Post-Click Marketing Strategies for SEO Professionals
TL;DR
Understanding Post-Click Marketing: Why SEOs Should Care
Okay, let's dive into why you, as an seo pro, should even care about what happens after the click. It's not just about rankings, folks; it's about results.
Think of all the effort poured into driving traffic. But what if that traffic lands on a page that's, well, a dud? All that hard work goes down the drain. That's where post-click marketing comes in like a superhero, swooping in to save the day. Post-click marketing is essentially the strategy and execution of what happens after a user clicks on an ad, link, or any other call to action. It's about ensuring that the experience from that click onwards is seamless, relevant, and guides the user towards a desired outcome, like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a form.
- It's about ensuring the user experience after they click is smooth, relevant, and ultimately converts them into a customer.
- For instance, a healthcare provider could optimize their landing page to make appointment scheduling super easy, reducing drop-offs.
- Or retail stores can use optimized post-click landing pages to showcase product details that align with user search queries.
In fact, Genius Monkey found that a whopping 94% of digital ads don't lead to conversions. For this statistic, a 'conversion' typically means the desired action a marketer wants a user to take after clicking an ad, such as making a purchase, filling out a lead form, or downloading an app. Crazy, right? That's a huge conversion gap! Makes you think about where you are losing out on potential customers, eh?
Optimizing Landing Pages for Conversions: The SEO Perspective
Landing pages: they're either a conversion machine or a leaky bucket, right? As an seo, you probably spend a lot of time getting people to the page, but are you making sure the page itself is doing its job?
First things first, message match is key. The headline on your landing page should be basically shouting the same thing that ad copy whispered. Think of it like this: the ad is the promise, the landing page is the delivery.
- Keep it clean, keep it simple. A cluttered page is a confusing page, and a confusing page is a bouncing visitor.
- Make your call to action (cta) obvious. Don't bury it in a wall of text or hide it at the bottom of the page.
Page speed matters. Ain't nobody got time to wait for a slow-loading page, especially on mobile. Make sure your landing pages are optimized for speed and are mobile-friendly. If your site isn't mobile-friendly, you're already losing out. This is critical because a significant portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly sites in their rankings.
Let's say you're running an ad for a free consultation. Your landing page shouldn't be a generic "contact us" form. It should be a dedicated page that highlights the benefits of the consultation, includes a clear call to action (like "Schedule Your Free Consultation Now"), and maybe even a short video testimonial.
Optimizing landing pages from an seo perspective? It's all about ensuring that the traffic you worked so hard to get actually turns into something valuable. Next up, we'll explore how to build effective post-click funnels.
Building Effective Post-Click Funnels: A Step-by-Step Guide
Building a post-click funnel? It's like guiding someone through a store; you wouldn't just shove them in and hope they buy, would you? Nah, you'd show them around.
Start by visualizing your customer's journey after they click. What steps do they take? Where do they hesitate, and what might be making them bounce?
- Map out every page they might hit, from landing page to thank-you page.
- Identify those points where people drop off like flies. Maybe it's a clunky form, slow loading times, or unclear information.
Segmentation is your friend. Not everyone wants the same thing, so, why give it to them?
- Divide users based on where they came from (ad, social media, email), their interests, or even their past behavior on your site. You can achieve this using tools like Google Analytics, CRM software, or specialized marketing automation platforms that track user interactions.
- Tailor the post-click experience to exactly what they're looking for. Think personalized content, offers, and even landing page layouts.
Don't let that thank-you page be a dead end! This is prime real estate.
- Use it to reinforce their decision and offer something extra. Could be an upsell, a free download, or even a referral program.
- Encourage them to share their experience on social media for some extra reach.
Next up, we'll look at leveraging trust signals and psychological triggers.
Leveraging Trust Signals and Psychological Triggers
Ever wonder why some websites just feel more trustworthy? It ain't magic, folks. It's smart use of trust signals and a lil' psychology.
- Sprinkle in testimonials, reviews, and ratings like confetti. Real people vouching for you goes a long way. Consider placing these prominently near your call to action or on product/service pages. A few well-placed, genuine reviews are often more effective than a long list of generic ones.
- Show off those social media mentions, shares, and likes. It's like a digital popularity contest, and you wanna win. Displaying these can be done through social sharing buttons or embedding feeds, ideally in a way that doesn't distract from the main conversion goal.
- Don't be shy about industry awards, certifications, and endorsements. Let people know you're legit, and you know your stuff.
Imagine you're choosing between two online stores. One has a bunch of glowing reviews, the other is silent. Which are you clicking?
- Limited-time offers and deadlines can light a fire under folks. Nobody wants to miss out, you know?
- Highlight limited availability – "Only 3 left!" – to pump up the demand.
- Use countdown timers and other visual cues to hammer home the urgency.
It's about creating a sense of "now or never" – but hey, don't be too pushy.
Testing, Analysis, and Continuous Improvement: The SEO's Toolkit
Alright, let's wrap this up – pun intended! You know, it's easy to get lost in the weeds of seo, but the real magic happens when you tie everything together with testing and analysis. Think of it as closing the loop, making sure all that hard work actually pays off.
a/b testing is your best friend. Seriously. Try different headlines, ctas, button colors – everything. It's not about guessing what works, but knowing. For example, a financial services company might test two different landing page layouts to see which one leads to more sign-ups for a free consultation. When interpreting A/B test results, look for statistically significant differences in your key metrics. Don't just look at which version "won," but understand why it might have performed better by analyzing user behavior patterns associated with each variation.
Tools are your other best friends. From free options like Google Analytics to paid suites, use 'em! They'll help you track performance, measure results, and not just measure vanity metrics. Vanity metrics are those that look good on paper but don't directly contribute to business goals, like total website visitors or page views without context. Your "north stars" – conversion rates, bounce rates, time on page – are what really matter.
It's a cycle. Test, analyze, tweak, repeat. Don't get discouraged if something flops – it's just data!
Heatmaps are like x-ray vision for your website. See where people click, scroll, and hang out. A retail site might use a heatmap to see if customers are missing a key product feature on the landing page.
User session recordings are even cooler. Watch real people use your site and cringe at their frustrations. It's like watching a movie of your website's usability.
Use these insights to optimize design and content. Move things around, clarify confusing bits, and generally make life easier for your visitors.
Track conversion rates, bounce rates, and time on page. These are your north stars.
Dig into the analytics to find trends and patterns. Where are people dropping off? What are they doing before they convert?
Use this data to make recommendations for improvement. And don't be afraid to make big changes.
So, yeah, that's the seo's toolkit, right? It's never really "done", always more stuff to test and try.