Did you know that 33% of Google traffic goes to the website listed in the number one position? While this fact exemplifies how important high rankings can be, rankings are just one component of a successful search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. A crucial and often ignored element of SEO is whether the strategy is targeting the right audience.
Here are four ways to ensure your SEO strategy drives the right customers to your website:
Focus on Specific Products or Services
The first step to driving the right traffic to your website is to determine which products or services you want the campaign to promote. If you offer multiple services or product lines, focus on the most profitable and best sellers first. Then, as your campaign gains traction, expand it to focus on your other products and services as well. An SEO strategy that lacks focus may drive visitors, but not necessarily customers.
Know How Your Customers Search for Your Products or Services
As a Tampa SEO company, we recommend understanding how your customers search for your products or services. Do they search for them by location? Do they search for them on a mobile device? Do your customers purchase quickly, or do they research extensively before making a purchase decision? Understanding how your customers search for your products or services is vital to a successful SEO strategy.
Select The Right Keywords
Once you’ve decided which products or services to focus on, and you know how your customers search for them, you now have the necessary information to select the right keywords. Remember, keywords should be chosen based on both relevancy to your products or services and relevancy to your customers, not just by how often the keywords are searched. The objective is to select keywords that will drive the right audience to your website.
Provide Content That Your Customers Value
There are generally three reasons people use search engines:
1. To search for information on a specific company
2. To research specific services or products
3. To purchase a specific service or product
When developing optimized content, write for your customers, not search engines. Keep the needs and intentions of your prospective customers in mind, and build value in your products or services by creating content that provides them with the specific information they are seeking. Include calls-to-action that effectively guide them through the sales funnel, and are consistent with their intentions (e.g., “Learn More” versus “Buy Now”).