10 Mobile SEO Tactics

May 21, 2015/in How to do SEO, Mobile SEO /by Professor SEO

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_text]

10 Mobile SEO Tactics To Add To Your Mobile Strategy

Today’s explosive mobile growth, especially with the abundance of smartphones, mobile OS and apps, makes mobile SEO a very big deal. Knowing that most mobile users use their mobile devices for communications with others (1 to 1 and 1 to many), consumption of media (videos, texts, images, games), and location based searches, here are a few mobile SEO tactics to help keep your business mobile strategy on track for success.

Know your mobile traffic Use your analytic data to monitor the size of your mobile audience and learn how they engage with your brand on mobile platforms and mobile devices.
Become friends with bots Google implemented a mobile specific user agent to diagnose mobile site structure and technical issues that may impede a quality mobile user experience. Use this data to refine your mobile SEO strategy. Do not block Googlebot from your mobile site, allow access for all crawlers to both standard and mobile websites to fully index site architecture and to consolidate popularity signals. Check your robots.txt file!
Be responsive For most small businesses, responsive design provides a cost effective way to deliver your brand massage to your mobile audience. Task oriented responsive design further improves the visitor experience.
Hurl a single URL For most businesses, a single URL strategy, deployed via responsive design, is the best approach to deliver your brand message online. Other options are available, dynamic serving or parallel subdomain or subdirectory work as well, but they may require additional technical expertise for implementation and can increase long term costs to maintain.
Mobile canonical A nice to have idea, on regular URLs, add rel=alternate pointing to corresponding mobile URLs. Correspondingly for mobile URLs, add rel=canonical pointing to corresponding regular URLs.
Make indexation crayon clear Do you have a mobile XML site map if your mobile site is considerably different from you regular site? Make it simple, mirror your URLS, make mobile URLs the same as regular URLs.
Be fast, be clean To best prevent crawlability obstacles, keep your code, avoid “code bloat”, don’t use Flash, excessive JavaScript or too much heavy tracking and analytics packages. Search for speed improvements with lighter code, mobile specific content, compressed imagery, smaller slide shows, and improved video platforms. Remember that most mobile visitors are frequently restricted by slower connections and have little patience for slow loading pages.
Understand Referral Sources This is similar to know your mobile audience. If many of your mobile visitors are heavily engaged on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, knowing this fact matters. Some social platforms are geared towards mobile more than any other platforms. Email falls into this category too, as more than 2/3 of emails are viewed on a mobile device.
Concise Content Optimize your mobile content to support mobile visitor intent. Make it easy and simple to complete tasks in as few actions as possible. Make sure your most important page elements and content is identified with short mobile friendly keywords.
Mobile visitors are different Many mobile interactions happen at home or work as a second screen engagement, often while using a laptop or watching TV. When mobile sessions do occur on the go, consider how you have positioned your brand locally. Hyper-location rules in the mobile world, semantic markup using schema.org can improve your visibility for business category identification, business location, positive reviews and special events or promotions.

Mobile SEO is ever changing and rapidly evolving. The dynamic nature of mobile platform change requires some effort of monitoring and willingness to embrace change rapidly. Be on the lookout for emerging social networks or hot apps, they often power a tremendous amount of mobile user engagement. Your mobile SEO strategy needs to account for the high degree of volatility in the mobile space, be every ready to apply new mobile SEO tactics and techniques to succeed by offering the best mobile user experience to your audience. #mobileseo

related: Mobile SEO Strategy

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Understand Mobile User Behavior

May 13, 2015/in How to do SEO, Mobile SEO /by Professor SEO

Mobile Users: Your Most Valuable Customers

“It’s easier for a rich man to ride that camel through the eye of a needle directly into the Kingdom of Heaven, than for some of us to give up our cell phone.”
― Vera Nazarian

Each year, industry experts and analysts make a prediction that this year or the following year will be “The Year Of Mobile”. As often as you hear the phrases “links for rank” or “content is king” which are more or less true to some degree, the real value of keeping these phrases in all conversions helps to create awareness that these ideas are important and you need to pay attention to them. So pay attention now, “The Year Of Mobile” is here!

Mobile User Behavior: Why Is It Different?

