Oct
29

Why SEO Does Not Get You Business

An SEO client of mind recently told me “I got my first inquiry on my website, the SEO is working!”.  While I was thrilled that his website is starting to generate business for him, I could not help but think that Search Engine Optimization is just a channel to drive qualified traffic to their website.  What happens after that e.g. visitor shares your blog post, downloads your whitepaper, leaves their details etc… is another story.

What happens on your site has everything to do with what we call “Conversion Architecture“, i.e. :

    1. Your content and how persuasive it is
    2. Your calls to action
    3. Your website navigation structure

The Power (or Weakness) of Content

There are dozens if not hundreds of books published on writing persuasive copy and the art of persuasion online, what you must know is that your copy should be human.  Long gone are the days of “in your face” sales pitches, vague statements about your business being #1.  Consumers are very educated and sophisiticated now, be factual and if possible quantifiable in your copy.  This is one of the main pillars that Marketing Experiments talk about in many of their online marketing courses.
Use statements such as “5 years serving clients  in the UAE“, “nominated for best business by X magazine“.
Avoid statements such as “we are the best at what we do” (says who? all your competitors will say the same), or “we will help grow your business to new heights” (very vague and a bit poetic actually).

Calls to Action: They Come in 2′s

If you have witty and great content, unless you invite people to take action e.g. “download our FREE whitepaper“, or “Request a Quotation“, people are less likely to take action.  Remember the last event or workshop you attended, before the beginning of the workshop, the master of ceremony invariably gets on the Mic and asks people to put their phones on silent.  We all know we should put our phones on silent, but this extra nudge was all that we needed to actually do it.
In many ways, a website’s calls to action are similar.  Do not be afraid to add a call to action particularly on your service pages, i.e. the pages which describe your offering, or product.
A good practice would be to have two different calls to action: one for people wishing to know more, and one for people who already know what you are offering and are ready to buy or be contacted.  That’s why you frequently see two calls to action buttons on websites “read more” & “buy now“, or “get more details” & “request free quote“.

Website Navigation

Website navigation, information architecture and categorization of content according to the different “Personas” profiles of your visitors is key to driving your web visitors down your sales funnel.  Put some structure into your navigation, make use of clear and simple navigation, do not complicate things.  No matter how large your business is, how many services you have, there is always a way to categorize information and lay it out in a simple enough form: just have a look at news companies like The National, or Gulf News‘s websites and you’ll notice how beautiful their site menus are.
Menu science is constantly evolving, we’re now seeing a trend towards what is known as “mega menus” (take a look at DotNetNuke‘s website menu / submenus).
To conclude, SEO is an excellent way of driving traffic to your website, however, to convert this traffic into leads for your business, you need to look at your website’s conversion architecture, track your visitors’ behavior using analytics tools and action accordingly.  For more information about conversion architecture, feel free to drop me an email at info@leanwsiweb.com, follow us on twitter, or ask your question in the comment section below.
October 29, 2011   //   Content Marketing, Conversion, Lead Generation   //   2 Comments   //  

2 Comments to “Why SEO Does Not Get You Business”

  • October 29, 2011 at 1:41 PM
    Allan Duncan says:

    Absolutely agree with all the 3 points. All traffic that comes to a website goes to waste if these points are not applied. It is better to have hundred of visits that converts rather than tens of thousands with few or no conversion at all.

    Reply
    • October 29, 2011 at 1:51 PM
      Gaby says:

      Thanks Allan!

      Reply

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