What's in a good Website

By admin - Posted on January 14th, 2010
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In 2009, I was asked constantly by new prospects about the number of visitors one might expect for a certain keyword or key phrase. I'm sure 2010 will bring more of the same. But, is that the true starting point for an SEO campaign? SEO San Diego thinks not. Instead we first use Google Analytics to see how much traffic is currently coming to the website, which page is getting the most views and on which page the traffic leaves the website. This tells us exactly what we need to change to create a website that converts traffic. No amount of traffic will make a business money if the traffic is bouncing off the home page within 3 seconds of coming on the page. For this reason, we begin with the end result in mind--traffic conversion.

What causes a potential client to jump off your page almost as soon as they get there? It comes down to many factors. We will briefly touch on a few.

1.Where is your call to action? What is your website telling the client to do? Call to Action is used to give a potential client a clear path from point A to point B. A website that reads like brochure will have very little if any call to action and will likely convert very little traffic, if any.

2. If a client comes onto your website are they finding what they were looking for immediately? When a client clicks on a site about FHA Mortgages, they expect to learn more about those mortgages. A fast way to lose that client is to have a brochure-style website that covers various loan products. This might require a client to search for information regarding an FHA Loan. If the client cannot find the information quickly they will leave, usually within a few seconds.

3. Keeping the client on the home page with call to action is one thing, getting the client to fill out a form or to call you is another. Once the clients are staying on the page, the next step is to bait them from point A to point B. Call to action should be on all pages with end goals in mind.

Other methods for keeping traffic on your site longer: Rich content and email marketing (giving away a free list of helpful information for signing up helps get clients to enter their email address). These methods also encourage return visits as well as link bait (more on Link Bait in another post). If you have questions feel free to contact us at any time.

Shane Haithcock is a San Diego SEO , who specializes in Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing.