In developing its web content, a company should prioritize providing visitors with a positive experience. The user likely has a question in mind and has put it into Google’s search bar. That’s a response you can provide. In contrast, most modern firms would fail if their only objective was to respond to questions. Both Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) and SEO should be part of the end aim.
Unfortunately, too many individuals and businesses still act as though SEO and CRO are unrelated concepts now-a-days.
Here, I’ll explain why SEO and CRO are complementary strategies, how they generate results, and what you should (and should not) do to achieve your goals.
What is CRO in SEO?
It’s possible to increase your business’s conversion rate using a technique known as conversion rate optimization (CRO), which involves testing various calls to action and designs. In addition, web pages exist to generate conversions, which forms a component of the larger marketing and commercial plan to accomplish a set of objectives in a certain amount of time.
Simplified conversion is any desired action taken by a visitor to a website once they have been there. This might be anything from signing up for a newsletter, starting a free trial, or making a purchase. Meanings of conversions vary from company to company.
The conversion rate may be determined by using a simple formula: Calculated by calculating the percentage of conversions by the total number of visits to a certain page.
Let’s understand this CRO in SEO with an example:
Suppose your page had 10,00 visitors last month and 225 people subscribed to your newsletter. In that case, your conversion is the result of this formula:
225/10,000×100=2.25%
And what does that figure mean, exactly? In all honesty, not much since it’s just a number. To make sense of it, you need to know who you’re talking to and what you want them to do on your site (a successful checkout is a different conversion objective than newsletter signup).
There’s more to CRO than this; defining it in terms of numbers shows only a small portion of the bigger picture. Is there any danger in relying on a mathematical formula to deduce your conversion rate? The greatest threat is developing a pathological preoccupation with one’s success rate and resorting to trial and error to increase it artificially.
These days, CRO is more about figuring out what motivates and convinces your target customers so you can provide them with the greatest experience possible. Whether it’s via the use of region-specific lingo, culturally relevant aspects that make them feel at ease, allusions to things they already know and accept, or even simply a button put in a prominent position on the page, tailoring your content to each individual visitor is essential. But it would help if you also considered the potential roadblocks that might cause them to abandon the journey altogether before they reach the actual conversion mechanism.
Improving your conversion rate ultimately requires you to have a firm grasp on what is most important to your target audience.
What is SEO?
Everyone is aware of what SEO is, correct? If we adhere to the definition, Search Engine Optimization works to ensure that a website or a single page rank at the top of the organic search engine rankings.
If your site ranks well for a group of keywords, everyone seeking any phrase in that group will find and visit your pages.
SEO has evolved significantly throughout the years. Today, in addition to technological optimization and ongoing technical advancement, it entails extensively attending to and fulfilling the demands of users.
The query’s search purpose and user behaviour are significantly influenced and are now prioritized above everything else.
You can find content opportunities that standard keyword research misses by designing your website architecture around your target audience’s behaviour and search habits, producing country-specific content that your audience wants to consume, and continuously analysing customer analytics, retention, and lifetime value.
However, it also involves optimizing your whole online presence and how each channel interacts with SERP.
Your ultimate objective is to produce ROI. Today, SEO can only create a positive return on investment if it focuses on recruiting new people and enabling them to benefit from your content and service.
What is the conversion rate considered or labelled as GOOD?
Several factors, such as your niche, goals, traffic source, and audience demographics, determine what constitutes a “good” conversion rate. For instance, in Q3 2020, e-commerce sites globally had an average conversion rate of 2.17%, down from 2.37% in Q3 2019. However, the United States had a higher e-commerce conversion rate of 2.57%.
Variations in the mean may be seen not just throughout time and space, but also across different fields of study. Among e-commerce sites selling food and drink, the average conversion rate is 5.5%. However, the typical conversion rate in the hair care business is just 3.5%.
It’s time to improve if your conversion rate is less than ideal, whether compared to the industry average, to your top competitors, or to your own goals.
Conversions may occur everywhere on your website, including your homepage, price page, blog, and landing pages. Therefore, each location should be optimized to enhance the likelihood of turning website visitors into paying clients.
5 Ways CRO for SEO Benefits the Businesses
Conversion rate optimization provides significant advantages for search engine optimization (SEO) while not having anything to do with increasing organic website traffic or ranking on the search engine results page (SERP). You may count among them:
1. You can provide a better customer experience.
Your user retention will increase if they get a sense of your site’s sophistication from their interactions with it. What works on your site is analyzed by CRO. Improving the user experience is as simple as taking what already works and making it even better. Users who give a sense of control over their experience on your site are more likely to stick around and even spread the word about your business.
2. CRO can provide the base for better scalability.
However, conversion rate optimization (CRO) allows you to expand without exhausting your available resources or scaring away potential consumers, even if your audience size doesn’t scale. There is a limited number of people who can watch a given show. Expanding your company without worrying about running out of prospective consumers is possible if you successfully convert more visitors into purchases.
