The ultimate goal of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is to
drive traffic to your site. Many people don't know why, but
they aren't achieving this goal.
The key is staying current and evolving with the times.
Way back in the good old days, SEO was a lot easier and we
saw results quickly. What do I mean "we saw results"? We
ran a ranking report and we were able to see what words
held what positions in the various engines. And admit it
now, when you received your ranking reports, you promptly
pulled up Google or Yahoo and did a search, waiting with
baited breath to see your results right there in the top
20. Ahhh, the good old days.
Now, you get a ranking report and you don't see all those
wonderful rankings you have seen in the past. Competition
is fierce and even though your site deserves to be on top,
it may take a while to work its way up there. So, what do
you do? You call your SEO Firm, you complain, you work on a
strategy to get the results you want.
The missing piece here is called Analytics. A well
optimized site will bring traffic from many engines, for
various keywords that are related to your site. Those
keywords may not be on your "approved keyword list" -
however they are words people are looking for and they are
driving traffic to your site. Many people don't give credit
to their SEO company for these words - however they are
mistaken. The fact that your site was properly optimized
and content was added is what made the site get noticed by
the engines, so the optimization is directly responsible
for these "bonus" keywords that are driving traffic to your
site.
Because most people don't understand this, and they don't
give credit to their SEO Firm, many SEO Firms don't bother
looking at or sharing Analytics information with their
clients. They simply care about rankings for the keyword
list.
At EcomBuffet we understand the value of Analytics
information and as a result have added these "bonus"
keywords to our ranking reports to show our clients how
they are being found.
"Yeah, you point out how great you are and the "bonus"
keywords - but how does that really help us - the client"
is something we heard when we started sharing this
information.
It's true, it is a feather in our cap - it makes us feel
good that we have created more exposure for our clients -
but it's more than that. The information we share tells
them what words people are using to find them - it gives
them insight into how their prospective clients think and
search. That information can then be used to improve and
really target your marketing efforts.
In addition to the value of the "bonus" keywords - the
other thing we do is look at the other information in your
web stats. We can figure out what pages people are spending
time on, what pages people are leaving quickly, we can see
what interest's people and what drives people away.
Having someone prepare that information for you and deliver
it to you in any easy to comprehend manner is invaluable.
That information becomes your blueprint for web site
improvement which means increased conversions, which means
more sales, which means more money, which means you are one
happy camper!
Imagine, rather than guessing at what to tweak on your site
to improve results you can take our analysis and suggested
changes and use that as a guide to improving your traffic
and conversions. Then you monitor the response to your
tweaks to ensure your traffic and conversions are growing
because the competition isn't sitting idle and what worked
yesterday doesn't necessarily work tomorrow.
Web stats or Analytics isn't new - it's been around
forever. However most people don't know how to interpret
their stats, they often don't have time to gather the data
and SEO Firms typically do not tie this information into a
SEO campaign.
Our focus is on results. We can deliver the traffic and use
Analytics; to get that traffic to take the action you want
- whether it is more sales, more people opting in to your
site, or calling you. Whatever "results" means to you - we
can deliver them.
Case Study: One of our sites has:
* Top rankings for the phrases "phoenix homes" (generic
phrase) and "historical homes in phoenix" (specific phrase)
Analytics tells us:
* "phoenix homes" brings traffic but has only a 0.82%
conversion rate.
* "historical homes in phoenix" brings less traffic but has
a 6.67% conversion rate.
The Lesson Learned:
* Add up the traffic from all your "minor" specific phrases
-- all with high conversions and compare it to the major
traffic and low conversions from your generic phrases - you
can learn where to focus your attention -- on the phrases
that convert! (Note: We wouldn't even know about the
specific phrase without Analytics)
* We can add content for the phrase that converts higher,
and drive more traffic from that phrase. We can also use
that information to guide us in creating marketing material.
----------------------------------------------------
Jennifer Horowitz is the Director of Marketing and co-owner
of http://www.EcomBuffet.com . Since 1998, her expertise
in online marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
has helped clients increase revenue and achieve their
business goals. Jennifer has written a downloadable book on
Search Engine Optimization and has been published in many
SEO and marketing publications. Jennifer can be reached at
Jennifer@ecombuffet.com
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