Your Website Visitors Are Talking to You
Continuously improving your Web presence to increase ROI should be the goal, right? OK, but how do you get your potential customers to talk to you so you know what to improve? If you are willing to dig into a little data, you can find out how people interact with your site and where the problems are that need attention. Here are a few pieces of Google Analytics data that you can use to interpret what your visitors are trying to tell you.
Bounce Rate
With a high bounce rate, the visitor is saying, “This site isn’t relevant to me – I’m outta here.” The bounce rate number is just the percentage of single page visits, meaning that all those people left your site without looking past the page they landed on. It’s possible that this means your landing page just isn’t interesting. More likely, it means the people landing on your site were led to believe they would find something different when they clicked on your paid advertisement or organic search listing. If you are getting a high bounce rate, look at what your ads are promising. Make sure your landing page fulfills the promise in the ad.
New vs. Returning Visitors
A high number of returning visitors says, “Your site is engaging enough that I think I’ll come back for more.” New visitors are a good indicator that more people are finding your site, but getting them to return is the part that takes work. Ask yourself what you are putting out there that will bring people back again and again. A really good blog is one great way to do this.
Time on Site
A higher time on site tells you your site keeps visitors from leaving. This could mean you offer plenty of things to explore. But be careful. When I logged into analytics on one of my sites this morning, I found most people were staying for three minutes or so. Then there was this one visit that lasted for three hours. I’m guessing that somebody left their browser open on my site while they left the house for a while. So I obviously didn’t give that visit much attention.
Pages Per Visit
This says, “The first point of contact was interesting enough to make me want to look around.” If you have high average page views, you have done a good job of sending the right people to the site and presenting the information in an interesting way. It might also mean you have created a page structure conducive to further exploration.
Traffic Sources
This is very valuable because it shows you the ways customers come to your site. If they are all coming from Google, then your search engine optimization campaign is working. If you see a huge influx of website traffic from a partner site, you could look into ways to increase your visibility on that partner site.
Content
This is where your visitors tell you which content they like best. You are also able to see how they interact with their favorite content by looking at bounce rate, how many of them left the site from that page, etc. If you notice a certain topic always trends to the top, it should probably be a main focus of your content.
The best companies are those that listen to the customer. Google Analytics provides all this wonderful data to help companies do just that. We just have to be willing to dig in a little.
Image courtesy of BigTallGuy
Number One is Money — How to Prove It
One question I frequently get from people is, “how much traffic can we expect if we are in the #1 one position vs positions 2, 3, and so on?”
Is the amount of traffic you will get in the #1 position really worth the effort and cost?
The answer to this question is yes, it is generally worth the effort and cost to get in the #1 position. The stipulation, however, is that the amount of traffic return you will receive depends on your industry. Some keywords are able to bring in traffic percentages close to that top position, according to this study done on traffic percentage differences when they reach positions 1, 2, and 3 in Google. Unfortunately, some are not even close.
To sum up, the study suggests:
- Position one gets 34% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
- Position two gets 17% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
- Position three gets 11% of the projected traffic for the selected term.
How to Compare Your Industry to the Study
To know how your industry compares to the above projected percentages, do the following:
- Dive into your analytics and gather historical data that shows how much traffic you were averaging each month when you were in positions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on.
- Go to the Google Adword Keyword tool (or some other reliable keyword traffic estimator) and get the estimated number of searches for that single term in exact match.
- Do a little Algebra.
For example:
This example is from an actual client. Let’s take one of their terms that is projected to bring in 33,100 visitors a month in exact match. If we are to assume that this keyword is in the same industry as the study above, they would get roughly 11,254 visitors a month from that one term alone (if they are number 1).
But, it is not in the same industry. It is actually a completely different industry. So, from their historical analytics data I gathered, when they were in position 6 they were getting 1,006 visits per month from that term (3% of the projected search volume for that term). The study suggests that position 6 should be getting 5.05%. When they were in position 3 they were getting 1,728 visits per month (5% of the projected search volume for that term). The study suggests that position 3 should be getting 11%.
