Creating conversion oriented content

Creating conversion oriented content

SEO optimalisation

Create conversion based SEO content

In SEO optimalization it is important to create content that converts. At the end of the day you need to move audiences into customers, bring in leads and ensure actions will be taken. You will need people to opt into an email list, read a blog post, or share your content. This is very important to increase SEO rankings.

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The 5 main areas to create conversion oriented SEO content and achieving goals in your SEO optimalization are.

1. Headlines/H1-H6
2. Call to Action
3. Messaging
4. Emotional hooks
5. Motivators

1. Headlines/H1-H6

Headlines will be one of the first things, that a reader sees. So it is important to have titles that pique curiosity and promise value in order to increase click through rates. Only 20% of people on average, who scan your headline will continue reading your SEO optimized content. This is a scary thing to keep in mind. This number will decrease even more as the online world becomes even more saturated. If you want your Content Marketing campaigns to be successful, then it’s time to start creating headlines that your readers must read.

Headlines with numbers

Headlines with a number tend to generate 73% more social sharing and engagement. It will increase conversion by 36%. Readers are always number oriented and integrating specific numbers and data into your headline is an effective way to make your headlines more tempting to readers.

For example:

• 10 Untapped free SEO tools sources 
• 5 Lessons learned from 3 years of SEO optimalization

How to increase SEO Optimalization rankings?

How to” headlines go Viral. An alternative to asking a question, the “how to” headline is a way to seduce readers. It will suggest that your content is going to be practical. 

Negative Headlines

It pays to be negative. It’s proven that your brain responds to negativity much than than to positivity. Sources of negative information may be more likely to be percieved as impartial and authentic while positive superlatives have become overused and less interesting.

Ask questions

Question headlines get 150% more clicks than declarative ones. The space between what we know and what we don’t know is called the curiosity gap and this plays a key role in all top funnel marketing. Framing your headline as a question opens up a new curiosity gap in your reader, which can increase CTR.

The Value Proposition

Offering a value in a header increases CTR very strong. Having a headline that offers something unique for example a solution to a big problem or answering a question can reach your audience quickly and increase click through ratio.

It’s all about YOU

People are incredibly interested in themselves. You can dramatically increase your click throughs by just referncing the audience. Using words like “you” or “your” have been proven to get noticed. Headlines that used the second person got 175% more clicks that those that didn’t.

Headlines and a sub headline

A good headline alone is not enough, it could need some help. Having a sub headline can boost clarity. It’s like having a head and a tail. Headlines that had 2 parts to it performed 9% better than headlines without. Sub headlines confirm why your reader is on the page. And just like a meta description on search engine page results. it can make or break the interest of your potential audience.

2. Call to Actions important part of SEO optimalization

You really need to inspire your customers to take an action. Therefore it is important to start learning how to write killer Call To Actions. Sign up, download, subscribe, buy now, learn more. All of these are CTA’s but they are all the most common ones that won’t give you the best results. Remember that your CTA is your final instruction to your reader. You need to learn to captivate your audience and motivate them to make that call to action.

Basics call to action improvements

• Use contrasting colors like red, orange on a white background
• Make it interactive
• Adapt size according to placement
• keep your message short and clean

Showcase instant gratification

Nobody likes to wait. When it comes to persuading people to take action online, even a slight delay in giving people what they want will affect your conversion rate negatively. it is also important to test your pagespeed on a monthly basis.

Raise curiosity

Curiosity always leads to increased sales. If you can craft your CTA message in such a way as to create the desire in your prospects to know what’s on the other side of the CTA, you’ll get more clicks and more chances to sell your services or product.

Offer the solution

You need to build a deeper understanding with the customer’s pain points. Therefore identify their problem and then give a solution.

Leverage the urge to belong

Your ideal customer doesn’t want to miss out on what others are already experiencing. This social proof is the easiest way to ease customer’s minds and elimnate their objections. People will take action based on what others have done. People follow the crowd. Social proof could be found on Social Media. Secondly people look for reviews from other customers like Google reviews

Cliffhanger

A cliffhanger is just an unresolved ending in a part of a book that leaves the audience or reader curious to know what’s going to happen next. Use the same strategy in making your CTA message.

Bonus offer

People love rewards and freebies like an ebook or whitepaper. So you can offer a bonus in your CTA message. Get creative, try things out and follow all the tips in this blog to create fabulous converting content. 

3. Messages

Making your content easy to understand needs a long way. If you can produce sharp, clear, and intelligent SEO optimalized content then it becomes much easier for readers to see the value in it and keep reading. Communicating with your target audience is not always easy but there are some actions to consider when writing your messages.

Know what you want to say

Before writing you should know 3 important steps:

1. Subject – What are you talking about?
2. Point of view – What are you trying to explain?
3. Outline  – What is the basic structure?

SEO optimalization – Know your audience

The better you know who you are talking to, the more clearly you have an idea of communicating to them. Adjust your messages to your target audience according to their needs and wants.

