Are your keywords attracting window shoppers or prospective buyers?
If you are ready to take an honest look at your traffic and analyze the same, many of you may find that you are attracting more shoppers to your website than prospective buyers. What this means is that even though you are getting good traffic on your website (and assuming your content copy and services have been well presented), a very few are converting to actual sales.
If you have a website that’s not selling anything, and traffic is your goal, then there is no problem. But if online sales are the goal of your website, then the problem could lie in the “keywords” you have selected.
A shopper - is one who finds you because they are looking for some information, but they may not be ready to buy as of yet. A shopper generally uses generic search terms like ‘cameras’ or ‘new cameras’ because they are not exactly sure of what they want, but are interested in knowing some more information. Now, not all shoppers are bad, because even though they may be just looking now, they could get interested in what you offer or return at a later date as a prospective customer.
Eg. Kate is interested in buying a camera, but is not sure which one to buy, or what features she wants. Kate uses a generic search term like ‘cameras’ or ‘new cameras’ and finds thousands of listings right from the definition of camera, to an online shop selling cameras, to a site selling used cameras, to a site offering user camera reviews, to a blog by a photography enthusiast, and even a YouTube video about the best camera one can buy. Kate browses through many websites to find more information so that eventually she can make an informed decision.
Now if your website was selling cameras, and you rank well for the keywords Kate used, then Kate would have visited your website, and the website offering user reviews on best cameras, and an eBay link for camera for sale... By the time Kate would have decided on which camera to buy, and what features she likes most, you have lost a customer today.
A buyer – is one who reaches your site because they are looking for something specific, and they enter a specific keyword phrase to find the product, service or information they are looking for. A buyer generally uses specific search terms like ‘seo expert india’ or ‘affordable internet marketing services’ or ‘how to hire a seo expert’ or ‘free seo training’ to find something they want. The buyer searches are a lot more specific, often with key modifiers like affordable, cheap, free, best, or location like mumbai, india to narrow the search to find what they are exactly looking for. The need of the buyer is more urgent (it reflects in the specific search phrase they use) and the chances of conversion of this user can be high if the page that opens can resolve the buyers specific query.
Eg. Kate wants more traffic on her website that sells designer shoes online. Kate wants to find a seo expert that can help her achieve this. Kate also has a very low budget and wants to read up some information on search engine optimization so that she would be in a better position to choose the right seo expert for her business. Kate’s needs are very specific. Say she enters ‘how to hire a seo expert’ in the search box, and finds a link to an article on your website that offers tips to evaluate the right seo expert. She finds the information very useful, and finds her way to your seo services page and order form. Kate could also have entered ‘seo expert in india’ if she was looking to outsource her seo needs to India (since she had heard that outsourcing to India is affordable and that is one of her requirements). Since the buyer reaches your website with a specific need in mind, and has entered a specific keyword phrase to reach you, and your page resolves that buyers query, the chances of sale conversion are high.
If you notice the differentiator between the shopper and the buyer is the search phrase they used. The shopper used a shorter keyword (one word, two word phrases), while the buyer used longer phrases (three word to five word phrases).
A common SEO saying - shorter keywords are the shoppers and longer keywords are the buyers. And this makes sense when you understand the different needs of both these segments and how they search for you.
How does this affect your keyword strategy?
Many online businesses make the mistake of putting all their attention on the competitive two word keywords. These keywords have high traffic volumes and that seems to be a great incentive. But generic keywords or short keywords are invariably highly competitive, take a lot more time and money to rank well, and attracts mostly shoppers who are just looking. Also keep in mind is that the leads that come via the generic or two word phrases are not really qualified for sale. This could mean you are investing more time, money and resources in targeting keywords that are not bringing in the conversions.
It’s the longer keywords (three word to five word) that will get you qualified leads and targeted traffic. Longer keywords don’t have that much competition (and are easier to rank) and you can always create new variations using key modifiers like location, price, model number, brand name etc. A good seo strategy starts by targeting the long tails of the keywords first, and then moving on to those competitive short keywords.
Who do you prefer visiting your website, prospective shoppers or buyers?
If it’s primarily traffic you want for your website then focus your website around one or two short primary keywords, and build many quality links to those pages that are focused around your primary keywords.
