Search Engine Optimization VS Conversion Optimization

SEO is a booming trade that seems to be the marketing tool of choice for an ever increasing portion of the retail environment. Internet marketing is taking the world by storm and as our strategies change and evolve to suit the needs of our target markets, the very consumers we are trying to reach are cottoning on to our tactics. It is no wonder, therefore, that there is a very heated SEO vs. Conversion debate raging on forums and blogs throughout the web.

One such forum mentions an enraged client that saw a whopping 50% increase in traffic to his website, only to discover that his conversion rate had dropped from 3 to 2 percent. (This, of course, is an extreme example used to illustrate a point and, in fact, smacks of a very elaborate urban myth…) The writer goes on to mention how many potential SEO clients shy away from the idea of optimization because they are afraid that it will make their site less user-friendly and more likely to come across as SPAM. In fact, as most white hat SEO practitioners will tell you, the components that make up any effective above-the-board internet marketing campaign are much the same as those of a campaign focussed on conversion optimization. These include generating high quality content, descriptive text and title tags, as well as a user-friendly experience.

So what exactly is conversion optimization? In short, it is a course of action taken by a website owner to increase the likelihood of visitors to his site taking a desired action which could include buying something, initiating contact, signing up to a group/forum or subscribing to a mailing list. Most visitors go to a site with a specific goal in mind and it is your job to tailor every aspect of your website to help them achieve those goals with minimal fuss. This could include toning down the visuals on the site, improving navigation and ridding the site of any features that are superfluous and could potentially confuse or irritate the visitor. A good Search Engine Optimization campaign will improve your website’s placement on Search Engine Results pages, but once those tactics have succeeded in attracting clientele, it is up to the website and the product to seal the deal.

Seasoned SEO experts will tell you that the SEO vs. Conversion debate would not even exist if it weren’t for the prevalence of so-called ‘Black Hat SEO’ tactics. Spammy, keyword-stuffed copy, doorway pages, hidden text and nonsense text all form part of the arsenal of tricks unethical SEO specialists use to increase page rank. These tactics work initially but eventually hurt both ranking and conversion.

The key is to invest in the services of a high quality SEO firm that offers a holistic approach to internet marketing. If you make your website a good product by putting in the hours and providing a solid, user-friendly experience, both your rankings and conversion rates should benefit from the effort. Lesser quality SEO companies may try to sell you on ‘quick-fire solutions’ that will make your website attractive to search engines initially, but doesn’t take the user experience into account .It is important to never under-estimate your consumer. If you go ahead and cater solely for the search engines, users will notice soon enough and your conversion rate will suffer.