• Be short, specific & use summaries.
• Use short and simple paragraphs with headings. People dont have time to read long sentences.
• Convey the important core messages that interest your reader

Use an active voice in SEO optimalization

This allows your sentences to feel more engaging

Passive – He is enjoying his new head

Active – He enjoys his new head

Avoid unnecssary words and get to the point with an active voice.

Consistent tone

• Formal or informal
• Casual
• Serious
• Humorous

Explain one idea at a time

• Multiple ideas can get messy in writing. You don’t want your audience getting confused.
• Explain just one idea in a sentence.
• Start a fresh sentence or paragraph to convey another idea.

Avoid professional language and fancy words

• Over using proefssional language can get complicated. Be aware of your target audience.
• Using complex words will just make your audience frustrated.

Review and proofread

• Read your document multiple times.
• Ask someone else to review it.
• Watch out for grammatical errors. It can kill your credibility.

4. Emotional Hooks

A person spends about 3 seconds

• On a website
• Reading a headline
• Glancing at an image
• Watching a video

Your audience have no patience and if you don’t bang them with a great first impression then you have failed. This is where emotional hooks can help you which is a secret ingredient to successful engaging content. You know why? Because people make most of their decisions based on how they’re feeling especially when it comes to purchasing decisions. So if your content hasn’t been converting the way you want it to, try to embellish it with emotion. Once you learn to leverage that emotion, your engagement is going to go up.

Talk about People

Including your audience or focusing on people centric terms can help encourage your readers to think how the issue might affect real people.

Tangible savings

When you talk about cost savings or numerical benefits that you offer, you can help readers visualize what that could mean for them. This boosts the value of your offer as it helps them to visualize the experience.

Pain points

Pain is the bigger picture of the problem. Show your understanding what their frustration is about. Provide a solution. This namely allows you to build an empathetic connection with your target audience.

Storytelling

Storytelling is hot. Everyone wants to know what happens next, especially if they can identify with the story’s hero. Telling stories about your business can increase your brand’s likability factor.

Leverage fear of missing out

The fear of missing out is a powerful force. Nobody wants a great deal or a big secret to pass them by. If you can create a sense of anxiety or urgency in your audience, you’ll get a reaction out of them.

Make your audience feel special

The desire to feel special drives a lot of purchasing decisions. To tap into your audience’s desire to feel special, use your content to paint a specific picture of your product or service. Make it high quality, distinctive, and exclusive.

Mystery

Unanswered quetions are intriguing. Fill your content with some questions people want to know the answer, so they click. People love the unknown.

Humor

Marketing doesn’t have to be serious all the time. Including humor can be great for your brand’s image. Laughter is a great way to connect with someone.

Surprise your audience

Add an element of surprise, like a good plot twist at the end of a story so that it stays in their minds. Include surprising facts in your content that people wouldn’t believe at first. Are you innovative enough to challenge someone’s idea or changing their mind on an issue? This will be a great way to get them to remember your brand.

5. Motivators needed in SEO optimalization

Now you have to prime your target audience to take action before they reach your call to action. They only need a little extra push to hit that subscribe or contact button, to subscribe your newsletter or test a service.. In the end you want them to make an action that is profitable for you and for them. Preparing your audience to take action before they reach your CTA is is a very important factor that you need to do.

Rhetorical questions

use rhetorical questions, because they are powerful motivators. By bouncing questions regularly back to the reader, you will encourage them to engage deeper and reflect on your argument within their own context.

Serial positioning

Even if you can write an excellent story, you have to agree that people don’t read every word you write. People also won’t remember everything they read. Therefore your structure plays an important role for conversions. You need to place your strongest arguments at the beginning and end of your text. This is because people remember the first few and the last few and words in the middle are usually forgotten.

Illusory truth

A positive feeling is released in the brain when we hear information that we know is true, because we have heard it before. So it’s important to reinforce the same arguments multiple times, mostly used in long form content of course. Every time a reader comes across the repeated argument, they’re more likely to feel the same way.

Reciprocity

When we receive something, you want to give something back. So before you even think of asking your readers to take an action, your content should offer plenty of valuable information, discounts or resources. This gives them the impression that you have helped them get that much closer to their goals. At the end it is more likely they return a favor when asked.

Social proof

People generally are not trustful, especially with marketing. You can lower this barrier before a call to action by showing readers how other people have trusted you. This can be done through Google reviews, testimonials, product reviews, or an endorsement from a trusted auhtority. By the way reviews are an important SEO ranking factor.

Additional benefits

Let’s face it, people love free stuff and discounts. It’s not going to cost you money in the long run. For example make a white-paper, ebook or infographic.

Content Marketing and SEO Optimalization Blogs

• Call to action Wikipedia Page
• The relevance of On Page SEO factors
• Off page SEO, why it is important?
• SEO for copywriters – an introduction

Hire an excellent SEO specialist

Herman Geertsema is the owner and SEO specialist of digital agency Connect your World in Den Haag. Connect your World execute SEO and Content Marketing assignments in the following regions: Den Haag, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht & Breda. Do you have a question about SEO optimalisation? Or do you want to hire me as a SEO specialist for a whole new SEO strategy? Surf to my Contact Page and drop me an email.