Conversion Hotel 2014: Angie Schotmuller (US) keynote

HOW TO CONVERT ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC

SEO CONVERSIONSEO CONVERSION

Angie Schottmuller - Conversion Hotel, Oct 22, 2014

5 STAR WARS INSIGHTS TO HELP BRING OPTIMIZATION BALANCE

ANGIE SCHOTTMULLERDirector of Strategy & Optimization

@aschottmuller

ThreeDeepMarketing.com

linkedin.com/in/angieschottmuller

[email protected]

Three Deep Marketing

HOW TO CONVERT ORGANIC SEARCH TRAFFIC

#CH2014 #SEO #CRO@aschottmuller

Tweet this session!

Seriously. It's loaded with juicy stats guaranteed to get a retweet!

A long time ago on an un-optimized website far, far away...

(last year in Australia)

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014

a Star Wars-themed wedding (Anakin and Padme) took place...

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: moviepilot.com. Wedding of Australians Nadia and Dale

#FAILWho starts their marriage mimicking one that was destined to fail??

(Australians Nadia and Dale. That's who.)


SEO CRO


A RELATIONSHIP DESTINED TO ACTUALLY WORK.


SEO vs. CRO

USERS

to believe it's the best answer to a user's queryenough to...

RANK HIGH IN SEARCH RESULTS.

METRIC: Search Rank

COMPLETE THE CALL-TO-ACTION.

METRIC: Conversions (Goal Completions)

SEARCH ENGINES

Optimize content for:

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION CONVERSION RATE OPTIMIZATION

Yet an EVIL empire reins...


For every $92 spent acquiring customers,

Only $1 is spent on conversion.

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Source: Econsultancy & RedEye CRO Report 2012

SEOCRO

DRIVE

CONVERT:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014


WE MUST BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE...

5 INSIGHTS TO BRING OPTIMIZATION BALANCE FROM

STAR WARS


Use the information in this R2 unit to help plan the attack...


ASSESS THE SITUATIONSTAR WARS OPTIMIZATION INSIGHT #1


Image credit: de.ign.com :: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014

What? When? Where? How? Who?


DIVE INTO GOOGLE WEBMASTER TOOLS


What Needs a Lift?

BOOST CTR -- IT'S A QUICK WIN TO MOVE FROM PAGE 2 TO PAGE 1


What IS Working for CTR?


What ISN'T Working for CTR?

Long-Tail Keyword Considerations

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: Elliance.com

CONVERSION RATELow High

Scan for intent-indicators like: "how to", "compare", "coupon"...

Longer tail typically also means more likely to convert

ORGANIC SEARCH CONVERSION FUNNEL


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What's critical?...focus on that!


TRACK WHAT'S IMPORTANTSTAR WARS OPTIMIZATION INSIGHT #2



“You’re sure the homing beacon is secure aboard their ship? I’m taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work.”~ Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin

~ Ben Yoskovitz

@byosko, Author, "Lean Analytics"

"If a metric won'tchange the way you behave,

then it's a BAD metric."


Think beyond the funnel


It's not ALL about the money...

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: omegabarrow.com

~ Bryan Eisenberg

@TheGrok, Conversion Optimization Expert, Speaker & Author

Conversion rate is a measure of your ability to persuade visitors to take the action you want them to take...

"For you to achieve your goals, visitors must FIRST ACHIEVE THEIRS."

REEVALUATE GOALS

BUSINESS GOALSWhat does the business want to accomplish?

USERGOALS

What does the user want to accomplish?


BUSINESS GOALSWhat does the business want to accomplish?

USERGOALS

What does the user want to accomplish?

USER-CENTRIC GOALS


RETHINK

Intention


What specific data do web visitors need to make a good decision?

How can I make the data consumptioninto a measurable action?


ASSESSMENT:

1

2

Top User Actions = Tracked Events = Goals


"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"What was your reason for visiting today?"

Amazon.com... Measurable Actions Everywhere!

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Screenshot: Amazon.com Books: "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek

TRACK "BOUNCE" CORRECTLY


"BOUNCE RATE" (ORIGINAL)PRIOR TO JULY 2012

GOOGLE ANALYTICS:

User enters and exits the same page.


JULY 2012

11

"ADJUSTED BOUNCE RATE" (ABR)AS OF JULY 2012

GOOGLE ANALYTICS:

User enters and exits the same page WITH NO INTERACTION.


JULY 2012

12

Reference: Justin Cutroni - http://cutroni.com/blog/2012/07/27/rethinking-blog-metrics/

A LOGGED EVENT QUALIFIES AS AN "INTERACTION"

i.e. Logging an event at a 5-second view time (or whatever "first impression" time makes sense for your audience) results in Google Analytics NOT counting the visit as a bounce.


STEP OUT OF THAT CRYOGENIC FREEZE, AND LEVERAGE SOME MEANINGFUL DATA...

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image source: musingsfromanotherstar.blogspot.com

WATCH YOUR BOUNCE RATE PLUMMET...


BEFORE ABR:

70%-90%

AFTER ABR:

5%-20%

LEVERAGE EVENT TRACKING


MUST HAVE

FOR OPTIMIZATION REVIEWS


REALITYThose ARE the metrics you're looking for.

GA EVENT TRACKING FOR CRO:http://bit.ly/gaeventtrackingforcro


INCLUDES:• Adjusted Bounce Rate

• Scrolling (beyond fold, page bottom)

• Dynamic Click Trackingtabs, jump-to buttons/links, file downloads, click-to-call ph# [tel:], email [mailto:] , and external domain links

IT'S A POWERFUL GIFT.

