Grabbing Visitors with Content - SEO Tips by Gervais Group

Gervais Group - Web Design and SEO Tips by Gervais Group

The Problem
So you’ve optimized your site for the search engines and have a marketing plan in place that’s giving you great rankings on the results pages. The traffic to your site is on the increase and you’re feeling pretty good about things. Conversions haven’t started kicking in yet but you know that it’s just a matter of time.
Time passes, and those conversions still aren’t happening. You’ve been so happy with the traffic numbers that you haven’t looked any deeper to see what’s really happening when visitors get to the site. A quick look at your analytics shows a big problem; your visitors are certainly arriving but they’re bouncing out just as quickly. Another piece of data shows that they’re not coming back, either. What you have is a lot of new visitors hanging around for a handful of seconds and then leaving, never to return. Taking a look at the various landing pages gives you some solace because, at first glance, they look great. You’re still happy with the design and layout with your pages, they’re loading quickly and they really pop when they open. So far, so good.
It’s only after reading the text on the pages that you see the problem, and it’s horrible. Your content, even though it’s optimized with your keywords, is disjointed, unorganized, and gives the appearance of being written by a third grader. It’s no wonder visitors are bouncing. It’s also not a surprise that they aren’t returning. Whatever credibility your site is establishing with its first impression, it’s losing that and more as soon as a visitor takes a look at what is written on each page.

The Fix
People are no longer impressed just to be cruising around the internet. The “Been there, done that” mentality of searchers on the web means that content must now offer much more than just keywords and phrases in terms of keeping visitors on your site and motivating them to return in the future. Content that is well-written and compels visitors toward conversion is now one of the most important facets of your website. Delivering what your visitors are looking for will keep them coming back to both visit and make purchases from your site. Here’s what they’re looking for:

* Fresh content – Original content with your own personal spin will give your site some character and differentiate it from your competition. Keeping it fresh will both help with your rankings on search engine results pages and keep visitors coming back to see what’s new on your site.
* Related content – Make sure your content is related to what your visitors are searching for. Being all over the board with your content can confuse and alienate your visitors.
* Timed content – Tying current events to your content extends both credibility and relevance of your site, products, and services.
* Targeted content – Direct your content at your target market. Don’t be afraid to offer specific and/or technical content. Expertise in an area requires thorough knowledge and conveying that will build credibility and trust.
* Directional content – You want your content to guide your visitor through the conversion process in as simple a manner as possible. Content that helps your visitor buy what you’re offering works better than selling to them.

Providing your site visitors with a dynamic and informative experience, related to what they’re searching for will motivate them to return to your site, stay on it, and increase the odds that they will buy from you. But the fight for rankings, visitors, and conversions, is more than just a function of search engine optimization and marketing. It’s a fight for trust and credibility, which begins - and ends - with high quality content.