Just because you're showing up and getting impressions doesn't mean you're going to drive people to your site. How can you make your site more enticing and relevant to your audience?
First, you need to make it clear that your site has the answer or solution your audience is searching for. Then you'll need to pull visitors in by sharing as much information as possible about your web page so they understand at first glance what they're getting out of clicking through to your site. Here are a few of our top tactics for improving clickthrough rate:
Schema
Users want a quick and easy search experience. That's why search engines are continuously finding ways to include more information on the results pages – if a user sees what they're looking for and can quickly find their answer or know where to go next, it creates a better user experience.
Schema markup does just that. It gives more context to what a web page is about, making it simple to check reviews, navigate to a specific page on a website, or get the answer faster.
Optimizing structured data gives users more insight into what a web page is about and helps Google determine whether or not content is relevant to specific queries. By including data like reviews, location maps, contact information, and clickable product information like prices, descriptions, or images, you can better convince your user to click. These pieces of structured data can also show up as featured snippets, so it's worth utilizing them.
Website plugins and schema templates are easy ways to share additional information about your page in SERPs.
Meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are another place that gives users a preview of the content on your page. Manipulating meta descriptions to share an accurate, interesting summary of your page content while optimizing for a featured keyword will help sell your page to your audience. Since this is a quick and easy element to edit, if you're noticing a low CTR, check into the effectiveness of your meta description. Ensure it's well-written, concise, and accurately describes what the web page is about.
If you're noticing there are a lot of similar pages that you're competing against, try to find a unique aspect of your page to call out in the meta.
Title tags
Title tags are pieces of HTML code that indicate to the search engine and user what your page is about. They are a key on-page ranking factor that displays the subject of your content across channels like search engines or social platforms. Again, this is just one more way to make it extremely clear to users what your page is about.
To optimize for SEO, try adding a keyword to your title tag, but remember to stay consistent with what your page is actually about to prioritize your visitors and not solely search engines.
Make sure your title tag is unique compared to related content that people might search for, and try to make it as relevant as possible to the query you're trying to rank for.
Something to keep in mind is that even if you spend the time crafting a perfectly optimized title tag or meta description, Google might not use it in search results. The title tag and meta description are merely suggestions for what the search engines should display – they aren't guaranteed to get displayed. Google's goal is to provide the most relevant search results, so it might rearrange the title tag or meta description to better match the search query.
URLs
Editing URLs to include relevant keywords or descriptors that can help a user better understand a web page can encourage them to click. If the URL looks like randomly generated numbers and letters, the user will be less likely to click on the link – or trust the site at all, for that matter.
These aspects of SEO can be edited from Yoast Preview, an SEO tool that can be integrated with WordPress. Yoast gives you a better idea of how your content will look on SERPs and how well the page is optimized. URLs should include a shortened version of the page title to provide users and search engines with context.
Long-tail keywords
If you're looking to rank for something specific, long-tail keywords could offer you a competitive advantage. Long-tail keywords tend to have less search volume, but also less competition. Ranking for these keywords can limit your potential reach but can help you reach a more relevant audience. By implementing long-tail keywords, you're targeting search terms that require more specific, thought-out answers. And if a searcher sees that your content seems to do a good job of answering their query, they'll be much more likely to click.
This is a great way to specify your content's purpose and get your content in front of the right audience.
Grow your clickthrough rate with Perrill
These tactics are all extremely helpful in encouraging users to click on your website, but if your content isn't showing up on the first page of search results, it's unlikely your clickthrough rate will improve much. In that situation, it's probably more effective to spend your time conducting keyword research, selecting long-tail keywords to rank for, and trying your best to improve your page's visibility.
If you could use a partner to handle your SEO efforts for you, Perrill's got your back. As a full-service, all-in-house digital agency, we're here to help you reach your revenue goals through custom, strategic SEO work. Reach out to learn what a unified digital approach can do for you.
Stay tuned for the final post in our SEO Traffic to Revenue Series, Increasing Conversions. We'll meet you over there!
Grace Hallen is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Perrill. Her passion for communication and crafting engaging content led her to Perrill’s marketing team. She loves flexing her creative muscles and finding clever ways to reach readers. In her free time, you can find Grace playing trivia at local breweries, exploring the Twin Cities or getting lost in a good book.