WIELD WISELY...

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image source: independent.co.uk

DASHBOARD: http://bit.ly/conversionsgadashboard


CUSTOM REPORT: http://bit.ly/lpconversionflowgareport


:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Reference: E-Nor Blog: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Data to Gain Useful Insights http://j.mp/18agWIx

SEND SIGNALS THAT HELPSTAR WARS OPTIMIZATION INSIGHT #3


:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image source: country933.com

How compelling are your meta descriptions?

VS.

ORG

AN

IC

PAID


Optimize organic search snippetslike you would a PAID AD.

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: luxtica.com

VISUALS are processed

FASTER in the brain than text.

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Source: Neo Mammalian Studios

Check search results for your latest competition...


Oh, snippity snap!

On average, RICH SNIPPETSboost click-through rates by

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: BlueGlass.com

EXPLAINER VIDEOS boostCLICK-THROUGH andCONVERSION

(on average)

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Source: CommonCraft.com, Unbounce.com. http://bit.ly/explainervideostats

CrazyEgg.com video

Dropbox.com video

+$21KSALES/MO

+10%CR LIFT

LEVERAGE CAPTIONS


Notice irrelevant inclusions in image search results for your/my name?


? ?

? ? ? ?

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image source: wall321.com

STORMTROOPER OPTIMIZATION. Photos and videos are likely to rank for nearby keywords. Plus, users read captions 300x more than body text. -Ogilvy Research

OPTIMIZE SCENT(prevent the bounce)

Organic Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller @aschottmuller | #CH2014

MATCH Title Tag & H1 Page Heading


TITLE TAG

H1 PAGE HEADING

Where are the colors?!

Site Reference: Cars.com

COLORS WERE BELOW THE FOLD ...ON A TAB.

RELATED LESSON: Don't save page tabs as different URLs!

Non-Match = Confusion = Bounce

Organic Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller @aschottmuller | #CH2014Site Reference: Cars.com

AUDIT & FIX NON-MATCHES1. Crawl your site with Screaming Frog.2. Export to Excel.3. Filter Title and H1 Differences.4. Audit and Fix!


Screaming Frog SEO Tool: http://bit.ly/screamingfrogtoolCrawls websites and extracts page meta data (and much more) info. 500 URLs free. Unlimited use license $99/yr.

PROVIDE GUIDED DIRECTIONSTAR WARS OPTIMIZATION INSIGHT #4


:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: imgkid.com

What's the path to your 1 best answer?


Query

Page

(No Call-to-Action)(No Call-to-Action)

Page

Page

Page

Page

Page

??? ...VERY CONFUSING!

"Let's get ONEthing straight..."

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: starwars.com

ONE page. ONE purpose.ONE targeted keyword phrase.ONE best answer.

~ Angie Schottmuller

@aschottmuller, SEO & Conversion Optimist, Three Deep Marketing

Map out the path to your best answer...


Query Purpose(Call-to-Action)

Page

<PAGE TYPE>

Define Clear Purpose for ALL Content

PAGE TYPE: _______________________

TOPIC: ____________________________(targeted keyword/phrase)

PURPOSE: _________________________(primary call-to-action)

RELATED INTENT PATHS: ___________


WEB PAGE

HOME & CATEGORY PAGES = "TRAFFIC COP"


Do NOT be deceived uber long, mega-content, distracting homepages.

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: lylesmoviefiles.com

Home Page Conversion Goal =

SEGMENTATION (CLICK-THROUGH)

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image source: enterrasolutions.com

MARKETERS DEVELOPERS

Leverage "Grids" to Present Clear Paths

:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Case study: http://whichtestwon.com/archives/24201

CASE STUDY:

15% LIFT for CTR

RALLY FOR A COMMON GOALSTAR WARS OPTIMIZATION INSIGHT #5


:: SEO Conversion Optimization - Angie Schottmuller - #CH2014Image credit: screenrant.com

What do your users SEEK?


CHECK GOOGLE TYPE-AHEAD SUGGESTIONS...


Create, aggregate, or optimize "BEST ANSWER" pages with long-tail opportunity.

BTW, users search for "reviews", NOT "testimonials"

(Use keywords that aid rankings and maintain scent.)


CASE STUDY

Expert Q&A = SEO & CRO Power Play


BOOSTED CONVERSION

32%

Source: Bazaarvoice Case Study, Nov 2012

... AND AIDED "SHOES"

PAGE 1 RANK

Check Search Results for Anomalies...


A review replaced the meta description!

SEO CRO



WE CAN BRING BALANCE TO THE FORCE...

~ Angie Schottmuller

@aschottmuller, SEO & Conversion Optimist, Three Deep Marketing

"A search query is simply a question. To optimize for both search and conversion,

prove you're the BEST ANSWER."

ORGANIC SEARCH CONVERSION FUNNEL


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SEO + CRO KEY TAKEAWAYS Prioritize opportunities by auditing each stage

of the organic search CRO funnel.

Leverage event tracking to measure *user goal* completion and engagement. (adjusted bounce rate, scrolling, etc.)

Optimize organic search snippets like paid ads.

Provide guided direction to ONE best answer.

Treat home and category pages like a "traffic cop" with segmentation goals.


Need Help Connecting SEO & CRO?

:: Buying Modalities | Angie Schottmuller @aschottmuller | Three Deep Marketing | #CTAConf

Get a FREE SEO+CRO Funnel ConsultMaximize your optimization impact with an organic power play today!

Angie SchottmullerDirector of [email protected]@aschottmuller