Have you built a beautiful website, published amazing content, but you’re still not getting any visitors? First of all, don’t worry, as our team at Big Red SEO will tell you, you are definitely not alone. To boost your traffic, you should take steps to increase the amount of organic search traffic that your website is receiving. Advertising can help you to bring more visitors to your site; however, that will come at a cost.
Improving your organic click-through rate, on the other hand, will take an initial investment up-front in terms of time, but once you have laid the groundwork, organic search traffic won’t cost you a cent. However, as we have seen time and time again here at Big Red SEO, it will have a positive effect on both your traffic and your overall localized SEO efforts.
Let’s take a closer look at seven simple things that business owners and digital marketing managers can do to improve their organic search click-through rate.
1. Know Where You Stand
Being aware of your current click-through rate will allow you to know if this is truly the problem with your lack of organic search traffic.
To get some perspective on where you stand, use Google Analytics as a means of identifying your click-through. This tool will break down each of your pages and help you to sort out what is working on your site and what is not. Having insight into pages that are performing poorly can allow you to identify where you need to spend the most time with your optimization efforts.
Keeping an eye on your Google rankings is also essential. Making it to the first page of Google’s search results (I.e. search queries) for a variety of keywords is vital in generating more organic traffic for your website. This can be a lot of work, but with the help of a trusted friendly team, like Kim and Conor at Big Red SEO, you will know that your national and localized SEO is in safe hands while you dedicate your time to growing your business.
2. Research Keywords
The “variety of keywords” mentioned above requires more explanation, as ranking for distinct and popular keywords is essential for increasing your click-through rate. Simple one-word keywords need to be researched well to optimize both your click-through rate and your rankings on Google’s search results. To find the most popular and effective keywords in your industry or niche, starting with an analysis of your competitors is an excellent place to start.
Using the Google Keyword Planner tool is another excellent way to determine effective keywords that are trending. This tool also allows you to estimate how specific keywords will perform if you add them to your content. If keyword research is new to you, talk to our team of experts at Big Red SEO and let us put a keyword in strategy in place for your business that will work!
Researching long-tail keywords with a highly targeted focus is a strategy that takes time to do well; however, the payoff can be incredible. These multi-word keywords can more closely fulfill a user’s search queries and will give Google’s algorithm an incentive to boost your page right to the top of the list if you can determine what your users will likely be searching for. For example, “books about the financial crisis” is far more targeted and potentially effective with a particular audience than merely including “books” as a keyword.
3. Use Emotion In Page Titles And Meta-Descriptions
Instilling emotion in your target audience is one of the best ways to attract interest in your pages. Putting emotionally charged words and phrases in your page titles and the meta-descriptions for your site can provide a compelling introduction to your content. Powerful words like premium, secret, amazing, and proven can be the difference between your audience choosing your site over your competitors.
Make people want to learn more about what you have to offer by activating the emotional centers of their minds. While positive emotions like joy, happiness, and love can work well, negative emotions like fear can also trigger interest, if you do not overdo it!
4. Try Numbered Lists (Like This One) When Creating Content
The use of numbered lists, also known as listicles, is an ideal way to make easily digestible content that your audience wants to read. Having a simple list structure to make your content more readable and actionable is a sure way to quickly show your readers what to expect and scroll through your page to skim the highlights. Users are more likely to click on your pages if they know that their questions will be answered quickly and easily, as is the case with the list format.
5. Include Images And Videos
While being mindful of the fact that images and videos can lower the loading speed of your site, including them on your pages and in your content is a great way to increase your click-through rate. Images and videos are an aesthetic way of saying a great deal in a limited space. They convey information to your users and help you to maintain a sense of consistency across your pages. If they are compelling and add value to your content, they are a useful organic CTR boosting tool.
6. Make Your Content Localized
Localized SEO is an area receiving increased attention, especially since the implementation of mobile-first indexing in Google’s ranking algorithm. While you certainly want your pages to rank highly and be interesting to a wide audience, standing out in your local region or city can be a simpler way of increasing your click-through rate with an audience that is closer to home.
Mobile searches for restaurants and businesses have exploded in recent years. If you can optimize your pages with locally popular keywords, you can expect that your local audience will be more likely to visit your site. Registering your business with Google’s My Business tool is also an important step. This puts you on the mini-map that appears when users search or perform multiple search queries, for specific business types within a particular area.
7. Make More Descriptive URLs
Descriptive URLs receive more clicks than generic URLs full of incomprehensible numbers and symbols. At Big Red SEO, we recommend using your URL as an opportunity for including a long-tail keyword. In fact, your URL should be entirely composed of a sequence of keywords, if possible. This can dramatically increase the interest of your audience and keep your click-through rate high.
Steps To Success: Ensure You Optimize Your Existing Content
Following the points outlined here by our Big Red SEO experts will provide your pages with a noticeable increase in organic click-through rates. Making sure to go back and optimize your existing ads and website content with this advice is also essential to maximize this benefit. With a little effort and practice, your CTR rate will no longer lag behind.
To learn more about what you can do to increase your organic click-through rate, contact Kim or Conor today or give us a call on (402) 522-6468. With our help, you can take the steps necessary to send more visitors to your website, gain more traction for your business online, and get your company on the path to a successful future.