It’s no secret that SEO and CRO are powerful strategies to grow a website; but if you really want to unlock your online potential, the two strategies must be seamlessly combined in your digital marketing efforts. By optimizing both search engine visibility and conversion rate, you can maximize revenue.
In all my years of working as an SEO and CRO specialist, I have come to the conclusion that both strategies must work together to get the best results.
I have realized that there are two main reasons for low conversion rates on a website boiled down to 2 reasons:
Bad Traffic and Bad UX
Maximizing the success of your website requires a two-pronged approach: generating relevant traffic and optimizing UX and other conversion elements on the website. With this combination, you can maximize the revenue potential of your website.
But before we begin to understand why SEO and CRO should go together, let’s first understand the difference between what is SEO vs CRO.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO is an important process for any website that wants to be successful – it helps boost the quality and quantity of traffic from search engines like Google, Bing, Yandex, etc.
It involves making sure that your website appears higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) when people search for relevant keywords and phrases.
“61% of B2B marketers stated that SEO and organic traffic generate more leads than any other marketing initiative.”
So, you can say that SEO is about getting users to your website by showing them your content in search engine results.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?
Conversion Rate Optimization is the process of enhancing a website’s elements in a way that converts visitors into customers. By making adjustments to UX, design, content, and other elements of the website you can increase revenue by converting more users into leads or sales.
If a website wants to reach its full potential, CRO is a secret weapon that most fail to use.
By adding a CRO to your digital marketing strategy you will gain a fresh perspective on how to increase conversions that can take you where no campaign has gone before.
Thus, from the above definitions we can see that both strategies complement each other. SEO focuses on increasing traffic and CRO is all about making sure that this increased traffic is converted into sales or leads.
CRO and SEO: Where Do They Overlap
Although CRO and SEO differ vastly, there are a few areas of overlap between the two. The below infographic provides a clear illustration of the correlation between SEO and CRO, demonstrating how each can positively impact your website’s overall performance.
- Page speed:
A faster-loading website is one of the key elements determining your success or failure in SEO and CRO. Search engine algorithms now favor websites with faster page speeds, while potential customers may leave the site if it takes too long to load.
- User experience:
SEO and CRO overlap when it comes to designing a user-friendly website. Search engine algorithms take user experience into account when determining rankings and visitors won’t bother to take a desired action if the website isn’t easy to navigate.
- Mobile friendly:
Google shook up the SEO world in 2018 when it sent out its Mobile-First Index, meaning your site’s rankings were suddenly determined by how mobile-friendly they were.
Similarly, mobile transactions accounted for around 52% of e-commerce in 2016, but by 2021 it is estimated to have a share as high as 73%, demonstrating the need to ensure your website is optimized for mobile.
How SEO and CRO work together for More Traffic and Conversion SEO and CRO should go hand in hand and when used together properly, can result in higher traffic and conversions for your website. Here are some ways you can use SEO and CRO in tandem:
1. Create SEO content that aligns with the correct search intent
Keyword intent can be broad categories as:
- Navigational
- Informational
- Transactional
- Commercial Investigation
By understanding the intent of the user behind a search query, you can create content that is most suited to their needs. This helps in improving your rankings as well as increasing conversions.
2. Optimise meta tags:
If you’re looking to up your game in the search engine world and get yourself noticed, optimizing those meta tags is like putting on a better suit. By adding relevant keywords and smart copy, you can create an unbeatable first impression that will result in higher CTRs, ensuring you get high-quality users to your website.
3. Behavior analysis for heatmaps and analytics tools
This will help you find any areas of confusion and frustration when visitors are trying to complete a desired action. Any issues you identify can then be addressed to improve the user experience and increase conversion rates.
4. Collect & analyze qualitative & quantitative data
Now that you have high-intent users on your website because of SEO you now need to know and analyze user behavior on your website.
Qualitative & quantitative data can tell you where users are struggling, or what pages are driving conversions. This data is invaluable in helping you identify areas that need to be improved upon.
Google Analytics 4 is a great tool to collect quantitative data and helps you find out where and how many users are dropping off on the website. You can use funnel analysis, user flow, and other reports to understand your users on the website.
Qualitative data tools like Hotjar (Paid) or Microsoft Clarity (Free) are great tools that can provide valuable data about where users are clicking and scrolling on your site, allowing you to create a power to improve conversions.
5. Optimize landing pages for better conversions
If you want to help your visitors make the right move, craft persuasive landing pages filled with flashy design features and compelling calls to action. Don’t just get them interested – nudge them to take action!
