SEO and CRO are important for lead generation because when used together, they increase website visibility and engagement and help improve conversion rates, working simultaneously to generate more leads.
How? By using a combination of strategies to create a searchable, user-friendly experience that encourages visitors to take action and say, sign up for your email newsletter or add an item to their cart.
And, by optimizing your website for search and conversions, more leads can be generated from the same amount of traffic, leading to a higher return on investment (ROI).
The Basics of Conversion Rate Optimization
CRO is the process of optimizing a website or landing page to improve the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action. CRO is important for lead generation as it helps to improve the conversion rate of visitors into leads.
Common conversion rate optimization tactics include:
Content
Your website’s content has the ability to sway a visitor’s decision-making process. Recognizing this connection, you can craft content that not only informs and educates your audience but also that builds trust and authority, gently guiding them towards completing a form or making a purchase.
Visuals
Just like content, the design and visuals of your website can significantly impact conversions. Following best practices, such as utilizing contrasting colors for your copy and call-to-action (CTA) buttons, incorporating product images or examples, and prioritizing the overall visual experience of your website, can also lead visitors to take action.
Behaviour Flow
Behaviour flow helps you to understand the path that visitors take on your website, including the pages they visit, the actions they take, and the sequence of their interactions. By analyzing this data, you gain insights into how visitors navigate your site, where they drop offs and abandonment occur, and which pages may cause friction in the conversion process. This information can be used to identify areas of improvement and implement changes, such as, clarifying CTA’s or improving page load times, to streamline the user experience and encourage visitors to take the desired actions.
The Basics of SEO
SEO is the process of growing organic website traffic through various on-page and off-page optimization tactics. It is important for lead generation, as it drives organic traffic to your website which clears the way for more leads.
Common SEO tactics that pave the way for more leads include:
Keyword Research
Keyword research is the practice of conducting thorough research to identify the search terms and phrases that are relevant to your website’s content and target audience. This research helps to inform your content strategy to attract organic traffic.
Content Marketing
Content marketing means creating and promoting valuable content, such as blog posts, articles, videos, and infographics, to attract and engage potential customers. Content can be optimized for search engines to increase organic traffic and capture leads through opt-in forms.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO means optimizing the technical aspects of your website, such as site speed, mobile capabilities, crawlability, and indexability. It also includes optimizing your website’s code, fixing broken links, and more.
SEO and CRO for Lead Generation
SEO is all about driving traffic to your website, but if that traffic doesn’t generate revenue then is it valuable traffic? Catch my drift? Once you have visitors, you need to consider the on-page experience to encourage them to take action. Is your website easy to navigate? Is it accessible on mobile? Is your messaging clear?
That’s where conversion rate optimization comes into play: You want to consider how best to move your visitors through the various steps of your marketing funnel and entice them to convert.
Considering which elements need to be present on your website in order to drive up your conversions will inform your SEO strategy. If you know which search terms generate the most inquiries for your business, then you can use them on your BOF pages.
Conversely, if you know customers are more likely to request a demo once they’ve seen your product at work, then you should include a quick use-case video.
Ultimately, you want to figure out the components of your website that lead to more conversions and place them strategically across your site so that when a visitor arrives on that landing page from a search they can gather the necessary information and have a clear sense of what they need to do next.
Best Practices for Optimizing Lead Generation with CRO
Once you’ve got your SEO efforts dialed in, you should be using CRO elements that lead to more conversions. Here are five of the best CRO practices to get you started:
1. Use clear and thoughtfully placed CTAs.
Ensure that your CTAs are well-designed, clear and concise. Then, strategically place them at relevant touchpoints throughout the user journey to effectively guide them toward taking the desired action.
2. Create compelling landing pages.
Ensure your landing pages are properly optimized for relevant keywords, have clear and compelling CTAs and headers, and provide a seamless user experience that guides users towards conversion.
3. Personalize your content.
Use personalization techniques, such as dynamic content and personalized offers, to tailor the user experience based on user behaviour. When done properly, this strategy will help increase engagement, and ultimately conversions.
4. Form Optimization
Streamline your lead capture forms by keeping them short, simple, and easy to fill out. Ask for only necessary information and reduce friction by using auto-fill features and avoiding unnecessary fields. The simpler and more concise your form, the more likely it is to be filled out by a potential lead.
5. A/B Testing
Use A/B testing to experiment with different variations of your website CTAs, landing pages, forms and personalization techniques to identify what resonates best with prospects and generate leads.
Lead Generation for Business Growth
By combining SEO and CRO strategies, you are able to effectively capture leads and guide them through the funnel to the point of conversion. By implementing conversion rate optimization best practices such as using clear CTAs, compelling landing pages, personalization techniques, form optimization, and A/B testing, you are setting yourself up for an influx of leads that are that much closer to making a purchase.
Need help getting started? The team at Method + Metric SEO Agency are experts in SEO and CRO. They are at the core of what we do. Get in touch with us today and watch your leads grow.