But if getting more business if what you want, then the opportunity lies in the longer keyword phrases (even the seemingly strange ones) and you will need to change your current seo strategy to identify and rank well for those longer versions of keyword, and build links accordingly.
If you have a website that’s not selling anything, and traffic is your goal, then there is no problem. But if online sales are the goal of your website, then the problem could lie in the “keywords” you have selected.
A shopper - is one who finds you because they are looking for some information, but they may not be ready to buy as of yet. A shopper generally uses generic search terms like ‘cameras’ or ‘new cameras’ because they are not exactly sure of what they want, but are interested in knowing some more information. Now, not all shoppers are bad, because even though they may be just looking now, they could get interested in what you offer or return at a later date as a prospective customer.
Eg. Kate is interested in buying a camera, but is not sure which one to buy, or what features she wants. Kate uses a generic search term like ‘cameras’ or ‘new cameras’ and finds thousands of listings right from the definition of camera, to an online shop selling cameras, to a site selling used cameras, to a site offering user camera reviews, to a blog by a photography enthusiast, and even a YouTube video about the best camera one can buy. Kate browses through many websites to find more information so that eventually she can make an informed decision.
Now if your website was selling cameras, and you rank well for the keywords Kate used, then Kate would have visited your website, and the website offering user reviews on best cameras, and an eBay link for camera for sale... By the time Kate would have decided on which camera to buy, and what features she likes most, you have lost a customer today.
A buyer – is one who reaches your site because they are looking for something specific, and they enter a specific keyword phrase to find the product, service or information they are looking for. A buyer generally uses specific search terms like ‘seo expert india’ or ‘affordable internet marketing services’ or ‘how to hire a seo expert’ or ‘free seo training’ to find something they want. The buyer searches are a lot more specific, often with key modifiers like affordable, cheap, free, best, or location like mumbai, india to narrow the search to find what they are exactly looking for. The need of the buyer is more urgent (it reflects in the specific search phrase they use) and the chances of conversion of this user can be high if the page that opens can resolve the buyers specific query.
Eg. Kate wants more traffic on her website that sells designer shoes online. Kate wants to find a seo expert that can help her achieve this. Kate also has a very low budget and wants to read up some information on search engine optimization so that she would be in a better position to choose the right seo expert for her business. Kate’s needs are very specific. Say she enters ‘how to hire a seo expert’ in the search box, and finds a link to an article on your website that offers tips to evaluate the right seo expert. She finds the information very useful, and finds her way to your seo services page and order form. Kate could also have entered ‘seo expert in india’ if she was looking to outsource her seo needs to India (since she had heard that outsourcing to India is affordable and that is one of her requirements). Since the buyer reaches your website with a specific need in mind, and has entered a specific keyword phrase to reach you, and your page resolves that buyers query, the chances of sale conversion are high.
If you notice the differentiator between the shopper and the buyer is the search phrase they used. The shopper used a shorter keyword (one word, two word phrases), while the buyer used longer phrases (three word to five word phrases).
A common SEO saying - shorter keywords are the shoppers and longer keywords are the buyers. And this makes sense when you understand the different needs of both these segments and how they search for you.
How does this affect your keyword strategy?
Many online businesses make the mistake of putting all their attention on the competitive two word keywords. These keywords have high traffic volumes and that seems to be a great incentive. But generic keywords or short keywords are invariably highly competitive, take a lot more time and money to rank well, and attracts mostly shoppers who are just looking. Also keep in mind is that the leads that come via the generic or two word phrases are not really qualified for sale. This could mean you are investing more time, money and resources in targeting keywords that are not bringing in the conversions.
It’s the longer keywords (three word to five word) that will get you qualified leads and targeted traffic. Longer keywords don’t have that much competition (and are easier to rank) and you can always create new variations using key modifiers like location, price, model number, brand name etc. A good seo strategy starts by targeting the long tails of the keywords first, and then moving on to those competitive short keywords.
Who do you prefer visiting your website, prospective shoppers or buyers?
If it’s primarily traffic you want for your website then focus your website around one or two short primary keywords, and build many quality links to those pages that are focused around your primary keywords.
But if getting more business if what you want, then the opportunity lies in the longer keyword phrases (even the seemingly strange ones) and you will need to change your current seo strategy to identify and rank well for those longer versions of keyword, and build links accordingly.
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