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April ABCs of Web Design Newsletter

Introductory comments

I have just completed research for my next article on link popularity. While researching this, and just because I geek out on SEO and other web topics, I ran across email series called “7 Most Powerful Traffic & Conversion Techniques.” It is a pretty interesting but they are not telling me much that I don’t already know but I am hopeful that I may find a nugget or two of information. One item I did run across that I completely disagree with is: “Remember – even though we have the “best keywords”, [organic] Search engine optimization takes a long time – at least 30 to 60 days.”

This statement is completely false. I have tested this theory through my own organic SEO work: I had a site move to the number one spot on Google in only three weeks from registering with the search engine! I think this guy is trying to push his Google Adwords information, or perhaps sell it. One thing you should realize in PPC, PPP or organic SEO campaigns is that with organic SEO – your click through rate is 50% and with PPC or PPP, your click-through rate is 2-5%. To me, doing organic SEO just makes sense. On to the question…

Question of the month

Question: I have been talking to a lot of people about contract work lately, and I have been asked repeatedly, how can you turn searchers into buyers?

Answer: Excellent question. And I have been doing a lot of research on this topic partly for my full-time gig, but mostly because the subject fascinates me. This topic is called conversion -- the desired action from the consumer, such as purchasing a product or signing up for a newsletter. (I am planning several upcoming articles this subject, but those will not be published until next year.)

More and more people are using search engines to find what they are looking for online. Americans conduct an estimated 790 million searches per week, according to research from ComScore Media Metrix. There are four types of web traffic to your site:

1. People who find your site by mistake and as quickly hit the back button. For this audience, about all you can do is to state clearly on your main page what you do.
2. People who have a desire but don’t know what fills it and may just be looking around for information. For example, some one who knows they want a new vacuum cleaner but not sure what brand yet – this person is just starting to look around for information. For this audience, you want to grab their attention and state that your vacuum is the one they want. You really need to sell the benefits of your product.
3. People who have a desire, know what type of product fills it and are looking around to see if they are other alternatives. For example, this person may be considering a Hoover vacuum but just saw a commercial for a new brand that they thought may be worth checking out. This audience knows that your brand is the one they want but are comparison-shopping the different brands. For this audience, tell them why they want your brand.
4. People who know what they want and are ready to buy. This person is already sold and all you have to do is take their money. For this audience, ensure it is very easy for them to give you their money. This audience also only completes the sale only 30% of the time.

Seven out of 10 people who want to spend money at your site are still leaving without doing so. It is your job to figure out why…

Wrap up

Did I whet your appetite to learn more about conversion? It is a fascinating subject and I am pretty sure I have figured it out! I have been adding things to sites here and there and measuring the results and I am planning to put my full knowledge to the test on a few upcoming projects. Feel free to email me any questions! Thanks for reading my newsletter!

Please send all questions to theresaw@columbus.rr.com.

To see the articles from my print web column, go to http://www.w-edge.com/articles.htm

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