At what point is it time to expand the budget? Where do you allocate your marketing funds? Obviously, the decision should be to invest in the best performing area of marketing. 86% of businesses have stated they will invest in some sort of content marketing plan this year. This is closely intertwined with SEO because without content, there is no SEO. Many businesses rely on Google to provide their traffic and without it, the volume would dry up.
This year, companies are exploring other options for improving the flow of new clients their website generates by focusing on improving the click-through rate to their website (CTR). Without any change to their ranking, a company can improve their traffic by attracting more clicks from their current positions.
Why is CTR is becoming increasingly important?
Statistics will show that the number of clicks to organic results are down 55% for mobile and 45% for desktop. Google product are occupying most of the pixels above the fold with a variety of displays such as featured snippets, local listings, carousels and knowledge panels. This means that when a user actually scrolls past all of Google’s features to the organic results your company needs to stand out to attract the click-especially if it’s not in the number one position.
Focus on branding
Branding your company should become a priority in order to increase the traffic your site receives. Users are more likely to buy from a company they know and trust. Get your website to jump out from the list of results by implementing a branding campaign through the content you produce.
Storytelling is a powerful method of connecting your company to recognizable identity. Your story should be one of development and progress. If it isn’t directly about your company it should be about the clients you help along the way. Stories of struggle that ended up in success will give people in similar situations in which they can relate.
Many sports-related companies use this approach in their marketing to show athletes working hard and succeeding in their sport. Gatorade, Nike, Adidas all run commercials with this exact tactic which has led to a highly recognizable brand that people associate with winning.
There is more likelihood of a user clicking on your site when they recognize your company and understand what they’re getting. Being up front with your marketing and as transparent as possible encourage more loyalty to your brand.
Write amazing headlines
Improving your click through rate can be achieved through other means of your content creation such as writing exceptional headlines. A good headline is a major factor in attracting the click. People are always skimming the results of a search to see what applies to them the most. If your headline not only stands out but actually reaches out and grabs the reader, you’re going to receive more traffic based on that fact alone.
Use numbers in your headlines to tell the reader exactly what they’re getting. When people know exactly what they’re getting they create a clearer picture in their minds about what to expect. Using numbers helps people to manage their expectations. A parallel to demonstrate the concept of expectation management is to consider patients in a doctors waiting room. If the doctor is 20 minutes running late, the patient will deal with the additional wait time much better if they are notified they will need to wait an additional 20 minutes as opposed to not knowing when they will be called in to see the doctor. Using numbers gives readers an exact measurement of what they are going to receive when they read your article.
Power words are descriptive words than add sizzle to your title to generate more interest. For example, compare “How to Write Good Headlines” versus “5 Sensational Headline Strategies To Attract More Clicks” Create excitement in your topic by adding words that evoke a little more feeling than a generic description.
Be descriptive in the sense that you are explaining to readers what you are going to talk about, and how it will help them. It goes back to expectation management where you are painting a clearer picture for readers what your article is about so they understand what it will do for them. Consider the following two headlines “How to improve your website” versus “10 Amazing Tactics That Will Increase Traffic To Your Website” Obviously the latter paints a much more detailed picture by accurately stating to the reader they are going to get 10 tactics that will drive more traffic to their website as opposed to a vague description in the first title that could means a number of things to a reader.
Choose the most appropriate title length for your title to get more people on your site. According to a study, using 8-13 words in a headline will attract more shares on social media. Using this strategy allows you to accurately describe your article and improve your click-through rate by 20%.
If your optimizing a page or article for the search engines, make sure your title is under 70 characters. Search engines will cut off anything after 70 characters so you will want to make sure that your title is complete with the keyword closer to the front end.
Give readers a sneak preview
Make your meta descriptions as compelling as possible to attract more clicks. You get to give your potential readers a sneak peak into what you’re offering them in your article. Make sure your description covers all of the major points your article covers and describes the benefits the reader will get by reading your work.
Although the percentage of clicks of the total volume of traffic has shifted from organic results to the other options that are now being presented companies can still improve their traffic by focusing on the areas that will increase their click-through rate.
