Keyword Ranking vs Lead Generation - What Matters Most To You

After a lot of struggle, hard work and many long nights, you’ve managed to achieve #1 ranking for your keyword.

What’s next?

You sit back, relax and start waiting for those much-desired leads and sales to your business.

And guess what?

You actually start getting traffic from Google. And why not? After all, you’re in the first position, and according to many marketers, the top 4-5 results in SERP get most of the traffic/clicks.

But to your fear, there are no leads.

So, what you do, you wait for some more days. But again, there is no visible growth in your website’s sales or leads.

Why is that?

As far as many of us know, SEO should have been all about getting higher rankings in search engines, which would, in turn, generate leads and conversions for your business. So, why are you not getting leads even after getting better rankings?

Well, this is where you’re wrong.

SEO Techniques are no longer just about getting ranking, in fact, it never was. Your SEO goal should be to generate leads and sales, and not just getting ranks.

But what’s the difference?

Glad you asked.

How is getting ranks different from getting leads/traffic/sales?

Getting actual leads or sales is not just about getting that #1 spot in SERP. In fact, there is a huge gap that you have to fill in order to convert those top rankings into actual profits.

Clicks (or traffic) are the people who come to your website after following a link back from a search engine or any other place to your site or landing page. Leads are the potential customers that you want to visit your website and perform a certain action (click/buy/read). Sales are the leads that have converted.

In most cases, the ultimate aim of a business website is to get sales or conversions. And sales are created by identifying the leads. Leads are generated through sources like search engines and social media.

In order to bring leads that convert, your business should be visible in search engines. This is where SEO comes in. A search engine optimizer will work to improve your site’s search engine rankings in order to make it more visible.

To sum up, SERP ranking might be considered the first stage in lead generation. But again, both are different things and require different approaches.

Quality Matters Over Quantity

Even if you somehow do manage to achieve great rankings in search engines by putting emphasis on building a lot of links, one thing is sure that you’ll never get leads or conversion from those rankings.

Wondering why?

Because Google prefers quality over quantity when it comes to search engine ranking.

For example, if you build a lot of links on a single page on your site, it is possible that Google might temporarily rank you higher for that keyword, seeing that your page has been getting backlinks from multiple sites.

However, those rankings are never going to stay or convert, because Google will eventually realize you are not providing the level of quality as you claim.

On the contrary, if you build high-quality links, you will not only get good ranks but also leads and traffic that actually converts. In short, you can substantially increase your website ROI by simply focusing more on the quality of links coming to your site.

There is another reason why you should favor the quality of links over quantity. Not only the backlinks coming from high-quality, authentic and diverse sources are deemed highly valuable by Google for ranking purposes, these are also a good way to generate direct leads to your website.

For instance, if you’re getting backlinks from one or more highly-trafficked and relevant websites, there is a good chance that some of their traffic will move to your website and produce conversions.

The ultimate aim of your link building efforts should be to get high search engine ranking for the targeted website as well as to bring constant and high-quality leads that convert. And that can only be achieved with high-quality link building.

Still wondering why your top ranking keywords are not bringing any traffic or leads?

Here’s a brief idea of why your #1 search rankings might not be giving you any noticeable leads or sales.

Your search snippet is not optimized

In order to convert rankings into traffic, you have to make sure that your SERP links are clickable. In other words, you have to optimize your Search Snippets such that they encourage users to click.

Even though more than 90% of search engine clicks are received by the top 4 results, know that a user will not click your link if he/she doesn’t find it relevant or compelling enough, even if you are ranking at the top position.

You’re ranking for the wrong keywords

If you’re ranking at the top for a keyword, but still no one is clicking your links or buying your products/services, there is a good chance that your page is ranking for the wrong keywords.

Give another look to your targeted keywords to check whether they are exactly what your business represents.

For example, if you run a women exclusive clothing showroom, but ranking #1 for a keyword like “best clothing shop online”, you cannot always expect your targeted customers to put that exact phrase in order to find you.

If they’re searching for female clothes, they will most probably use terms like “female clothes online” or “buy women dress online”.

Targeting the right keywords can make a big difference between ranking and conversion.

Your website isn’t optimized

Now, let’s assume that you are ranking for the right, relevant keywords and have also optimized your search snippets in the best way, convincing the users that you provide the exact information/thing that they are looking for.

So, the user clicks your link in search results. And guess what, your website starts receiving traffic.

But again, traffic doesn’t always convert to sales. If the user doesn’t find what they were looking for on your site, they will simply go back to search results and try another link. And this is how you lose leads.

In other words, if your landing page (or site) is not relevant, user-friendly and informative or is broken, you will lose leads that might have converted otherwise.

Now that you have a general idea of why high search engine rankings might not guarantee traffic or leads or sales, what do you think is more important – getting ranks or getting leads?

How to increase your Search Engine leads?

So, how can you get more leads that convert?

Here are some proven ways to increase traffic, sales, and leads to your online business.

1. Optimize your form to include fewer fields

Users do not like to fill long forms in order to gain access to information. Even if it is necessary for you to collect user data, include a limited number of fields in your email or other subscription forms on a landing page.

2. Use the right keywords

As explained above, using or targeting the wrong keywords might make your potential customers go somewhere else in search of the right information/service. So, research and use correct keywords in both your meta tags and website content.

3. Optimize the Meta Description

The meta description is what appears in the snippet in the search results. It contains brief details of your landing page telling intended users what your page is about and how it solves their query or provides the information/service they are looking for.

Think of what your targeted users want to see in your meta description and write it accordingly.

4. Use “action verbs”

Action verbs are words that encourage users to take a specific action. For example, you can use phrases like “grab your deal now” to make a user click the button.

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5. Make your product/service convincing

Besides clearly listing the details and features of your product, you should also explain its benefits in order to make it easier for the user to understand how and why this is the best thing for them.

Present your product/service in a user-specific manner, like it is designed for them only.

6. Optimize your page title

The title or headline is one of the most important rankings and conversion factors of your landing page. Think about it thoroughly and consider multiple possibilities before finalizing the best one.

7. Include user testimonials

Genuine testimonials and user reviews are known to have a great positive impact on your potential leads. They reduce risk and instill confidence in the user. Use them on every landing page of your site.

8. Use videos for human touch

Customers can connect with a brand better when they actually know the people behind the company. A video is a great way to humanize your business.

9. Help users make a decision

Rather than creating unnecessary hype around the product, the focus of your content copy should be on helping the customer make the right decision by telling them what they should know about the product. As simple as that.

10. Use multiple payment options

Most potential customers will leave your site without purchasing if there are only one or two payment options given. Consider using multiple payment options to create an easy shopping experience for your site visitors.

Conclusion

The ultimate focus of your marketing (SEO) efforts should be on getting leads and sales, and not just good ranks on search engines.

While search engine ranking is a great way to make your website visible and open doors for traffic, it is not enough to ensure conversions.

Lead generation or conversion is all about how properly you are targeting and using the right keywords, optimizing your search snippets and landing pages, and keeping your site up to date.

High keyword rankings in search engines will generate results only when it is accompanied by smart SEO.

Need help to bring leads to your online business? Hire result-oriented SEO services with SAG IPL.