Now the Algebra:
|
Position 3 |
They got 5% |
Study says 11% |
|
Position 2 |
x |
Study says 17% |
|
Position 1 |
x |
Study says 34% |
To solve for x in position 2, I simply took 5, multiplied it by 17 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 2) and divided that number by 11 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 3). This equaled 7.7%. To solve for position 1, I took 7.7, multiplied it by 34 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position one) and divided that number by 17 (the study’s percentage of traffic for position 2). This equaled 15.4%.
Here is the client’s projected percentage of traffic for positions 1, 2, and 3:
|
Position 3 |
They got 5% |
Study says 11% |
|
Position 2 |
They should get 7.7% |
Study says 17% |
|
Position 1 |
They should get 15.4% |
Study says 34% |
This is great! According to this calculation, although we are not getting the same percentages of traffic as in the study, the client’s traffic will still double from position 2 to position 1. However, because their traffic numbers from when they were in position 6 differ from the study less than their position 3 numbers differed, I had to do this calculation again based on their position 6 numbers and then take the average of the two calculations.
Take a breath (if you’re still reading this)…
|
Position 6 |
They got 3% |
Study says 5% |
|
Position 5 |
They should get 3.7% |
Study says 6.19% |
|
Position 4 |
They should get 4.62% |
Study says 7.73% |
|
Position 3 |
They should get 6.57% |
Study says 11% |
|
Position 2 |
They should get 10.15% |
Study says 17% |
|
Position 1 |
They should get 20.3% |
Study says 34% |
Average the two for positions 1,2, and 3:
|
Position 3 |
They should get 5.7% |
Study says 11% |
|
Position 2 |
They should get 8.9% |
Study says 17% |
|
Position 1 |
They should get 17.85% |
Study says 34% |
Because this is an actual case, I already know the results and how they compare to these calculations. When this client started with us they were in position 6 for this term. As of yesterday they are in position 1 and I will be able to compare the accuracy of my number 1 position estimations after a month of occupying that top spot.
When they were in position 3, they got about 1,728 visits from that one term alone, about 5% of the visits. My calculations say it should have been 5.7%. Last month they were number 2 and they received about 2,200 visits from that one term alone, about 7% of the visits. My calculations say it should have been 8.9%. So I’m a little off, but it’s safe to assume that over this next month (since they are number 1), their traffic should almost double for that one term.
It’s hard to project exact numbers for ranking positions, there are so many factors at play. Just as I’ve done here, you can kind of get a feel for what to expect when you reach number 1. I have a rank-checking tool that is funny. After showing that you are ranked number 234 it says, “Keep trying, you can beat Google one day!”
Visualize More Links and Traffic — Ranking the Best SEO Infographics
Creating and publishing infographics has become the new fad for attracting linkbait and traffic. In the last year, we’ve watched the craze for infographics skyrocket as can be seen by this screenshot from Google trends below for the keywords ‘infographic’ and ‘infographics.’
Not only have social media marketers taken up the infographic craze, but SEOs as well. Infographics, done well, can build a large portfolio of quality links. I’ve since noticed many SEO companies who are developing infographics for their clients and pushing them in the social media sphere.
When I discovered that so many SEO infographics already exist, I decided to rate them. David McCandless, at informationisbeautiful.net, revealed four criteria when evaluating information design:
- Interestingness - Is the content relevant and original, such that the viewer sees value in it?
- Integrity - Can I trust the content?
- Form - Is it pleasing to the eye?
- Function - Is this information useful and useable?
Take a look at his infographic about infographics:
Below, you’ll see some of the best infographics I could find about online marketing. I’ve rated them by giving pluses (+) for each category discussed above.
SEO Infographics
Elliance has, by far, the most search marketing infographics. The infographics cover everything from PDF Optimization to Keyword Clustering. I found most of the infographics contained quality graphics and interesting ideas, but they slightly lacked in functionality — meaning, most of the concepts presented are low-level, basic concepts that most SEOs should already know.
SEO Factors
- Interestingness: +
- Integrity: +
- Form: +
- Function: +
Long Tail SEO
- Interestingness: +
- Integrity: +
- Form: +
- Function: ++
Link Juice
- Interestingness: +
- Integrity:
- Form: +++
- Function: +
Google PageRank Explained
I found this infographic very beneficial in visualizing the Internet in terms of PageRank. PageRank is valued exponentially. While it’s easy to increase PageRank by 1 at the bottom of the mountain (e.g., from 2 to 3), it becomes much harder to increase by 1 (e.g., from 6 to 7) as you move up the mountain.
