Are you totally confused and perplexed about how to receive targeted traffic to your website? Do you wonder how profitable online businesses obtain customers? Do you ever wonder where your customers come from or how they behave when they arrive on your site? This article will discuss how using data tools and on page SEO (search engine optimization) can give you a boost with search engines, driving more relevant traffic to your website.
If you have been frustrated in your efforts to increase website traffic, another great way to make headway is to learn as much as possible about your audience. Once you know more about what interests them, you can think of ways to better serve them. A stronger audience connection can create more natural traffic and sales, and it's something that every blog and website owner strives for.
Some bloggers and business owners seem to be doing great at generating traffic while others are struggling. It’s common for stumbles and missteps to occur when it comes to building an online business. There isn’t a one size fits all solution that works for everyone. There’s a learning curve and utilizing great tools and knowledge are key, especially when starting out. Many successful online marketers are making use of tools like Google Analytics, Google Trends and Google Affinity Categories and In Page Segment data to make better decisions and connections with current and potential customers.
Learn more about these tools to determine how potential customers would find and interact with your online business before becoming a customer. It’s also a great idea to make use of tools like PowerPoint to create process maps like the one shown below, to learn how potential customers interact with your website.
If you look at the chart above, it breaks down how prospects become customers in a typical workflow. Click on the image for a brief explanation of the chart.
Who Is Your Target Audience and What Do They Want?
It can be discouraging when your blog or website is not getting traffic. It would be easy to think that no one is looking for what you have to offer. However a quick search on Google will tell you whether there is competition for your products and services. If you have competition, you can be certain that there is an audience looking for products and services similar to yours. Google Trends is a great tool that will help you understand how popular a particular topic is, based on the number of searches on Google.
People are searching every day for everything from A to Z. The key is in helping them realize that you have what they are looking for. Your target audience (perfect prospect) is out there, looking for what you are offering. However, if your website is not coming up in their search results, they won't be able to find you. So, let's go over the process used by most people to pursue their interests and find solutions to their problems.
The process usually starts when your potential customer is presented with a problem or an interest in a certain topic. They begin their search for information to find the best possible solution. They head over to their favorite search engine and enter keywords or keyword phrases that the think will help them find solutions.
On Page Goal #1: Deliver Great Content
The next step is in making the connection between what you are offering and the searches your potential customers are making online. The first component of on page SEO that we'll discuss is great content. This is where your pages have the opportunity to shine. If your pages have great content and they're optimized with the same keywords and phrases used by potential customers, your pages will likely be included in potential customer's search results. If your site has great content, but it's not optimized, your page may never be found by the right people.
When you hear the phrase "content is king", you may be tempted to think that it’s just something someone said, that doesn’t have much substance. My experience has been that it’s a very true statement. It’s the blog component that will help your site receive more relevant traffic because it helps the search engines "supply" your customer's "demand", for the solution/topic (keyword) they are looking for. However you have to enable this process to happen.
During their search, potential customers are using specific keywords and more than likely Google is their search engine of choice. This can be a great benefit in providing targeted traffic as well.
The benefit comes if you’re using Google Analytics. Using this tool can boost your ability to learn what your customers are looking for. Google’s search engine utilizes data captured from your prospect's online browsing behavior. Once it’s captured, Google incorporates it into Google Analytics, where it’s available under their Affinity and In Market Segment reports. These reports provide valuable information you can use to determine what’s important to the people who visit your site.
On Page Goal #2: Write Great Headlines and Descriptions
The second on page SEO component that will help your site get more relevant traffic is the link that shows up on search engine results. Many people are unaware, as I was when I started blogging, that the link that shows up on search engine results is the title of your post. So, if you write keyword rich, attention getting headlines and titles you will attract the right people to your content. If you write a boring, irrelevant title, it will have an impact on whether your page is selected from the results page or not.
In our article on Transforming Your Blog Posts to Obtain Qualified Leads, we talk about how you can optimize your posts so that they have the best chance of standing out from all the rest, and being selected in search engine results. If you've done a great job of writing attention getting headlines, subtitles and descriptions, your pages will be the ones selected from your prospects search results, and prospects will land on your site. It's important to properly optimize each post with the attention getting titles, headings and copy to grab their attention so that they will click on your link over the other headlines on the search results page.
Your Content Should Make the Connection
Once your content has grabbed the attention of your potential customer or reader, he or she must be satisfied that they have found the right information when they land on your page. Otherwise they will bounce off your site and you will never hear from them again.
On the other hand, if they like what they see, they will hang around for a while. And if you have further optimized your site so that you can obtain your prospect's email address, and they sign up, you will be able to further connect with them with regular communications to build a better relationship. With a valid email address and an interested prospect, you will be able to provide even more helpful information. You can show them how your solution can help them.
At that point, they may decide to become your customer. And if you continue to provide great content that's easily accessible (useful and linkable) you may have a long term customer.
Now let's take a look at what most bloggers do, especially when they first start out.
Are You This Kind of Internet Marketer?
If you look at the chart above, it breaks down the way that many bloggers and website owners approach obtaining customers. It looks similar to the previous image, but there are some important differences. When this method is used it, results in very different outcomes.
The first issue is that the blogger/business owner has not identified their target audience. If you're the kind of business owner that randomly creates blog posts and blasts your message across social media, you may be disheartened when you realize that people aren't responding. Are you constantly providing random links to anyone who will take a brief look at what you have to offer? Are you running down potential clients, family and friends, hoping they will buy your products? Are you finding that not enough people are listening to your message even though you are screaming at the top of your online voice?
If you're operating this way, you're taking a stab in the dark, hoping something lands in the right place. If you're not researching your customers, receiving feedback or using data to learn what your customers are interested, in you will have no way to know if you have the solution they are looking for. Without knowing more about your customers, it will be hard to provide great content.
If you’re not using on page SEO, your prospects won’t find your business when they enter their keywords into searches on Google. Because they are not appearing on search engine results, you’re losing business as each day passes.
Without optimization, you’re increasing the chances from a customer perspective, that everything is a total mismatch. Potential customers won’t find the information they are looking for and you won’t receive the results (traffic) you want for your business. By taking this approach, you’ll actually miss or repel potential customers instead of introducing them to your products and services. Your content may never be seen by the people who want what you have to sell. It can be a frustrating scenario.
Use the tips from this article to generate more targeted traffic and qualified leads for your online business. Sign up for our newsletter to free tips that are delivered to your inbox. Stay tuned for more articles, news and online learning resources to help you sell more and build your online team.
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Potential customers are online searching for what you have to offer. Follow proven marketing methods, optimize your blog for search engines, and define your target audience, to avoid frustration with your results.