The two key distinctions about mobile are #1-the device and #2 — mobile behavior. In early 2015, the landscape in which businesses operate changed forever when Internet usage on mobile devices exceeded PC usage. Mobile visitor requirements are different simply by the nature of the device, smartphones are not laptops. Other mobile differences are that smartphones are always at hand, always on the move. 67% of people have used their smartphones EVERY day in the past 7 days. More than 83% of smartphone users don’t even leave home without their mobile device. While 96% of smartphone are used at home, 84% are used while the run; the most common places include in a store (83%), in a restaurant (82%) and at work (82%). Smartphones are so ingrained into peoples daily lives that a recent poll showed that 36% of people would rather give up their TV than their smartphone, queue the loud roar from the cord-cutter crowd.

Why The Mobile Platform Is Different

Smartphones are everywhere, various styles are available for sale, most are more than capable of browsing the web. Screen sizes, like people’s fashion sense, vary widely, but the vast majority of today’s smartphones are able to keep us connected to each other and the cloud. Most smartphones have limits due to processor speed, storage restraints, and screen size. They make up for these limits by offering touch screens, instant on features, quick apps, and of course mobility. Many laptop computers are fighting back by offering similar feature sets to mobile devices (instant-on, app stores, even touch screens) and our mobile devices continue to pressure traditional laptop boundaries with speedier processors, high resolution screens, and keyboard flexibility.

Smartphones Rely On Universal Seamless Connections

Broadband connectivity, WiFi hotspots, improved cellular towers, all of these Internet access points help our connections to our cloud based data and point to point communications. Mobile combines many features into an integrated omnipresent user experience. Mobile allows us access to applications, data, websites and communications that improve our daily lives both at work as well as at home. What further powers mobile growth includes:

Omnipresent Device – you can use the same device everywhere. A rapidly growing trend with the millennial generation is the ability to bring your own device to work.
It Gets Personal – your device is a reflection of you (small screen vs big screen, iOS vs Android) and you have control over privacy settings and the apps you use.
Mobile Is Always On – always on and always nearby, people rarely turn their mobile phone completely off.
Instant On Touch Screens – fast access to data, sites, and communications with features designed for rapid interactions.

Mobile User Behavior Is Different

The real major difference between mobile smartphone usage and desktops or laptops can be seen in mobile user behavior. Mobility offers a device that allows people to communicate, consume and query all from the same device. There’s no such thing as “mobile” as far as most users are concerned. Basically mobile user behavior is reflected by these actions; communications, one on one or one to many, consumption of data, media, or entertainment, and finally search queries looking for fast answers.

3 Ways Mobile User Behavior Is Unique

What are the common characteristics of mobile users? They often share these mobile behaviors:

Location Based – this only makes sense that the internal GPS will influence search outcomes. Searches that answer “find a business type near me” will drive very local results. 50% of all local search are search done on mobile devices. 94% of smartphone users have searched for local information.
Task Oriented – with a bias towards action, 84% have taken action as a result of that search. 64% connect with a business — 48% called the business 47% looked up business on map or got directions stressing the importance that location plays in the results as well.
Time Sensitive – action happens more than 90% of local users take action within 24 hours. 70% of mobile searches lead to action within one hour. It takes one month for the same percentage of desktop users to take the same actions.

Now that you know that mobile users are task oriented, location based and biased towards action with time sensitivity, you can see why mobile users are your most valuable customers! They are ready to engage with your brand’s products or services. So your mobile presence will need to grab their attention quickly and offer an awesome user experience that makes it fast and easy to focus on completing tasks. If this sounds like speed is a virtue for mobile, that’s because it is. Get speedy with concise and short text, compressed images and content delivery that mirrors user behaviors.

Mobile Search Results Differ

KEY POINT: because mobile user search behavior is different, mobile search results are different too. In a recent independent analysis by SEO Clarity, 67% of mobile search results were different from desktop search results. Post Google “Mobilegeddon” algorithm changes on April 21, those search results changed even more. Now some mobile search results are up to 73% different that their desktop counterpart search following this recent mobile update. Mobile continues to deviate from traditional desktop search results when it comes to rankings. Make sure that you take this into account when building your mobile seo strategy.

