Improving Conversion Rates
Website conversion is one of the most crucial goals of search engine optimization. In fact, it can be said to be the most important. But to improve conversion rates means to employ the right optimization strategies and to ensure the best possible on-site user experience at the same time (find out more about conversion rate optimization here).
Improving conversion rates means seeing an increase in the percentage of website visitors who actually convert –whether it’s signing up for an e-mail, sharing a post, or making a purchase – within a certain amount of time.
By 2021, e-commerce is predicted to balloon to a $4.88 trillion-worth industry, almost double from how it was in 2017. This presents a lot of opportunities for any business wanting to penetrate the digital market.
And yet, for many small businesses and startups, conversion can mean small, baby steps that add up in increments over a period of time. Increasing the number of visitors that sign up for your e-mail list or leave comments on your site are all micro-conversions that can slowly but surely lead up to major conversions.
With that said, here are 7 ways you can improve conversion rates for your site through SEO:
#1 Be specific, be relevant
Attracting the right people to your site helps increase conversions. With pages that address specific needs, your visitors are more likely to stay longer on your site. This greatly increases the possibility of conversions.
This is why it helps for your pages to be more user-specific rather than one that aims to please everyone.
If you must target a broader market however, using dynamic content can help. With this content strategy, your site visitors will be fed with more geographically-specific content, depending on where they are located.
#2 Invest in Visuals
Another SEO strategy you can employ to help ramp up conversions is going visual. We’ve all heard that “content is king” but in this time and age, effective content no longer limits itself to blocks of texts or paragraphs.
Images, videos, infographics, and charts can all add up to better engagement. In fact, as much as 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them feel more confident at purchasing certain products or services.
#4 Prioritize site user experience
At the end of the day, it is not the fancy website that improves conversions; it is the one that gives a positive and engaging user experience.
When it comes to optimizing your website or ecommerce site, you will need well-organized pages that seamlessly lead your visitors/audience throughout the steps of the sales process.
Page loading time is also a crucial requirement for improving website conversions. When you have site pages that take longer than 3 seconds to load, you can best expect as much as 53% of your mobile users to abandon your site, pronto.
#5 Consider your content
Despite the importance of keywords and detailed keyword research, it is actually clear and well-written content that improves conversion rates in the end.
This is because great content appeals to the human reader as much as it does for the search engines.
And in addition to bringing images, videos, and infographics to your overall content strategy, you may also want to cater to the skimmers through strategic placement of texts.
With skimming, your site visitor will only go through the more visible parts of your written content, such as headlines, bullet-points, and conclusions. Make sure they contain the right keywords and relevant calls-to-action.
#6 Socialize on social media
The power and pull of social networks can no longer be ignored. When it comes to using SEO to improve conversion rates, being visible in social media is a must.
According to LinkedIn 2020 marketing statistics, salespeople on social media enjoy as much as a 45% increase in sales opportunities in contrast to not being socially visible.
Social signals such as shares and likes can also redound positively to your brand. And with more people checking out your social content, you can easily steer them to your website through links.
#7 Go mobile
Finally, going mobile can make your SEO efforts more effective for conversion. The 2019 statistics by Pew Research Center reveals that 37% of adult consumers in the U.S. use a smartphone when browsing the internet.
Plus, half of all global traffic in 2019 was channeled through mobile devices, according to Statista.
In optimizing your website, therefore, it helps to ensure ease of navigation through the mobile channels. The rise of mobile searches is also closely linked to local SEO, with more users looking for what they need nearest to them, mainly through their smartphones and other mobile devices.
Use SEO to increase conversion rates
Businesses and websites need to focus on SEO not only because it helps them move up the search ranking ladder or increase site traffic.
Search engine optimization actually helps improve website conversions. To those operating startups or just entering the market, this will mean growth, better reputation, and a faster ROI.
What’s better than an increase in traffic? It’s an increase in traffic that actually converts.
A well-planned SEO strategy can help take you there.