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: +
- Form: +
- Function: +++
Wired Magazine published an interactive infographic about the life of a blog post. With a flash-based, interactive spin, Wired has covered all the avenues of blogging as it moves around the Web, being picked up by search engines, data miners, and social bookmarks. If you haven’t seen it I suggest you check it out.
The Life Cycle of a Blog Post
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: +++
- Function: +
Similar to Wired’s infographic above, The Social Media Effect by Infographicworld.com, shows the travels of content as it makes it’s way through the social media world. My favorite part of this particular infographic is how all the arrows, eventually, point to a Google search engine result for that story. It’s a nice way of showing that great content will bring in lots of quality links.
The Social Media Effect
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: +
- Form: ++
- Function: +
Rank Fishkin, from SEOMoz.org, created some pretty creative infographics. Although they are not the most visually appealing, they share some really creative insights about SEO. Great job, Rand.
Professions at the Intersection of Technology, Marketing & Statistics
This is true that SEOs need to wear many hats.
- Interestingness: +++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: +
- Function: ++
How SEOs Spend Their Time
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: +++! Those of you working directly with clients know how true this infographic is
- Form: +
- Function: +
Scatterplot of SEO Tactics
This is one of my favorite infographics as it is really helpful for SEOs to know how to spend their time.
- Interestingness: +++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: +
- Function: ++
The Size of the Mobile Market
We’ve seen the mobile market skyrocket in the last few years. Astonishingly, there are only 1.4 billion internet users compared with 4 billion mobile phone users. Any business would do well to understand how to tap into the mobile market. With the influx of smart phones, we’re making sure our clients show up on mobile searches.
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: +
- Form: ++
- Function: +
Individuals and Their Online Identities
Flowtown created an interesting infographic about how people utilize the Internet to manage their personal identities. Interesting quote: “Search engines and social media sites now play a central role in building one’s identity online.”
- Interestingness: +++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: ++
- Function: +
Google Facts and Figures
Although Pingdom’s infographic about Google doesn’t entirely pertain to SEO, I thought it was a great visualization of numbers. It is interesting to note how Google’s innovative search technology has made it the leader among search engines.
- Interestingness: +
- Integrity: ++
- Form: ++
- Function: ++
DIYSEO has, by far, some of the most visually creative SEO infographics out there. Most of the infographics show how SEO is a must-have in Internet marketing. While I’m only showing three here, DIYSEO has lots more. Go over to the site to check them out.
The Case of Disappearing Ink
Interesting visual graph displaying search methods by demographic:
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: +++
- Function: +
Value of SEO v. PPC
This quote emphasizes the importance of SEO: “When buying, PPC links produce 25% less conversion than SEO.”
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: +++
- Function: +
SEO ROI is King
It’s nice to know that SEO holds the largest ROI.
- Interestingness: ++
- Integrity: ++
- Form: +++
- Function: +
SEO FAQs – A Guide
Datadial.net created the most comprehensive SEO infographic. While it doesn’t offer much original material, it covers everything from keyword research to SEO tactics. It’s a nice way to sum up the basics of SEO in one graphic.
- Interestingness: +
- Integrity: +
- Form: +
- Function: ++
Well, there you have it — a semi-complete list of the best SEO infographics out there.
UVEF’s Top 25 Under Five is Back Again
The local business scene will get together again, have lunch and gloat about some of the most successful young companies in Utah.
On July 8, the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum will host its 21st annual Top 25 Under 5 Awards luncheon. The awards recognize the fastest growing companies in Utah less than 5 years old. The companies are chosen based on profit, job creation, job quality and growth.
The UVEF uses the Top 25 Under 5 to promote companies that may become region, state and global leaders in their industries. Some of the past award winners include ZAGG, Agel Enterprises, Interbank FX, Seastone, Altiris, Omniture, and Xango.
UVEF promises that this year’s event will feature exciting new companies and David Bradford of Fusion-io will be the emcee. And if last year was any indication, the food will be great, too.