Beyond the Second Screen
The mobile world continues to blur the lines and behaviors people use to connect to the internet. Seamless integration with all internet devices creates a user experience the moves easily between interest and actions, research and purchase, engagement and sharing. So what are people doing on mobile?
10 Facts About Mobile User Behavior:

86% of mobile internet users use devices while watching TV
63% access the Internet
62% check their email
61% play games
55% check the weather
50% use maps for directions
49% use social media and 70% access social networks with an app
42% listen to music
36% get their News
21% watch streaming video — 200+ million YouTube views on mobile per day

Know Your Mobile Site Behavior

With a better understanding of the goals of a mobile user and their current behaviors on a mobile device, you can now begin to develop a mobile focused strategy that aligns your business goals with mobile user actions. Start by verifying and measuring the organic mobile traffic and the top mobile queries and mobile pages of your website. Google Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics provides more than enough data to get most businesses started down the mobile SEO path. Continue to optimize your mobile site and focus on these 3 things;

Design – is it crayon clear what actions you want people to take when they are on your website? Can these actions be completed easily?
Relevant Mobile Content — is your mobile content short and concise? Does it contain mobile friendly keywords?
Define Location — use schema.org markup to specify your location, business type, reviews, and special events. Make it easy for mobile search bots to present your website.

Embrace A Mobile Mindset

Mobile search will continue to grow in the near future, so keep that at the top of mind in your SEO and marketing strategies. Remember the mobile user profile outlined above and try the make their experience incredible and rewarding. Don’t let your mobile website be the target of the frustration because it performs poorly, slowly or has too many steps involved to complete their tasks. Don’t be the “idiot who built this damn website”; be the business that built “a great mobile website” that gets shared with many others because it is so mobile friendly.

Resources:
IDC Forecast January 2014,
KPCB Mobile Search Actions 2013
Google: Our Mobile Planet: United States of America – Understanding the Mobile Consumer, May 2013
Cisco Visual Networking Index: Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2013–2018, February 2014
IDC Forecast: Tablet Shipments Forecast to Top Total PC Shipments in the Fourth Quarter of 2013 and Annually by 2015, September 11, 2014
KPCB Internet Trends 2014

Know Mobile SEO

April 29, 2015/in How to do SEO, Mobile SEO /by Professor SEO

When Is The Best Time To Start Mobile SEO?

It’s a little too late already to just begin mobile SEO, Google’s recent mobile algorithm update has already changed the landscape for many businesses, so no more delays, let’s get started with your mobile optimization today. If you have not started monitoring your mobile channel, then you are missing the chance to future proof your business. Start providing your mobile visitors a superior mobile experience and your business will benefit. Even if you are late to the mobile game, don’t let that stop you from taking action right now to rectify the situation. Step number 1, jump into analysis of user behavior before taking any other action like mobile optimization improvements or task oriented responsive design.

A Little Mobile Analysis Anyone?

When you want to make the best business decision regarding mobile, let your reporting platform provide you with the insights surrounding the characteristics of mobile activities on your domain. Use the data as a catalyst for change starting with:

The volume of mobile traffic, is it increasing?
What are the top 3-4 mobile devices that engage with your site?
What are the top 2-3 mobile OS that visitors use?
What is the most popular screen size for your mobile users?
What are the top 5 pages that attract organic mobile traffic?
What is the most common action that the mobile user takes next?

Is your website mobile friendly?

While it’s critical that you understand how your audience interacts with your mobile website, and that all starts with how your site is rendered on mobile devices. Is your design a mobile template or is it a responsive design? To see what the site looks like I recommended that you find out how your site appears in Google’s mobile search results (Google Mobile Friendly Tool), and also look at how it actually appears on mobile devices. There are great mobile emulator resources here too, a favorite is Mobile Test Me . This tool allows you to check mobile rendering across multiple different platforms. Other popular mobile emulators include Opera Mobile Emulator or Screenfly, use these mobile tools to check how your pages are displayed in Google’s mobile search results.

Mobile friendly is the easy thing to check, and while there are many tools online to review your mobile site, start with Google’s own Mobile Friendly Test found here [https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/]. If you pass with the lovely green message, then you have more time to enhance your mobile presence, if you fail, well then there’s more work to do.

While you are using the Mobile Friendly Test tool, pay attention to the number of blocked URLS from robots.txt. If the number is too high, or you need additional insights into what are the actual blocked URLS, look for the details in Webmaster tools under robots.txt. There’s even a handy robots.txt tester to validate any changes you may make to the robots.txt file.

