How to Build an SEO Campaign that Converts

Optimizing your website for optimal presence on search engines is one thing, but you want to go one step further: you want to build SEO that converts. Whether your conversion goal is turning searchers into email list subscribers or selling products, this post will show you how to optimize for conversion.

Build your plan

First, you need to determine what your funnel for customers looks like. A simple place to start is with the big three: awareness, consideration, and conversion.

1. Awareness

The first step in the marketing funnel is awareness; mainly, you need to make potential customers aware of your products. With the state of search engines as they are today, customers are oversaturated with messaging about a million different brands and products. What does that mean for you? Well, a customer’s awareness of your brand might come entirely from a search result, so you want to make sure that the titles and meta descriptions of your pages are rock solid, both in terms of being optimized for search keywords, and giving a short summary of your brand and products.

As we mentioned above, Google ranks content based on its relevance. Whatever content you have created will only rank if it matches the needs of a given searcher. Google also tries to determine if your content is the best resource for that given search query. So, make sure the content you create for a keyword answers the question that the query is asking. Without that critical piece, you’ll never move up in the search engine results pages (SERPs). We’ll talk more about keywords in a moment.

2. Consideration

Once the customer has landed on your site, consideration begins. This is where they learn about your products and mission, and whether or not they’re interested in purchasing or converting in the way you might expect them to. Here, SEO is not a big part of the equation. But, making sure that your pages are filled with compelling content and offers really moves the needle in this process.

3. Conversion

This is the portion of your plan that is focused on the actual conversion itself. What’s that goal for you? A sale? Signing up for an email list? Taking a free online course? Whichever conversion goal you choose, making sure it’s easy to accomplish and is available for a customer to jump into wherever they are on your site is key.

On top of this, conversions can actually factor into your SEO campaign. Some customers might be looking to convert immediately, depending on the product that you’re selling or your stated conversion goal. So, funnily enough, the rules that apply to awareness apply to conversion as well.

Do your (keyword) research

If you’re not researching a bunch before you start optimizing, you’re likely barking up the wrong tree. A foundation of solid keyword research is how you start building the necessary expertise to be successful.

Google Analytics expert mode has the Keyword Planner, which can be an invaluable tool for doing keyword research. Alternatives include the free Answer the Public tool, Moz’s paid keyword search engine, and SEMRush’s keyword tool (this tool limits to 10 searches per day).

You can also spend some time searching Google for relevant keywords to your pages and business, and see what comes up. More specificity is better than less, and the more specific and well-integrated your keywords are, the more incentivized Google will be to place your page at the top of the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Additionally, research your competitors. You want to see what they’re offering their customers (who you might eventually be competing for) and offer comparable yet distinct value propositions.

Build your first pages

So you’ve made your plan and researched your first keywords. It’s now time to start building out your new pages. Before you start plugging all your keywords into pages, consider authority.

Authority, often referred to as domain authority, is the weight that Google gives to sources that it deems authoritative. This is more of a reference to your business’s website as a whole. You want your entire site to be full of important information about relevant topics related to your business, because that communicates to Google that you are an expert in a category or field.

Only compete in categories where you have a chance of jumping to the top of the SERPs. There are sources that Google considers authoritative for different searches and pieces of information. An easy example is if you try to compete for a simple keyword like “shoes” or “athletic shoes,” your page will end up on page 2+ because Zappos, Nike, Shoes.com, and DSW are authoritative in that space. Don’t compete where you can’t erode the domain authority of pages you have no chance of beating.

Here are a few landing page best practices:

• Optimize for mobile: Make sure that each page you build into your website is optimized for mobile use. Many people browse on their phones, and a site without mobile support is a no-go.
• Simple forms: If you’ve got a form you want visitors to fill out, make sure that it has fewer than 7 fields. That will make a huge difference in conversions.
• Loading speed: Pages that don’t load rapidly fall in the SERPs. Make sure that you have the appropriate plug-ins on your site to ensure that site visitors have a easy browsing experience.
• Relevancy: Every page should be relevant to the search query that it is showing up in the SERPs for. It is extremely unlikely that your pages will convert if you are selling something different from what the customer was searching for.

Track and cultivate

Once you’ve created your pages, it’s time to start thinking about tracking and cultivating traffic.

Setting up a Google Analytics campaign to track the progress of your pages is a must. GA will give you the information you need about top (and bottom) performing pages, so you can go in and make tweaks and adjustments. A good place to start is with some compelling advertising.

Google Ads is a powerful tool that can get quite a few eyeballs on your website and products.

But what if you don’t want to spend money on advertising right now?

Learn more about SEO

A cost-effective SEO campaign might be the way to go. It’s a bit more involved and difficult to pull off with organic traffic alone, but with a little trial and error and a lot of work, you can start growing your traffic rapidly.