Last year, Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert addressed the crowd and talked about the strength of entrepreneurship in the state and the positive affect it has on the entire economy. SEO.com ranked #17 a year ago, and we are pulling for a higher spot come July.
The event is on Thursday, July 8 at Novell building A. Noon to 1:30. UVEF members get in for free, non-members are $25 (including lunch).
To RSVP, go to: http://uvef.net/events/rsvp/
For more information, visit: http://uvef.net/2010/uvef-presents-top-25-under-five/
About UVEF
UVEF is a volunteer non-profit support group linking entrepreneurs to Money, Markets, and Mentors. Celebrating 20 years of new business success, UVEF empowers current and future business leaders to thrive in today’s competitive market. The organization provides real-world, practical educational and valuable resources on how to access needed capital, attract new customers and tap into industry experts. For information on upcoming meetings, speakers, and membership, visit www.uvef.net.
Your Viral Content Stinks (and How You Can Fix it)
Dive into social media and soon you’ll see the good, the bad and the could’ve-been’s out there. I want to address the latter. So many pieces out there get little attention due to one or two small things that could make a good thing, great.
Here are a list of the things I’ve seen make a piece fall short, and my own personal recommendations to remedy them.
Top 10’s are SO 2008
Don’t get me wrong here, Top X type lists are great; they do well on social news sites and they are easy to digest for your readers. However, some blogs out there overuse it. If you find that lists are your primary form of content, you may want to consider a bit of variety.
One site that pulls this off well is Cracked.com. Practically all of their most popular posts are in the form of a list. Cracked.com has taken the list-type articles and evolved them. Rather than a post about “10 Reasons Why Unicorns are Awesome” (which is a post I’m still looking for), they produce unique, well-researched ideas and top it off with stellar content.
Another new favorite site of mine that does well is ThisorThat.com. They’ve built their content focus only on comparisons. What better way to build activity on your site than to make a little controversy and pit Coke vs. Pepsi, or Madonna vs. Lady Gaga? Get your visitors to promote your site for you with a little competition.
Solution: Vary your content. Instead of lists, think of how you could produce that content into a how-to post, or a comparison-type post that puts it against a similar competitor. Some of my best pieces have been comparison posts, and, even better, ones that create a little controversy.
You rely too much on your images/video
I love pictures, especially in the blogs I read (picture books are my personal preference). I’m a huge fan and proponent of infographics as well! They’re trendy, eye-candy that just do well in the social sphere. One downside to an infographic, though, is the lack of content that could be indexed by the search engines. Sure, the added content may or may not affect whether your story hits the front page of Digg, but it does lose in the grand scheme of things (isn’t that why infographics are produced and promoted, so they can gain attention and links for better rankings?)
Solution: Add a summary to your infographics. Provide a general outline of what you are getting at with your piece. A couple of places that do this (and do well on social sites) are DegreeSearch.org & ChaCha.com. These give you all of the benefits that viral content can provide along with SEO factors that will help with better indexing from the engines.
You rely too much on your content
Building off of the previous segment, great content should be incorporated with great images to help the reader visualize your point. Images can be a great addition to any piece, and an absolute MUST if you will be putting it in list form.
Solution: There’s no need to beat a dead horse with this point, but if you’re investing a good deal of time and/or money into your content, be sure to add pretty pictures to illustrate your point.
There’s no fire under my feet!
People always say this, and maybe I’ve just come to realize it, but people can tell whether or not you believe in what you’re writing about. Now, I know some of you are asking, “Hey, Vince, I’m doing an article on people with STDs, does that mean I should get passionate about THOSE?” Absolutely (but not in the gross way)! The love for what you write doesn’t have to be in the subject itself, but the DATA behind it.
I personally am extremely happy with the results of my last physical, however, articles like STDs Across America are somehow fascinating to me. Not so much that I now know where I won’t be taking any of my future vacations, but to see the statistics and demographics of the info.
Solution: Take a boring scenario or subject and find a way to twist it and make it viral. The Oatmeal does this every time he makes a comic. Sure, your stuff doesn’t have to be so crazy or in-your-face as his, but you can create great ideas off of just about anything.
