It’s great to drive traffic to your site, but it’s more important for you to drive traffic that’s actually relevant and valuable. There are a lot of ways to do this and by using multiple marketing channels, you can definitely reach audiences who can benefit from what your site has to offer. However, when it comes to conversion rate optimization, it’s often a case of getting only those truly interested to the site in order to see the best results.
Keywords Targeting
One way that you can maximize your potential to conversion is to align your calls to action with incoming keywords. As you know, calls to action are a critical part of conversion rate optimization and finding a good call to action can be rare – but when it does happen, the results can be incredible.
By targeting the right keywords in your call to action, you can make the transition from traffic to conversion easier – and also improve your search engine visibility.
First, think about what keywords people might search for to arrive on your page. Then, think about how those keywords actually relate to what you do or what the page has on it. Does it match? If so, great. If not, then tweak so that you’re serving up a call to action that matches the keyword search closely.
For example, if you want people to buy a pair of shoes you’re selling, note that they may search for phrases that involve the words “buy shoes” or “shoes on sale”. Make sure that you make it clear on the landing page that you have shoes and that they are for sale – if it looks like anything else, the visitors will start bouncing – and that takes away from your bottom line.
Supporting Keywords
Use supporting keywords and variations that clearly state what you want the user to do so that you can target search traffic for those phrases. You can get these from the Google Keyword Planner or other keyword research tools. Also, be sure to check your Google Analytics data to see how people are finding you now and what they’re tending to bounce on.
Keep in mind that not a lot of keyword data is available to you as it once was with the expansion of (not provided) that’s happened recently. Here are some alternatives you can consider using for gaining more keyword insight when GA isn’t delivering:
- Bing Keyword Tool: This only delivers about 10-25% of the data that Google would normally give for keywords, but it can help you explore different variations and have at least some data to work from.
- Google Trends: This tool is great for identifying breakout terms and trends that you can take advantage of. For example, if you find that there’s a hot media topic that connects to your brand, use phrases that pertain to that topic to capture some of that traffic and buzz.
- Google Webmaster Tools: This only displays the data that your site is already getting impressions on, but nonetheless, it can help you strategize so that you can position your efforts to improve upon what’s already working.
- Ubersuggest: Great for uncovering new keyword suggestions.
- Google Search Suggest: When looking for phrases and variations go to Google and start typing. The suggestions you see may open up doors for new ways of searching and completely new phrases to try.
As we develop more ways to deal with (not provided), keep in mind that keywords still play a vital role in the success of your efforts, but they’re not the only thing to focus on. It still pays to write for the reader and to use psychology and marketing best practices to craft messaging that has the greatest appeal.
Don’t ever sacrifice the quality of the writing just to fit a keyword phrase. If you’re not sure if that’s what’s happening, spend some time reading your copy aloud. Does it sound disjointed or awkward? Do you as a reader feel convinced? If not, it’s time to go back and revise your drafts. If it sounds good, then think about what language you used and what tone you took and try to mirror that in other landing pages.
Call-to-actions
Don’t forget about the pages that are already performing well either. Consider what language and calls to action are used on those pages and figure out how they can align with keywords and other best practices. A blended strategy may be just what you’re looking for. Adjust your calls to action as necessary and as always with conversion optimization: test, test, test!
How do you align your call to action to keywords? What tools or strategies do you use for gaining more insight or clarity into this area of conversion rate optimization?
