5 Techniques To Improve SEO ROI

Making search engine optimization (SEO) work in a competitive keyword space can be a challenge, but as we all know by now, there’s big traffic to be had, which can be converted into prospects and customers.

Unfortunately, SEO campaigns come up short because the appropriate return on investment (ROI) parameters aren’t in place. Here are 5 essentials to implement in a SEO campaign.

 Use Analytics

Believe it or not, people still spend time and money on websites and don’t run analytics. This is crazy. You need to know your traffic sources, such as the percentage of visitors that come from search engines versus referral sites. You need to know what keywords perform, which means tracking time-on-site and bounce-rates at the keyword level. You simply can’t have a positive ROI from your SEO campaign without tracking, studying and really understanding your traffic.

 Non-Branded Traffic is A Key Performance Indicator

Mastery of web traffic analytics means understanding the types of traffic as well. Branded traffic are visitors that either directly type in a domain name or use a search engine to find a variation of a business name they already know.

SEO, on the other hand, is about non-branded traffic. A potential visitor who finds the website via Google by searching “roofer in Atlanta” is a non-branded visit. This is SEO at it’s best. A well-positioned website scooping up existing demand in the marketplace that had zero knowledge of the business name, is what we are all looking for.

 Conversion is King

A great deal of time and resources are spent getting visitors to a website. A common trap is to then forget about the experience after a visitor lands. Typical conversion rates are in the 1-3 percent range. That may sound small, but it’s huge.

The difference between a 1 and 3 percent on-site conversion can make-or-break the ROI for an entire SEO strategy. A well crafted Landing Page can make all the difference.

 People Like Telephones

When focusing on Internet marketing strategies, it’s easy to forget that people still use phones for an initial contact. Up to 40 percent of conversions can come from phone calls from customers who were on the website before deciding to call the business. Put phone tracking techniques to understand which phone calls were ultimately from organic web sources, the ROI will look much poorer than it really is.

Email is Alive and Well

A confirmed lead from a website should be automatically enrolled into an email nurture program. eMail is still one of the best tools for keeping leads warm between sales calls.

The metrics on open and click-through rates are easy to understand and should be reviewed. Sophisticated sales managers also understand the importance of integrating email nurture data events (such as a lead opening an email or newsletter) with sales CRM.

Conclusions

SEO is a competitive place. With such a strong emphasis on specific SEO mechanics and tactics, it’s easy for small business owners to get lost in the details.

A disciplined approach that surrounds SEO with simple measurement and evaluation techniques is critical. Additionally, integration between SEO and other marketing processes such as email nurturing and sales CRM might just make the difference in achieving a positive ROI for SEO.