All problems, no solutions
I’m not the biggest fan of the “Why this place sucks” type of posts (personally). Some people like them, but it does nothing to add any value to my day and my time I spent reading your post seems to have been more of a waste than anything else. To be honest, when I initially started brainstorming and writing this post, it was going to be just a “Your content sucks” kind of a post. I then realized that I provided no real value to anyone reading this (all 4 of you).
Solution: How-to’s are one of the great ways to trump this. Providing a wrong and right way to do things will ring well with your readers and give them actionable items to take away after reading your post. Give them the good and the bad and help them to understand the distinction (I hope that’s something I’ve been able to do, even a little, here).
Not enough supporting data
What are they trying to say here?
Above all, this has got to be the one that irks me the most, especially when it comes to infographics! I don’t know why, maybe it’s the fact that it’s one of those pieces that “could’ve been” or was “almost there,” but didn’t have enough data to get me pass it on.
A map of the U.S. that shows the amount of foreclosures in each state isn’t THAT great of a piece. However, add another section below the map and include more information about the percentage of foreclosures compared to the previous decade, the number of abandoned homes and maybe some additional data about the amount of foreclosed homes that have sold over the past few years.
Solution: Give your readers something to digest! A simple graph that explains the fat content of a Big Mac is not going to cut it. Delve a bit further in your research and provide data that puts meaning into your piece. Adding more data, such as how a Big Mac a day would affect my body, weight and overall health would be much more appealing to read and share with those in my network. Get. Great. Data.
When creating viral content, it’s important to go the extra mile with your research and your writing. That’s what makes the difference between an article and a viral article. Let me know in the comments if you have any other pet peeve’s or recommendations about what you can do to better your work.
Do it Yourself or Hire an SEO Company?
Now, before I start this post I admit that may be a bit biased. However, I live and breathe SEO and I have seen both sides of this topic. With that said, let’s get into it. 
I saw a post on twitter the other day that essentially said, “Anyone can do SEO, but most do not”
Though I understood what the intent of the comment was (meaning people just never get around to doing the work) it hit me like a ton of bricks. In the past, I might have wholeheartedly agreed with that statement, but I do not agree with it now.
That would be the same as saying “anyone can repair their own car, but most do not.” The reality is, physically someone may well be capable of doing it (just like they could in any profession), but the key ingredient is the knowledge. Without the know-how, trying to repair your own car will only get you a car that is more broken than when you started. The same could be said for the website rankings of someone who tried to implement DIY (do-it-yourself) SEO without sound SEO knowledge.
I have spent a lot of time learning how to do search engine optimization and then practiced it by implementing it on my own projects as well as that of the clients I have worked with. While to me much of it seems simple enough, I recognize that it is that way because of the years I have spent learning it. Continual learning is essential in this industry because things change so often and so frequently. Many principles of search engine optimization that I learned when I started are no longer best practices.
At one point I worked as a coach teaching people how to build their own Internet business. From that experience, after coaching thousands of clients, I learned there is some truth to the statement that “…most do not.” Lack of time and dedication is always the culprit in failed DIY SEO.
That is not to say that everyone should rush out and get an SEO proposal from an SEO firm. DIY SEO can be the best solution for some cases. The question, is it the right choice for you? I will let you make that call, but here are some factors that I would consider when making that decision.
1. How comfortable are you with your SEO knowledge? Have you ever done SEO successfully? Do you feel confident in your ability to get rankings?
2. How tough is your competition? Even the best SEO minds recruit help to get all of the work done to get top rankings in those extremely competitive markets. If your competition is fierce, how many resources do you have to help you get everything done?
3. How much time do you have? As much as business owners want to save money so they can make more money, many of them spread themselves too thin. SEO takes a lot of consistent time and attention. Very few business owners can really do that.
4. Is it cost effective for you? Even when a business owner is comfortable with search engine optimization and their ability to get high rankings, it does not always make sense from a money standpoint. Each case is different and a business owner should do the math to make sure that the time they will spend doing SEO is the best financial use of their time.
5. Have you received an SEO proposal before? Every case is different and some SEO companies will provide a customized proposal based on each circumstance. Simply put, do not assume because you know how much someone else is paying a company to do their SEO, that your proposal will be the same. Get the numbers to help you make your decision based on facts, not fiction.