More Important Than Google Listing?

Published by Andrew | Filed under Search Engine Optimisation
 

By Laura Wharton

Your website ranks high in search engine rankings. That’s good; but it’s not that important.

What? SEO ranking not important? Isn’t that the sole purpose of SEO?

Well, yes, and no. You want your site to be recognized for the great information it holds, true. But isn’t the primary reason you have a website to generate leads - and ultimately sales?

Just like a well-written direct mail series or an e-mail blast, your website’s goal is to illicit a response from visitors. And while SEO ranking is helpful in determining proper keyword or key phrase usage, there are more relevant ways to monitor how successful your site is. These are called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

KPIs include the following, among others:

1. Unique Visitors - how many people are visiting your site? This important measurement tells you if your site pages’ titles and META descriptions are compelling to the audience you’re targeting based on the keywords they are searching. The end result? Your unique visitors can become buyers.

Visit some of the websites that rank higher than yours to learn what’s compelling about the site. Is there a call to action? Your page titles act as an ad for your company, or a call to action.

2. Visits - Not to be confused with Unique Visitors, visits count how many times anyone (unique or not) has visited your site. This is important because it shows a correlation between a particular keyword and visits, which suggests your site’s relevancy as a resource for a specified audience. If your site offers an archive of articles, you might see that your archives page is visited often. Your site is a resource for your targeted audience, and sets you apart as a “thought leader.”

So how many times does someone have to visit a site before responding to a call to action (like making a purchase)? Many experts say three times. That’s why adding relevant, compelling content on a regular basis is important to the worth of your site.

3. Average Page Views - This statistic measures the average number of pages that a visitor might view during a visit to your site. A high number could mean that a visitor had difficulty finding what he was looking for - or it could be that he really likes the graphics.

So what’s a person to do? Monitor conversions.

4. Conversions - Converting someone from a viewer to a doer may mean that she signed up for a free newsletter, offered her name as a lead to pursue, or bought whatever you’re selling. It’s the most important KPI, but it leans heavily on the others. By looking at all the KPIs, you’ll get an overview of how well your site is performing its desired goal. For instance, if you use high-ranking keywords that drive visitors to a particular page on your site and then to a specified, measurable action, you can give yourself a pat on the back.

Just don’t rest on your laurels for too long - it takes work to keep your site relevant and high-ranking.

The moral of this story is to question any SEO firm who guarantees a top-position ranking. Ask them if they will also guarantee unique visitors - or better yet, conversions.

Where can you measure KPIs?

Start with your website’s developer. Often, there’s a monitoring tool built in to your site. If you want more, go to Google Analytics, a free tool that helps collect your site’s data so you can monitor your site’s KPIs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laura_Wharton

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July 21st, 2008