Understand Your Mobile Visitors Now

After you have checked how your organic mobile audience views your mobile website, it’s time to get a better understanding of how they engage with it. This is where your analytics package becomes the tool to provide data on mobile performance. The metrics that follow can all be found on Google Analytics. Google analytics provides an excellent platform for mobile performance data. For those people that use Google Analytics to do this analysis here are a few quick tips to get you started building an advanced segment to quickly identify your mobile visitors:

A few of the key metrics to review include:

Total Mobile Traffic. Take a look at the difference between the Mobile Organic Traffic, All Organic Traffic and All Visits volume and include time on site, page views and goals. This strongly emphasizes the behavioral differences for each of these sources.
Keywords driving mobile. Go to Traffic Sources \> Sources \> Search \> Organic with the Mobile Organic segment selected. This helps you to see keywords that your mobile visitors used to get to your site from a mobile device.
Most Popular Mobile Device. This information is vital for you to make mobile enhancements that best represent your audience. Start by identifying the most popular devices used by your organic mobile audience. Discover these important dimensions such as operating system and screen resolution by going to Audience \> Mobile \> Devices.
Mobile Engagement. For more advanced data analysis, look at User Flow for mobile organic traffic. This creates a visual representation of the pathways used by mobile visitors. Do these pathways mirror your mobile design. Better still, do these pathways align with your business goals? When the design supports your business objectives and visitors intent, your mobile site adds the greatest value to you and your audience.

Mobile SEO: Tactical Basics
As the mobile search environment evolves and grows, your brand needs to understand how to use your value proposition to grab attention and engage mobile users. Remember that for most major search engines, their objective is to deliver your mobile website in the best version possible and most importantly, as quickly as possible. Speed wins on mobile.

Sourcing SERP results from their mobile web indexed pages, here are a few mobile SEO tips that will help deliver a superior mobile experience for your audience:

Simple URL Structure. A single URL strategy is the best approach, whenever possible use short concise URLs.
Don’t Block The Bots. Allow the same access for all crawlers to both desktop and mobile websites, make it easy to understand navigational structure. Uniform crawler access improves search signal consolidation.
Remove Crawlability Obstacles. Clean code keeps the website free from challenging crawl obstacles such as Flash, excessive tracking code and disproportionate JavaScript.
Page Load Speed> Quick page load speeds drive performance since page load speed dramatically improves the mobile user experience. If you what to learn more, check out Google PageSpeed Insights tool [https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/]
Remarkable User Experience. Make it super easy for your visitors to find the information they are looking for and interact with one finger touches. Don’t forget the all important “Click-to-Call” action.

Mobile SEO Benefits

To truly maximize your mobile SEO benefits, you must clearly start with understanding exactly how your mobile website appears to your mobile website visitors. Beginning with a consistent design that represents your brand in both your mobile and desktop interface, make it easy for your visitors to browse your site on any platform they choose. After you review how your organic mobile audience is already visiting your site, from their preferred mobile devices and platforms, you can continue to refine your mobile SEO strategy and online business requirements.

Critical Success Factors For Online Lead Intake

April 8, 2015/in Conversion Rate Optimization, How to do SEO, Online Lead Generation /by Professor SEO

The individuals that interact with online clients via lead intake at professional service companies need to understand how these online opportunities might differ from traditional walk-ins or phone calls. Before the advancement of the Internet as a common consumer tool for research and communication, there were only two principle ways in which a prospective client would make contact with your business: walk-in traffic (face to face) or incoming telephone calls (phone to phone). Now business professionals must also be proficient in digital communications including email (keyboard to keyboard) and social (keyboard to community).

Today’s Internet represents a powerful unique way for clients to both investigate options and perform research before making a critical final engagement decision. The marketing strategy, the communication platforms, and the vital skills and abilities required to satisfy and inform these clients are uniquely different from the traditional traffic channels.

What Are The Critical Success Factors For Internet Lead Intake?

The responsibilities and skill set required for successfully processing, intaking and closing an online engagement opportunity requires specialized training, abilities and mindset because and online lead generation IS a different process. Let’s look at some of the differences from traditional traffic compared to modern traffic channels.

