Search engine traffic, which is also known as organic traffic, is the web traffic that you receive via search engines.
This is how it usually happens …
Your target audience — who may or may not know about your business — search for certain keywords in a search engine, say, Google. Google then, based on its numerous algorithms, identifies the best and most relevant pages for that query and return the results to the searcher. Now, the person looking for information may click on any of those results.
As you can see, there is a definite amount of randomness in this process. If the searcher already knows about your website or brand, she may click on your website. But if she isn’t aware of your business, there will be no leniency towards it — which leads to low conversion rates and high bounce rate.
Some webmasters and digital marketers believe that search engine traffic is relatively easier to convert into paying customers and regular visitors, but that is not always the case.
It used to be true when there wasn’t so much competition in the digital marketing world. Now, there is this problem of information overload. There are so many websites out there, with so much content floating around, that the web-user is spoiled for choices. Moreover, the attention span of an average internet user is now just 8 seconds. In comparison, the attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds. This shows that you need to act fast if you want to convert your organic traffic.
In this post, we are going to share a few important tips on how to convert search engine traffic for a better return on investment.
Tip #1: Attract the Right Kind of Target Audience
Here is a simple rule. You can’t convert your traffic if it isn’t the right kind of target audience for your business.
How do you attract the wrong type of target audience? There are plenty of things online businesses mistakenly do to get that. Here are a few of those mistakes that you must avoid:
Not having a clear headline. Remember that clarity is the most important aspect of a good and effective headline.
Not having a proper and descriptive meta description to get with your search engine result snippet. Most users click on a link because that description is explanatory and meets their requirements.
Here is an example of a good and clear meta-description.
Here is a guide for you that explains the ins and outs of writing a good meta description.
Having a double-meaning domain name that is either misleading or not clear.
Furthermore, when you use the right keywords, you are more likely to attract the right group of the target audience.
Let’s explain this last point even further.
Tip #2: Avoid Double-Meaning Keywords
The main function of search engines is to fetch results based on the keywords a user inserts. And although search engines are constantly evolving and becoming more intelligent and smarter, they still can’t fully understand the context of each search.
This is why it is extremely important to avoid using any double-meaning or misleading keywords in your content. Otherwise, those keywords will keep bringing irrelevant and non-targeted search engine traffic that will never convert. As a matter of fact, optimizing content for irrelevant or misleading keywords is one of the main reasons for low conversions and high bounce rate.
Here is an example of how it hurts your marketing efforts.
One of my former clients was in the business of selling laboratory spaces. They were ranking #1 for the keyword “labs for sale”. Very exciting, isn’t it? However, they were suffering from a very high bounce rate (94%) and a very low conversion rate.
On close inspection, I identified that most of their traffic visitors were actually looking to buy “Labradors” (dogs) — and not “laboratory spaces”.
The problem is that if you don’t have a very self-explanatory domain name or meta-description, you may receive irrelevant traffic — especially when you are optimizing content with possibly double-meaning keywords. Avoid doing that and you will be able to enjoy a much better conversion rate for your organic traffic.
Tip #3: Provide Assurances
The assumption should be that the traffic visitors coming from search engines do not know anything about your business. So, how do you sell to someone who doesn’t know or trust your business? The simplest answer is that you satisfy them by providing necessary assurances.
In the online marketing world, one of the biggest problems is to set yourself apart from scammers and low-quality product owners.
If you are offering a product, it is a good idea to add a money-back, limited-time guarantee. If you are offering a service, always include testimonials and feedbacks from previous clients and credible sources.
Furthermore, if you accept credit cards, make sure to display SSL certificates. Apart from that, if your conversion goal is to get your organic traffic to subscribe to your email list, there are a few phrases that really help:
We value your privacy
All your personal information will be kept private and safe
We don’t share our subscribers’ information with anyone.
Here is an example.
Note: You can see that, in the above image, the word “privacy” has an embedded link. The link directs the user to the complete privacy policy. It is a common practice to do so.
Remember, visitors coming from search engines may not know about your business. They may not even trust you. It is your job to make them feel safe and secure. Once they feel that they are in a safe place, they will not be so hesitant about buying from your website.
Final Words
Search engines traffic may be a little hard to convert — in comparison with traffic that comes from your email list or social media profiles.
However, with a simple strategy and plan, you can easily convert those traffic visitors into subscribers, loyal readers, and even paying customers. Remember that your ROI (return on investment) is dependent on how much traffic you end up successfully converting. And the tips that are mentioned in this blog post should give you a good headstart in the right direction.
