The Goal of SEO is NOT to Rank #1

QUICK SUMMARY

Most clients tell me “I want to be #1 on Google – or at least on the first page.” And it’s reasonable to want that - anything beyond that drastically lowers your chance of being found online by potential customers.

But that’s NOT the primary goal of good search engine optimization (SEO).

The goal is to generate leads and sales for your business.

A #1 ranking in the Google search results is completely worthless if your website is not designed to convert that traffic into leads and sales!

What To Do

Improve your website’s conversion rate (the % of website visitors who call or contact you about your products or services, or who buy from you) BEFORE you focus on improving your ranking and generating more traffic to your website.

Here are some ways to do it:

• Measure the current conversion rate so you know how well your site is doing. This is your baseline against which to measure improvement efforts.
• Have only one primary offer (call to action) per page.
• Make your offer clear, valuable and compelling to your ideal customers. (Hint: ASK customers if they know what you offer and if it's appealing to them.)
• Change the page or website layout to highlight your offer(s).
• Use a popup or slide-in to make sure your offer can’t be missed. Just don't make it obnoxious or cover the entire page. OptinMonster (paid) or Sumo apps (free) are good options for doing this.
• Capture email addresses so you can follow up later (for example, offer a “freebie” of some sort in exchange for their email).
• Install tracking pixels so you can use retargeting ads to bring visitors who didn’t contact you or buy from you back to your website.