In a meeting last week several businesses were discussing the advantages their company offered through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and by driving traffic to their sites through online ads.
"That all sounds great," replied one business owner, "but can you show direct sales from that? Hits and people on my site are wonderful but if they aren't buying it really doesn't help me out.
" And he's right.
If you have thousands of people bouncing onto and off of your website or Facebook page everyday but no one ever calls or buys, what good does it do? First, let's start by asking the right question.
Why are people stopping but not buying? It's the same question you ask of any advertising or marketing.
Why do people come through your business without buying? Price? Sometimes.
Online the answer is usually something deeper.
Did they find what they needed to know? Are they visiting your main page and not going any deeper? (Your analytics report can give you this information.
It's called "bounces".
) Maybe the content there needs to be changed.
Does the information provided on your site match up with the ad they clicked from? (You advertised lawn service and the page they landed on promoted your landscaping service.
) Maybe the page needs to be more specific.
Do you have a call to action, a reason for people to email you, subscribe to your e-newsletter or call for more information? The second question refers to your motivation.
What exactly did you expect from the ad or Facebook page? Sometimes getting people to move from seeing your name to clicking "like" on your Facebook page, following you on Twitter, subscribing to your YouTube channel or adding their name to your e-newsletter is a step toward converting them to a customer.
Hits to your site really are just opportunities for you to invite interested people to get to know you better.
And finally, how much time have you given it? One client started a Facebook page 6+ months ago and has aggressively promoted their services online.
Now, after months of hard and consistent work, they are seeing major increases in visits and interest from new clients.
Another client saw increases in hits to his website through online ads for months before the calls started to trickle in from interested customers.
SEO can only do so much to drive traffic to your site, page or channel.
Once they get there you have a great opportunity to convert potential customers to real customers.
Make sure the content they want and need is readily and easily available, and don't rush it.
The best customer relationships develop over time.
"That all sounds great," replied one business owner, "but can you show direct sales from that? Hits and people on my site are wonderful but if they aren't buying it really doesn't help me out.
" And he's right.
If you have thousands of people bouncing onto and off of your website or Facebook page everyday but no one ever calls or buys, what good does it do? First, let's start by asking the right question.
Why are people stopping but not buying? It's the same question you ask of any advertising or marketing.
Why do people come through your business without buying? Price? Sometimes.
Online the answer is usually something deeper.
Did they find what they needed to know? Are they visiting your main page and not going any deeper? (Your analytics report can give you this information.
It's called "bounces".
) Maybe the content there needs to be changed.
Does the information provided on your site match up with the ad they clicked from? (You advertised lawn service and the page they landed on promoted your landscaping service.
) Maybe the page needs to be more specific.
Do you have a call to action, a reason for people to email you, subscribe to your e-newsletter or call for more information? The second question refers to your motivation.
What exactly did you expect from the ad or Facebook page? Sometimes getting people to move from seeing your name to clicking "like" on your Facebook page, following you on Twitter, subscribing to your YouTube channel or adding their name to your e-newsletter is a step toward converting them to a customer.
Hits to your site really are just opportunities for you to invite interested people to get to know you better.
And finally, how much time have you given it? One client started a Facebook page 6+ months ago and has aggressively promoted their services online.
Now, after months of hard and consistent work, they are seeing major increases in visits and interest from new clients.
Another client saw increases in hits to his website through online ads for months before the calls started to trickle in from interested customers.
SEO can only do so much to drive traffic to your site, page or channel.
Once they get there you have a great opportunity to convert potential customers to real customers.
Make sure the content they want and need is readily and easily available, and don't rush it.
The best customer relationships develop over time.