3. Your business can have a better Return on Investment.
Better efficiency in turning available assets into profit raises the conversion rate. Maximizing your acquisition efforts will allow you to increase conversions without increasing your advertising budget.
4. Your business will have better customer insights.
Understanding your target demographic and crafting content specifically for them may improve your website’s conversion rate. The goal of conversion rate optimization is to increase the percentage of visitors who become paying customers. Adding employees that aren’t a good fit won’t help your company grow.
5. It will help in building trust with your customer.
Users must have complete faith in the site before they are willing to provide sensitive information such as credit card numbers, email addresses, or even their full names. In terms of making sales, your website is invaluable. Your site should have the same professionalism, courtesy, and preparedness to answer any and all inquiries a client could have as your in-house sales staff.
How SEO and CRO work together to drive rankings and conversions
As we’ve seen, SEO improves your site’s visibility in search engine results, increasing your site’s potential for financial success.
Unranked websites will not generate any leads or sales. However, SEO is being done incorrectly if the only objective is to improve search engine rankings. Instead, your website’s design, content, and structure should all work together to satisfy visitors’ needs and encourage them to become paying customers.
How do you go about doing so if you want your material to perform well in search results and convert readers?
1. Create SEO content that matches search intent
you’re already aware of search engine optimization’s best practices. If this is the case, you already know how crucial it is to have content on your website. Your site would not rank in search results and you would not get any new visitors if there was no content. So whether it’s blog posts or copy for a sales page, providing useful information is the best approach to get to the top of search results for phrases that will bring in new customers.
Google employs various signals to decide how highly individual sites are ranked; the search engine giant aims to present users with relevant, high-quality results (UX). Furthermore, in 2020, Google has perfected the art of connecting users with the content they find most helpful. Therefore, matching search intent is crucial for SEO rankings and visitor conversion.
Said, you need to write material that directly addresses users’ needs and concerns in the form of responses to their search queries. If you want to learn how to rank higher for relevant searches, increase conversions, and better grasp the purpose of your audience’s inquiries, read on.
2. Optimize content for conversions
Add call-to-action (CTA) text or buttons that lead to conversion-focused material to assist in transforming visits into conversions. First, including well-placed CTAs on blog articles and TOFU pages directs readers to the corresponding product pages or requests for a quote/contact form. Second, the best-ranking sites in both examples include extensive useful material that addresses the user’s search query before mentioning any items.
However, these sites also have tactical CTAs to entice visitors to learn more about the products. The more you can tailor your material to the specific demands of searchers, the more satisfied they will be with their time spent on your site, and the more likely they will become paying customers. In addition, website conversion rates may be improved by tailoring content to user intent and providing obvious calls to action that guide users farther down the sales funnel.
If you want to get email addresses from first-time visitors to your site, the only option you have is to give them some content upgrade or lead magnet. Doing so will guarantee the growth of your community, which can then be used to attract new followers.
For this reason, you may wonder, “What is the return on investment for my firm in providing free content?” But, unfortunately, I can’t even convince folks to test my free goods!
Providing early value to your audience for free may set the tone for a fruitful engagement at the top of the conversion funnel. In addition, it will move your leads farther into your marketing funnel, where you may hopefully convert them.
Most people who find you via organic means won’t begin a free trial of your goods until they’ve established confidence in your company’s credibility. Moz discovered that it takes 7.5 visits to their website before someone decides to try out their goods for free.
3 SEO and CRO Tips
We’ve covered how to write for search engine optimization and how to make content that converts, so now let’s have a look at some more techniques.
1. Test
Use an A/B testing tool like Google Optimize to increase conversions on your website.
Data on how people engage with various page iterations may be collected and analyzed using CRO technologies. Then you may enhance your content by including features that lead to more conversions.
2. Optimize title tags and meta descriptions
Having precise title tags and meta descriptions that tell search engines and users precisely what to anticipate from your pages is essential for ranking and converting site visitors. To increase your site’s engagement metrics and decrease your bounce rate, ensure that your title tags and meta descriptions appropriately represent the content.
3. Optimize content for mobile
Today, mobile devices account for more than half of all searches. If your content isn’t optimised for mobile devices, you’ll miss out on prospective buyers and revenue. On mobile devices, prioritize constantly visible information without having to scroll down.
Content like short specifications, prices, shipping charges, reviews, and photographs may all be included on a product page. In addition, mobile users may now more easily access relevant content and convert.
Let’s start optimizing right now!
SEO and CRO should work together to increase traffic and sales. However, it takes effort and specialist knowledge to optimize a website to rank well in Google results and convert site users into paying customers.
Contact us at [email protected] or call us at +91-9054331400 to know more.