SEO + CRO drives revenue - here's how!

Learn from our SEO expert on how to combine SEO + CRO powers to drive revenue.

Author

Jona Fritchie
July 19, 2024

Digital Marketing Insider (174): 7-19-24

Hello Digital Marketing Insiders!

Happy Friday! Get the grill ready, because it’s time to serve up some fresh, piping-hot digital marketing strategies from our in-house experts.

This week’s read is brought to you by Alie Louie, an SEO Manager, who dives into the juicy nuances between SEO and CRO but also highlights the synergy between the two for a full-funnel marketing strategy.

If you want to pair SEO that drives traffic with CRO that converts that traffic, you better read "Turning Traffic Into Revenue with SEO and CRO".

Turning Traffic into Revenue With SEO and CRO

There’s a common misconception about search engine optimization (SEO) that needs debunking: 

While SEO is crucial for increasing a website’s online visibility and attracting traffic, it isn’t necessarily responsible for generating conversions. 

I like to revise this by saying “....it isn’t necessarily responsible for generating conversions alone. 

That’s where SEO and CRO can work together to make a bottom-line impact.

The difference between SEO and CRO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is focused on improving a website’s visibility in search engine results to drive more organic traffic. 

But, driving traffic through SEO is only half the battle. To truly impact your bottom line, it’s essential to implement Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) on your site to turn that traffic driven by SEO into qualified leads.

CRO is the process of improving a website to increase the percentage of visitors who take a desired action such as filling out a form or requesting a product demo.

In essence, while SEO brings potential leads to your doorstep, CRO invites them in and convinces them to stay.

The Synergy Between SEO and CRO

SEO and CRO may focus on different elements of a website but both are important for driving long-term business value.

SEO is focused on increasing a website’s visibility and driving organic traffic to a site and CRO focuses on enhancing the user experience to convert that traffic into leads.

When SEO and conversion optimization work hand-in-hand, they create a powerful synergy: SEO attracts high-quality traffic to the site, and then CRO works its magic to ensure that the traffic takes the desired call to action(s). 

Together they form a cohesive approach that effectively reaches and converts leads, driving long-term business value. 

Driving Quality Traffic with SEO

To drive quality traffic to your site, follow the best practices of the various components of SEO. Those components include On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, and Technical SEO. 

Each plays a crucial role in ensuring your website ranks well in search engine results and attracts the right audience who will be the most likely to convert.

On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO involves optimizing the on-page elements of the pages on your website to rank higher and earn more qualified traffic. This includes:

  • Landing Page Copy: Craft compelling, strategically keyword-rich content that resonates with your target audience. Ensure that your organic landing pages provide valuable information that meets the intent behind the queries of your visitors. 

  • Meta Tags: Meta tags, including title tags and meta descriptions, are crucial for improving your site's visibility in search engine results. Title tags should be concise and include primary keywords, while meta descriptions should provide a brief, compelling summary of the page content to entice users to click through.

  • Internal Linking: Internal links help search engines understand the structure of your website and establish a hierarchy of importance. They also keep visitors engaged by guiding them to related content. Use descriptive anchor text and link to relevant pages within your site to improve navigation and SEO performance.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO focuses on building your website’s authority and reputation through external means not on your website. This includes:

  • Backlinks: High-quality backlinks from reputable and topically relevant websites signal to search engines that your site is trustworthy and authoritative. Aim to acquire backlinks from industry-relevant sites, blogs, and online publications.

  • Brand Mentions: Increasing brand mentions across the web can enhance your site's credibility and visibility, especially now amid the era of AI-generated results in search results. Engage in PR activities, guest blogging, and influencer partnerships to get your brand mentioned where it makes the most sense.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO involves optimizing the backend of your website to improve its performance and ensure it meets search engine requirements. Technical SEO includes:

  • Page Speed: Fast-loading pages provide a better user experience and are favored by search engines (and users!). Optimize images, leverage browser caching, and minimize JavaScript to improve page load times.

  • Load Times: Ensure that all elements on your page load quickly and efficiently. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify and fix issues that may be slowing down your site.

  • Overall Website Performance: Regularly audit your site to address broken links, improve mobile responsiveness, and ensure secure connections (HTTPS). 

Optimize for Conversions with CRO

Conversion Rate Optimization is all about maximizing the percentage of visitors who take a desired action. 

Understanding Conversion Rate

Conversion rate can be easily calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the number of visitors and then multiplying by 100. For example, if your website has 1,000 visitors and 50 of them fill out a form, your conversion rate is 5%.

Understanding this metric is important because it helps you gauge the effectiveness of your CRO efforts and identify areas to improve.

Common Types of Conversion Actions

Different pages on your website may have different conversion goals. Here are some common types of conversion actions we typically see:

  • Submitting a Form: Whether it’s a contact form, a quote request, or a survey, getting visitors to submit a form is often a valuable conversion action.

  • Purchasing a Product: Mostly applicable for e-commerce sites, the ultimate goal is to get visitors to complete a purchase.

  • Booking a Meeting: Service-based businesses may aim to have visitors book consultations or appointments.

  • Subscribing to a Newsletter/Blog: Building an email list through newsletter/blog subscriptions can be a powerful way to nurture leads and conversions further down the road.

Tips to Optimize for Conversions

To effectively optimize for conversions, consider the following strategies:

To read the rest of this article and other great ones like it, go check out our WebMechanix Blog. See you there!

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