industry jargon that might not be understood by someone not familiar with your business. Some example bullet points that would complement the above header:
- Close in less than 30 days!
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd mortgages!
- No closing costs!
- Less than perfect credit is OKAY!
Call to Actions (CTA) –
Now that you created value and you have their attention, it’s time to start placing “call to actions” in the body of your message. A call to action is simply a statement that directs the visitor to interact with you on some level. It encourages them to take the next step. Example CTA’s:
- Request more information now!
- Apply Today!
- Call Us Today!
- Start Now!
Typically for CTA’s, I will use no less than 5 on a Paid Search campaign and no less than 3 on any Conversion Page on an organic site. I have used as many as 11 before. The point is, there really is no telling at what point the visitor will be motivated to take that next action. Make sure you strategically place your CTA’s throughout your landing page so that you don’t miss any opportunities to convert that visitor!
One last note on PAID SEARCH Landing pages. If you are investing in a Paid Search Campaign, you will want to concentrate your efforts and put a lot of thought into crafting your value statement and CTA’s. Then, once that’s done, make sure you strip your landing page of useless distractions like “about us” links and social media links. Save those for the confirmation page AFTER they requested more information, signed up for your mailing list or actually bought something from you!
Next up in the series…”Best Practices for Web Forms” followed by “Conversion Measurement and Testing”. Stay tuned for more!
If you found this article helpful and you enjoyed it, please take a minute and share it [CTA] through any of the social media share buttons located throughout the site. We love our social media friends and the shares we get and we certainly will return the favor when and where possible. You can also comment [CTA] in the comments section below and regular commenters receive “Do-Follow” link status to help you with your SEO program!
Click-finders.com offers a full range of Internet Marketing services including Affordable SEO Services, PPC Management, Social Media, Inbound Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and more. Contact us [CTA] through www.click-finders.com, Twitter, Facebook and our Organic SEO Blog to learn more about Organic Search Engine Optimization and even request a FREE SEO Website Analysis! [CTA]
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Quality Content is the Heart of any good SEO program!
At click-finders, we like to think that the entire process of online promotions – with SEO related activities being the majority of our core work – is like the working machinery of a clock tower (or any time piece for that matter): the gears move all the time and the machinery is forever in motion, whether you see the gears turning or not. Of course, all websites can’t afford to be as nonchalant as actual clock towers are, can they? When lively hoods and jobs depend on sales and when the website is counted on for all of, or a portion of those sales, then it hurts when no one visits that website. In addition to that, when your content isn’t shared on Twitter and Facebook, not only does it sting a bit personally, it’s also a possible indication of website activity, which us why the major search engines like Google and Bing are placing more and more emphasis on social signals. That’s why internet marketing – including SEO – isn’t a one off marketing method anymore; there are many aspects and tools that must be employed successfully in order to win in the game of SEO. The problem is everyone wants it today! They want the success and benefits of good SEO Services without doing the work. You’ll be forgiven to think “short-term” and “instant” because that’s how we’ve all been spoiled and pampered in today’s fast paced, “got to have it now” society. In fact, be careful if you think that way with SEO because you are sure to be disappointed (best case scenario) and financially hurt (worst case scenario) if you fall into the trap of a disreputable SEO who promises one thing and delivers another.
“There are no magic tricks to ranking well. No secrets that I can share that will have you on the top of Google tomorrow for a competitive keyword. There is hard work, technical aspects, ups and downs and a commitment to this marketing method that you have never experienced before. But if you do it well, the payoff can change your business forever!”
Start with your own content
First of all, are you building content on your website? Is it industry related to the products and services you are offering? If you are, then let’s assume that all of the individual pieces of the content you produce are like individual products. If your blog posts, articles, whitepapers, reports, and social media content were to have a price tag, what would they be worth? Would you look at your own content as something you would actually pay for? Is it so valuable to your potential visitors that they would pay for it? If not, you may want to rethink your content strategy.
Be in the mindset that every post, article, or report could have made you money if you sold those pieces individually (complete with copyrights). Only, you don’t charge for such information. You give it away for your readers for free on your blog or perhaps as a digital download.
It’s this kind of information that’s shared, commented on, and linked to in today’s internet world. Do you see the SEO part kicking in? All those social signals pointing to your site, the numerous natural inbound links, the natural referral traffic – all this increases your opportunities to rank well while giving tremendous value to your readers.
Social Media
Recently, we published a post on the possible ROI of Twitter [What is the ROI for 10,000 Tweets on Twitter]. If we wanted to, we could spend countless man-hours analyzing the impact of our social media efforts on our business. You could do the same for your own business. But we would be missing the point entirely: Social Media isn’t like advertising on mass media. Don’t get us wrong, measure your efforts and ROI, but don’t lose sight of the fact that social media is about sharing, not selling. Social media is about being “social”; it’s about the strength of your core network. It’s about the unhindered word going out when your brand, products, and services are discussed. And when you do it really well, even “you” as a person will be discussed. Somehow, somewhere, all of this tends to come together and mean something for you, your brand, and your ROI.
The work is a never-ending cycle and is certainly resource-intensive; it takes patience and resolve. It needs you to be committed and relentless. But if you are, the rewards are limitless. Are you ready to succeed in internet marketing and SEO?
If you found this article helpful and you enjoyed it, please take a minute and share it through any of the social media share buttons located throughout the site. We love our social media friends and the shares we get and we certainly will return the favor when and where possible. You can also comment in the comments section below and regular commenters receive “Do-Follow” link status to help you with your SEO program!
click-finders.com offers a full range of Internet Marketing services including Affordable SEO Services, PPC Management, Social Media, Inbound Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and more. Contact us through www.click-finders.com, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and our Organic SEO Blog to learn more about Organic Search Engine Optimization and even request a FREE SEO Website Analysis.
Credit for image [Table of Elements for SEO] – http://searchengineland.com/seotable
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Does SEO Still Work?
It’s a question that is being asked all over the internet, by business owners, traditional marketing professionals and even the media. Google is busy fighting spam. Google has taken it upon itself to free the Internet of varying degrees of spam, black-hat riddled websites, poor content, and almost anything else that doesn’t serve the searcher/reader. The seemingly inconspicuous question “Does SEO still work?” has spun off multiple threads on SEO forums, Q & A sites such as Quora, and countless number of blog posts. It’s time to get real and understand a few undeniable truths about SEO.
Having been in the SEO business for so long, it’s hard for us not to respond to that question, so we will. Here are some truths about SEO (search engine optimization) you must learn to accept, in a post Penguin and Panda update era:
SEO that works: the hard, slow and painstaking real content generation SEO does still work!
The easy route to search domination is to follow ‘SEO Shortcuts’ or perhaps rub a little evil on and indulge in Black Hat SEO techniques. The short answer is that none of those will work with any lasting effects. As Ruth Burr writes in her post SEO isn’t Magic: So Stop SEO Tricks, without the little shortcuts, SEO is undeniably, resource-heavy, technically difficult, and time-consuming. Today, it’s evident more than ever that only the right kind of SEO works. The emphasis is on great content, natural link-building, and judicial use of keywords when it’s natural and makes sense only.
Content is the new SEO insurance plan
There’s a reason why companies such as Hubspot, Kiss Metrics and SEOmoz have proven to be authority sites in their respective niches. It’s not surprising since they base their marketing on content. Any random magazine with an online presence sees more traffic and engagement per reader than a website that spends more time on ineffective SEO techniques than on developing content.
For a website, blog, or a company seeking to establish presence on the web, content is where the focus should have been. Good SEO starts from there. You work so hard to bring visitors to your website, but we beg to ask you: what will they get when they finally arrive? Make it worth their visit, give them something no one else can….your unique and genuine content.
How do you build great content? Focus on retaining your personality, make strong and educated opinions, and bring in humor if you can. If there is one insurance plan you can to hold steady in the wake of Google’s periodic and unpredictable storms, it will always be content.
