Conversion counts. Fact. ROI is the name of the game. Yes, we still send out SEO ranking reports to our clients but we also realise our scope as SEO’s needs to be so much more expansive and needs to evolve with the search engines. Just recently I was talking to some marketing guys who said ” But you don’t rank no1 for …..” and we rank no1 for….” My first thoughts were, I’ve not heard anyone talk about conversion rates yet.
Google hints that localisation of search will feature more prominently next year as will more personalised search results and the development of Google Universal Search. Video site maps will become the focus of the savvy SEO’s and creating a marketing buzz to our clients websites whilst maintaining great usability will be high on the list of priorities. Ethical SEO is of course the strategy for long term site success, although this can be a difficult pill to swallow when you see many sites gaining authority on the net through bad practice.I guess its down to the SEO to asess risk tolerance in these areas.
Google has much more intelligence towards sub domains now with geo-targeting rearing its head here again. Mobile technology user experience needs to be anticipated in client site development if you want to keep with the times.
Not much of a list then for the SEO of 2009 to consider …. 
9 Comments
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1st December 2008 @ 14:07
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I’d agree with you, but the real problem then becomes are you in the business of SEO or Internet Marketing (or conversion optimisation, or whatever buzzword you’d use)?
Maybe just semantics, but lots of people don’t understand what we do, and lots of ‘us’ *claim* to do things we know nothing about..
I think you guys know where I’m coming from
1st December 2008 @ 14:17
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Dave,
For me - ROI is what counts absolutley, however it’s sometimes difficult to really prove it from a natural SEO perspective.
1. Direct traffic - offline campaigns can boost direct traffc/branded phrases, word of mouth, even PPC can implant the company name in someones memory. To the untrained eye, this can look like an increase in natural traffic, but for your average stats/conversion program you’ll struggle to differentiate.
2. Returning visitors - unless tracked correctly via long term cookies etc, may not be tracked correctly.
3. Google news / base / products - I still see lots of sites which can’t differentiate between sales from these channels versus natural search traffic.
Personally, the only way I can see it working is based on ‘n’ natural search phrases.
E.g. ‘track ROI for all phrases which dont include’- company name
- company website
- previous good listings for ‘product x’ / ’service y’Another point is that as an SEO it’s not strictly your job to improve ROI - I always compare it to getting people to your shop door, once they are inside the shop then it’s up to the shop owner to maximise what the store sells via layouts, sales etc. However, a good SEO campaign should drive the right traffic to the right internal page/product thus helping the customer find what they are searching for (which many agencies overlook)
Many clients in the past have echoed “we just aren’t seeing the returns.” Agreed, but take a look at the traffic + rankings and you’ll see our job is being done, however the garish orange/yellow layout may be hampering your sales
1st December 2008 @ 18:00
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Hi readers what is a good conversion rate? I hear 3-5% is average but Amazon they say get higher.
1st December 2008 @ 21:27
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‘Ethical SEO is of course the strategy for long term site success, although this can be a difficult pill to swallow when you see many sites gaining authority on the net through bad practice.I guess its down to the SEO to asess risk tolerance in these areas’
The number of times I’ve turned the air blue when I’ve found our competitors using dodgy and black hat techniques to out gun is in the Serps - but I’ve always maintained a strict policy of only ever using legitimate techniques - and I’ve managed to regain that No 1 position for some of my most important keywords.
I would rather float between the top few positions than risk being banned or penalised!
2nd December 2008 @ 09:27
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I think Nick makes a good point here. SEO by definition is Search Engine Optimisation- not Conversion Rate Analysis and inmrovement. If the service being purchased/ supplied is that of SEO, then surely that begins and ends with keyword analysis and ultimately ranking for the given terms.
Of course conversion rates are hugely important, but they are a seperate subject. If the correct traffic is not being brought to the site, no matter how good the conversion rate is, the site is not being maximised in its potential (and vice versa).And Elaine, i share your frustrations completely. To see bad design and spammy paid links win (even in the short term) over good unique content and well designed architecture is the single biggest frustration i have as an online retailer.
But what is the alternative?
2nd December 2008 @ 21:02
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[...] Naylor: Sind SEO-Platzierungsreports tot? Tja. Mehr und mehr Cracks der Branche predigen, dass sich das SEO der Zukunft dank der weiteren [...]
5th December 2008 @ 16:03
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We’ve been thinking this way for some time now Dave - and it’s the only way forward for reputable SEO companies.
Yes we also still run our AWR reports every month but the value of tracking these ranking positions has become less and less - we see listings bounce around all the time and being #1 is often only vanity for a client. And how many clients will take a listing over a 1% increase in ROI?
Personally I like to track keyword conversion rates,traffic and bounce rates in GA and then concentrate on improving ROI for clients.8th December 2008 @ 15:59
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It certainly needs more client education on the subject though: I can’t count the number of times I’ve raised the issue of conversions with clients and they have a major epiphany.
14th May 2009 @ 12:49
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Absolutely spot on! Without measuring and optimising for conversions what’s the point? Brand development? Too fluffy in my opinion - particularly now.
It certainly needs more client education on the subject though: I can’t count the number of times I’ve raised the issue of conversions with clients and they have a major epiphany.
I’m not talking here that they suddenly ‘get’ how it can be done in, say, web analytics, it’s that the penny drops that this is what they *should* be doing - that any visitor interaction with the website, even a key page-view or brochure download, can be considered a conversion and measured.
Andy