Website Usability: Get The Most Out Of Search Engine Visitors

Getting the most value out of your visitors is the goal of website usability. There certainly is a difference between paid search visitors and those that arrive at your site through the natural or “organic” SERPS. Using data gathered from your website analytics is the best way to harness the power of the Internet. Knowing your visitors and what they need or want, and then providing that product, service, or information is the formula for success online.

Gain Value From Your Search Engine Visitors

Having gone over ways to best optimize your home page for usability, as well as internal page usability in deep link navigation sites, I’m not going to go over it again. I suggest you read the above articles for in depth opinions. The fact is we have to utilize advanced tactics if we are going to succeed in gaining ground over our competitors. This is especially true in paid visitors. You are actively shelling out real money for a throw of the dice in paid ads. One of my clients is a data recovery company and some of their terms go for $5.00 to $15.00 a click. We employ optimized landing pages to track the conversion of their paid visitors. You should too!

The fact is unless you represent only a couple of products or services, you have very little time and screen real estate to get your message across, let alone get the first time visitor to the page with the product or service that they are searching for. I use some distinct tactics to get out what must be said, here are some of my tried and true methods of conversion:

• Flytrap Content – one of my most successful SEO initiatives is to create simple yet succinct pages that have a clear headline and a clear message as to what the page is about. Using the same headline in an unordered list on the home page allows the first time visitor to scan the list and find what they are looking for. These type of landing pages are optimized with specific content and often do well in the SERPS since they are highly focused, keyword dense and utilize proper heading tags.
• Related Topics – also knows as the good ole “see also” embellishment, I often employ sidebar linking that clearly shows related topics to the subject matter of the page the user is on. You must keep in mind that most visitors could care less about your site and what it has to offer outside of what it is going to do for them, NOW! If you have succeeded in getting into an interior page, then it is your next step to show them other parts of your site that might interest them. Having clearly defined “see also” links give the visitor an understanding that your site has more to offer that was expected. I have often seen experienced site publishers (this is especially rampant in the real estate blogging community) that say you shouldn’t “sell” in a blog. What BS, most visitors are more turned off by Google AdWords all over the place then self promotion of products. I often employ “see related products” at the end of blog posts to educate visitors on the fact that we offer more than free information. Again my data recovery client has gotten great results from this practice.
• Insight & Analysis – often times information is dry. A website that has not only information but a perspective and an analysis of the raw information will always do much better than a purely informational site trying to sell a product. One of the things I love most about Web 2,0 apps and social network marketing in general, is the flow of data from author to visitors. This allows for a vibrant and interactive environment that can turn a visitor into a prospect!
• Newsletter - old tried and true, the e-newsletter has been around for a long long time and is still one of the most potent forms of marketing. Of course I am only referring to opt-in readers. If a visitor freely gives their email address then you can be assured of an attentive audience. This goes hand in hand with the last item “insight and analysis”, since a visitor that signs up for a newsletter is obviously interested in your opinion. If you have read any of the content on this site then you know of my use of RSS and Feedburner for syndication. While this is in fact the strongest indication of visitor loyalty for a blog, it isn’t as personal a triumph as is having scores of newsletter subscribers. An e-mail newsletter sets up a closer and more personal relationship than mere page viewing.

In my last post about analytics and website usability I wrote about unique visitor tracking as being an important part of the statistical package. While I stand by that statement, I also want to drive home that the tracking of your visitors loyalty is of utmost importance. This is particularly true when it comes to search engine acquired visitors. Knowing the keywords they typed in to find you and seeing that they came back is the best way to know if your content and linking structure is solid and working.