Some things about SEO will never change
Good HTML coding with sensible use of keywords in the Title tag, Meta tags and on-page content is not going to change anytime soon. Nor will the need to practice good solid link building. The difference in today’s post Panda and Penguin updates is that low quality links mean less than ever before for ranking purposes. Good quality links are essential, that combined with a good content strategy and a solid social media presence and you will find yourself quickly climbing the rankings.
If you found this article helpful and you enjoyed it, please take a minute and share it through any of the social media share buttons located throughout the site. We love our social media friends and the shares we get and we certainly will return the favor when and where possible. You can also comment in the comments section below and regular commenters receive “Do-Follow” link status to help you with your SEO program!
click-finders.com offers a full range of Internet Marketing services including Affordable SEO Services, PPC Management, Social Media, Inbound Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and more. Contact us through www.click-finders.com, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and our Organic SEO Blog to learn more about Organic Search Engine Optimization and even request a FREE SEO Website Analysis.
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If you are involved in SEO, Social Media Marketing or any form of Internet (or traditional) Marketing whatsoever, you are probably always trying to calculate the Return on Investment for your efforts and expenses. In fact there are many sources out there like Computer World, Blog Tyrant, and Hubspot (just to name a few) that have attempted to do just that for Social Media and for the most part, they do a great job. This article however is simply going to talk about Twitter and what we have seen before, during and after 10,000 Tweets. Is it an actual ROI…you decide!
So how did we do that? 10,000 Tweets. Well it certainly did not happen overnight and it certainly was not consistent. We had good months on Twitter and bad months on Twitter. Just like anything else. Here is a small sampling of how we tweeted over the past 18 months:
So what kind of ROI (Return on Investment) have we had on our Twitter account? Great question. Here just a few stats:
- 46.63% of all Tweets were RT’s or @ Replies – Not as good as we would have liked…but hey, we’re still learning!
- 30 confirmed sales leads came in from Twitter – I don’t care who you…that’s GOOD !
- At least 5 new business relationships that have benefited click-finders have been developed, nurtured and cultivated 100% on Twitter. – Again, I don’t care who you are…that’s GOOD !
- Our home page has been RT’d over 7K times! – Gotta love the exposure on this stat!
- One of our blog posts has been RT’d over 100K times! – Still wonderfully surprised and astounded by this stat! It was a guest post by our good friend and colleague Mr. Scott Kindred of Safehouseweb. See how #3 above works?
What else has Twitter done for us?
Added real value and measureable attributes to our Social Media presence and marketing strategy. Everyone knows by now (or least they should) that ALL of the major search engines are using social media signals (likes, +’s and yes…TWEETS) as ranking factors. If you are not active on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, you are most likely losing ground in the SERP’s. The Hubspot chart below shows a marketing score of 90 for our website, and look at what one of the ranking factors are…that’s right, our Twitter presence!
Twitter has also helped build our visibility in ways we NEVER thought were possible!
This mention on the Home Page of Socialstage is not only very much unexpected, it’s greatly appreciated. It’s one of the little hidden benefits of Twitter and other Social Media outlets. They did this mention without me even knowing about it, yet it was out of appreciation for my tweet regarding there Blog post. Hey, it was great content and we love to share great content!
A final word about this accomplishment, blog post and Twitter overall. We don’t do Twitter as well as could. We are still learning. The point of this post is show the average small business owner that anyone can positively impact their business with Twitter. It just takes a little elbow grease, a little ingenuity and creative thinking and you can make a difference to your business as well.
If you found this article helpful and you enjoyed it, please take a minute and share it through any of the social media share buttons located throughout the site. We love our social media friends and the shares we get and we certainly will return the favor when and where possible. You can also comment in the comments section below and regular commenters receive “Do-Follow” link status to help you with your SEO program!
click-finders.com offers a full range of Internet Marketing services including Affordable SEO Services, PPC Management, Social Media, Inbound Marketing, Affiliate Marketing and more. Contact us through www.click-finders.com, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and our Organic SEO Blog to learn more about Organic Search Engine Optimization and even request a FREE SEO Website Analysis.
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