The following chart compares the differences in focus in building customer value between the traditional intake and online intake:

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_content_boxes layout=”icon-on-top” columns=”2″ class=”” id=””]
[fusion_content_box title=”Old School” backgroundcolor=”” icon=”fa-minus-circle” icon_circle_size=”” icon_align=”left” iconcolor=”#359B24″ circlecolor=”#F1F1F1″ circlebordercolor=”#359B24″ iconflip=”” iconrotate=”” iconspin=”no” image=”” image_width=”35″ image_height=”35″ link=”” linktarget=”_self” linktext=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″]

Focus is on identifying client needs, selecting the right service or product, making a value / benefit presentation, gaining a closing commitment, negotiation and closing on the product or service
Face to face
You control the flow of information
You control the pace of the process – who does what when
Buying commitment required in exchange for pricing disclosure
Emphasis on building value in service or product
The opportunity is NOW: Go for close
One and done, get ready for the next opportunity

[/fusion_content_box]
[fusion_content_box title=”New School” backgroundcolor=”” icon=”fa-check-circle” icon_circle_size=”none” icon_align=”left” iconcolor=”#359B24″ circlecolor=”#F1F1F1″ circlebordercolor=”#359B24″ iconflip=”” iconrotate=”” iconspin=”no” image=”” image_width=”35″ image_height=”35″ link=”” linktarget=”_self” linktext=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″]

Focus is on confirming the client needs, engaging the client / customer in an exchange of information, validating the value / benefit that your service or product offers, and closing on an in person appointment
Keyboard to Keyboard
Customer controls the flow of information
Customer controls the pace of the process – who does what when
Up-front pricing disclosed to build customer trust
Emphasis on building value in the business relationship
The opportunity is indefinite: Go for an appointment
Success requires tracking and follow-up

[/fusion_content_box][/fusion_content_boxes]

What Does A Successful Lead Intake Process Look Like?

The most effective managers of Internet leads will need to have core competencies in three important areas:
1. Technology:

Must be comfortable with information technology, it changes rapidly.
Embrace multiple communication platforms. Be fluent with how your leads want to communicate with your business.
Capable of learning and utilizing lead management applications.

2. Online Lead Process Management:

Can organize multiple engagement activities at once to accomplish business objectives.
Understands how to arrange information and files in a useful manner utilizing technology.
Knows what steps in the process to measure and how to measure it.
Good at figuring out priorities in getting things done.
Does not get overwhelmed by multiple engagement and administrative tasks.
Breaks down engagement activities into the process steps.
Focuses on outcomes that drive success.

3. Online Engagement Skills:

Assumes client / customer has previously completed some research online.
Has excellent communication skills that engages the client / customer, validates customer research, builds trust and secures in person appointments.
Is able to write a digital communication that is clear, concise and gets a message across that provides value to the client / customer. Understands basic digital protocol for email, social media, and other digital platforms as it pertains to your business.
Patient working within each client’s / customer’s information agenda while maintaining a focused results oriented engagement plan.
Understands the business’ services or products and can easily answer basic related questions in a way that projects professionalism and increases client trust and confidence levels.
Drives engagement forward to the desired business objectives: set an appointment.

The digital environment is extremely dynamic and the business engagement process does vary from traditional brick and mortar client acquisition methods. Success is measured differently, because the business objectives align closely to the client objectives with a focus on outcomes; in most cases setting an appointment becomes the priority rather than closing a client.

[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_tagline_box backgroundcolor=”#f7f7f7″ shadow=”no” shadowopacity=”0.1″ border=”1px” bordercolor=”” highlightposition=”top” content_alignment=”left” link=”” linktarget=”_self” modal=”” button_size=”” button_shape=”” button_type=”” buttoncolor=”” button=”” title=”LEAD INTAKE SUMMARY” description=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””]
To recap a successful lead generation intake process, it is critically important to review and know these key concepts:

The engagement strategy, the communication tools, and the skill and ability required to successfully handle inbound leads are uniquely different from the traditional role for walk-in traffic.
The most prosperous people in these lead intake positions understand the responsibilities and skill sets required for successfully processing and engaging the online opportunity and recognize that it requires specialized training to maintain a competitive edge.
Everyone interacting with an online lead makes a unique contribution to the clients’ experience and perception of the brand value.
The online lead intake process has a distinctly different focus than a traditional engagement process in building customer value and provides validation to the customers’ decision.
The lead intake team that handles online queries will need to have competencies in three important areas; technology, online lead process management, and online engagement skills.