6. Brainstorm optimizations on the landing pages for better conversions:
Once you have data from the analytics tools, it’s time to come up with ideas for optimization that will help improve conversions on your website. You can start by brainstorming ideas related to page layout, design, and content – include the entire team in this exercise.
Ideas can be related to adding clear CTAs, and visuals, using well-placed copy, and incorporating elements of persuasion like reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, consensus, etc.
7. A/B testing your website’s design and content.
A/B testing works wonders for website owners who are looking to maximize their conversion rate. It’s a powerful and invaluable tool for making decisions about design, messaging, and other elements that affect converting visitors into customers. The real secret? Data-driven decision-making!
Now that you have brainstormed ideas to improve website conversion you shouldn’t directly implement those changes on the website. These are just ideas you don’t know for sure if the changes that you planning to make are going to increase or decrease your conversions. That’s where A/B testing comes into play.
Learn how our client was able to Increase their Conversion Rate by 66% by A/B Testing
You can split your website visitors into two groups and show them different versions of the same page and measure which one performs better in terms of user engagement and conversions.
You can use a free tool like Google Optimize however it’s going to sunset on September 30th of this year (2023) or use paid tools like VWO, Adobe Target, Growth Book or AB Tasty to get started with AB testing.
The Benefits Of SEO And CRO Strategy Working Together
- Improved User Experience:
User experience is at the heart of both SEO and CRO and when they are combined, you can create a website that users will love. This is because SEO ensures the website can be easily navigated, while CRO ensures that the visitor is able to take the next optimal action quite effortlessly.
- Help you generate more leads:
If you improve your website’s search engine visibility and its user experience by having the right content, page speed, design elements, etc., then your website will attract more visitors and those visitors are likely to take desired actions, which eventually helps you drive more leads.
- Help you dive into the customers’ mind
Quality customers are the gold stars of your business – their feedback is invaluable in helping you evolve and level up. With more high-value traffic, not only do you gain insight into what needs improvement; but also valuable data to help improve customer experiences and make them love being part of your community even more!
- Improved PPC performance:
This essential point often goes unnoticed by many in the industry. With CRO and SEO combined, you can improve your key pages for both traffic and conversions; therefore, providing a better PPC experience to all of your users when they land on those specific landing pages.
By optimizing your landing page experience, site speed, and relevance, you can enjoy a superior quality score as well as significantly lowered PPC costs.
Tips to keep in mind while implanting SEO & CRO Focus Strategy:
Here are the steps we take to construct an SEO-friendly CRO strategy. Not only will you learn helpful tips that you can implement yourself, but you’ll also get a strong comprehension of how various elements from both fields intersect when put into practice.
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Strategize Which Pages Are Right for Testing
CRO and SEO may work harmoniously to create a great user experience, but sometimes CRO can negatively affect organic traffic.
Adjusting the page copy has the most potential to influence search engine optimization (SEO). Keyword density is still one of Google’s fundamental ranking elements. The fewer keywords a piece of content holds, the tougher it can be for Google’s algorithm to define that piece as being relevant for any given query.
Combining CRO and SEO can be a tricky process, as dramatic changes to pages with strong organic traffic can have a negative effect on SEO. To avoid this, it is important
to do iterative A/B testing on pages that see steady but not exorbitant amounts of SEO traffic.
Additionally, Google algorithms tend to favor pages with keyword-rich content, so focusing CRO changes on design rather than content may help reduce the potential for negative effects on your site’s search engine rankings.
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A separate budget should be set for SEO and CRO
Many people have the assumption that considering SEO and CRO as the same can help you save money. Unfortunately, this is not true for two different strategies that require dedicated effort and budget.
Successful campaigns separate their budgets and focus on each discipline independently.
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Ensure that SEO and CRO strategies are aligned
For the highest-impact digital marketing strategy, make sure your SEO and CRO rely on each other to reach a shared objective. Concentrate on identifying which KPIs are most critical in gauging success – this should always be a top priority!
For example, having a single KPI of conversions would make it easier to ascertain which tests are driving the most valuable results. After all, conversions are the goal for both SEO and CRO campaigns.
Conclusion
Combining SEO and CRO can be a powerful way to increase your business ROI. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you’ll have a better understanding of how CRO and SEO work together to create a seamless experience for your users.
Need help putting together a CRO SEO strategy for your business?
If you need expert advice on how you can get the best of both worlds, Tatvic CRO program would be a great fit for you. Our team of experts can help you use the data to make informed decisions that will increase the performance and visibility of your brand.
