SEO Isn’t Your Problem – Conversions Are.

“I need some SEO.” A statement that I hear frequently from clients and prospects. Search engine optimization – the goal of which is to rank #1 for your keywords of choice, a result which will bring riches beyond your imagination. SEO is both a worthy need and a much-maligned industry, but I don’t want to touch on that today.

The first step when I deal with a client looking to bring optimization to their web site is understanding their goals. Small business owners ofter move forward in the name of generating traffic and ignore what might be sitting under their noses. More often than not, clients are already leaving money on the table by not converting their current web traffic into resulting action – be it lead generation, an ecommerce sale, an email signup, or an informational download. Creating measurable goals should be a priority for both my client, as well as their web developer.

Once we have some goals in place, it is much easier to disuade a client away from reckless SEO tactics, and instead focus on optimizing their site to achieve the desired result Every site owner wants more traffic, but when I pose the following question, “Would you rather have a thousand new visitors that turn in to 10 new customers, or 25 new visitors that result in 20 new customers?” The lightbulb goes off in their head. Conversion Optimization.

Before you run out to invest in SEO services, take a close look at your website. Here are some handy questions to ask yourself and start formulating a plan for Conversion Optimization:

  • Does it support your goals?
  • Have you defined goals?
  • Do you measure against them?
  • Are your headlines selling or inviting more information?
  • Do you offer an email newsletter (and more importantly, do you actively engage in email marketing)?
  • Do you purchase online advertising?
  • If so, do you focus the clicks to a landing page that supports the ad, and asks for the conversion unit?

I’m not selling anything here, but follow me on Twitter at @shartley to keep the conversation going.