[/fusion_tagline_box][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

How Much Does Your Free Organic Traffic Cost?

March 24, 2015/in Conversion Rate Optimization, How to do SEO, Online Lead Generation /by Professor SEO

The Real Value Of Free Organic Traffic

Any business that depends upon free organic traffic for customers or clients must recognize the value of their organic traffic. That means the vast majority of business owners that either do organic optimization in-house or employ a vendor or agency to optimize their organic presence, know that your FREE TRAFFIC IS NOT FREE. Treat your organic traffic with the same level of intensity that you use for your paid traffic, because organic traffic has value too!

Why Organic Traffic Is Not Free

What is your time worth? If your time is valued at $50, $75, or $250 an hour, can it be better spent doing something other than optimizing your web site? Average business person spends 8 to10 hours a month on their web marketing meeting, writing, tweaking, reviewing their internet strategies. At $100 an hour, that’s $800 to $1000 of time invested to drive “free” traffic. When you review your return on investment to find that your $1000 of time investment delivered client sign ups of $10,000 then you enjoyed a 10 to 1 ROI, which is great if that was your target. But if you signed up only $2,000 of new clients and the 2 to 1 ROI is not enough to keep the lights on, then maybe it’s time to rethink how your handle your free organic traffic.

Free Stuff Is Easily Discarded
Many studies have shown that perceived value of items correlates directly to how that item is treated. The difference between your evaluation of the benefits and costs of the item when compared with other costs and benefits becomes the perceived value. If you are given a “free” roller ball pen, you may use it every single day, but if you lose it, no big deal right? Now you are given a free Acme roller ball pen that you use every single day. If you lose this pen, will you feel the same as losing the plastic pen? Not so much. Even when both are free, the perceived value to you differs. Knowing the value of your organic visitors by source is a metric most successful online businesses monitor frequently.

How To Calculate The Basic Value per Visitor

The simplest way to calculate the value per visitor is to start with your desired outcome, in most cases profit. Then all you do is divide the total online profit by the total number of your visitors.

Simple Example:

Profit / Visitors = Visitor Value
An e-commerce retail website
$150/1,000 = $0.15 per visitor value

Professional Services Example:
A personal injury law firm with a 2% closing rate on auto accident cases.

$150,000 / 1,000 = $150 per visitor value

In the professional services example when you assign the visitor value to the 200 “free” contacts (form submissions and emails), that value of those contacts is actually not zero but $30,000. Will you handle your $30,000 of opportunity differently than you would handle free? Of course you will. So stop burning up contacts or leads, build a process to handle your valuable free organic traffic opportunities!

When you use visitor value data to make smart informed business decisions, then assigning the right focus to these business opportunities is the correct course of action. With a renewed focus on the value you are receiving, defining a processes to maximize your conversion of these opportunities, your business will flourish.

How To Get A Fast Start In Lead Generation

March 18, 2015/in Conversion Rate Optimization, How to do SEO, Online Lead Generation /by Professor SEO

Fast Track Your Lead Generation

Want to increase your bottom line with lead generation but don’t know where to start? Lead gen fundamentals are often nothing more than a simple math problem; thoughtful tracking of the numbers yields results when done correctly. As only one part of your overall digital strategy, lead gen can be a welcome boost to profitability, just don’t lose sight of the rest of your business. Take a step by step approach to the part of your marketing by starting with a clear definition of your customers or clients. Develop this user persona as a first step.

Step #1. What do your potential customers want?

Remember that zero potential customers wakes up in the morning and screams loudly, “Please market to me today!” No client thinks of themselves as a “lead” for your organization. The key is to understand these individuals and discover what they truly want or need. Start out by answering questions that drive them to seek solutions, questions like:

What are their pain points that keeps them awake at night?
What do they want to avoid so bad that they are willing to pay others to do?
What are the goals or objectives that they want to achieve?
What problem are they trying to solve?
How are they trying to change their current situation?
Where do they go to seek help or solutions?
What is there sense of urgency to resolve a problem or change their life?
How soon do they need to act?

Fortunately there are many different avenues to go to uncover this information. Effectively monitoring social media, client interviews, discussions with customer facing groups, posts from industry thought leaders, surveys, white papers, are just a few of the ways to learn and better understand what your potential customers want. The success or failure of your lead generation efforts hinges right here at the start by answering the question – what do my clients and customers want?