So you want more traffic to your business? Of course you do!
When I speak to clients about driving more traffic to their website and ultimately their business, I always start the discussion with the topic of keywords. The use of relevant keywords/phrases on websites and other platforms has been the first step in a comprehensive SEO (search engine optimization) strategy for utilizing online search and other marketing tactics. While still important, a shift has happened. The emphasis on search volume has been eclipsed by a more direct results-oriented approach that focuses more on conversions.
“Consumers have become savvier and more discerning about who earns their attention.”
Conversions indicate that a visitor to your website has taken an action aligned with your goals (some examples: obtaining the visitor’s email, making an inquiry and of course, ultimately a direct sale). A conversion is essentially described as a prospective customer/visitor who has converted from a passive observer to a lead, then a customer and hopefully a brand loyalist.
Vanity metrics such as clicks, likes and impressions are less important in the ever-changing marketing world as consumers have millions of distractions online. Consumers have become savvier and more discerning about who earns their attention. We are seeing social media users spend less time liking and sharing content even though they are absorbing the content. Therefore, our focus should shift to conversions of users rather than a simple “like.”
Here are the reasons to shift our thinking and our marketing processes to focus more on actual conversions rather than the more traditional keyword approach:
- High search volume does not always translate to sales.
- Quality is now more important than quantity – thus those vanity metrics described above carry less weight.
- Focus on meaningful interactions rather than simple click metrics.
- This builds stronger bonds with your audience as your content has more powerful resonation with them.
- Make it easy to take action. Be sure your links point to relevant content and direct users seamlessly through their customer journey.
- You will be able to regularly adjust the strategy because you will have conversion data that is more relevant and can be more directly impacting your bottom line.
Here’s an example:
A local boutique carries merchandise in the store and offers online purchases from their website. The owner is quite good at generating attention on Instagram with videos and other content. She is popular in her local and her online community. She has optimized for Google search using relevant keywords related to her merchandise and her location. She hopes that when people search for “white trainers” for instance, her content will show up. While she gets thousands of views per month, people are not making online purchases and are not coming into her shop. She gets a percentage of clicks to the website, but she doesn’t understand why the visitors do not purchase.
To revamp her strategy, she could start by focusing on building a loyal following of people most likely to purchase her content and understand their wants and needs. The next step? Creating content that is not all about selling but provides the user with an experience. She could offer a link to styling tips that encourages the user to give their email for more tips sent to their inbox each month.
Posting on social media can be good for driving traffic to your website but when followers click through, where are they taken? Often it’s the home page, which means the user has to navigate to find the content that attracted them to your site. This can result in potential customers bouncing away from your site. Either link to the content directly or build a dedicated landing page so users can find what interests them quickly.
Resources like Google Analytics show where users land, what interests them and where they are exiting the marketing funnel. Mapping out the customer’s experience and making their flow through your sales funnel as frictionless as possible will go a long way in brand loyalty, repeat visitors and yes — conversions!
Any marketing we do should have some direct correlation to achieving your business goals. We should be cautious of actions that may give us a boost in ego rather than growing our business. Starting with a marketing plan and strategy, then focusing attention on converting that visitor to a paying customer will bring long term success and more efficiency to your marketing efforts.
For help with increasing your conversions, contact us here.