Do you know what search keywords are producing the most website conversions?
What are Website Conversions?
We’re not talking about spiritual conversions but website conversions… when a person visits your website and does what you were hoping they would do – buys your product, visits your church, requests more information about your school, subscribes to your newsletter.
Google used to provide keyword data in their referral URL At that time, we could track what keyword each search visitor had used, so when someone made a purchased or filled out a form we could tell what search keyword produced each “conversion.” But Google doesn’t provide that information anymore.
Why Do Conversion Keywords Matter?
Let’s try an example….
Let’s say we here at OurChurch.Com looked at our website analytics and found 100 people visited our website using the search keyword “church websites” and 20 people visited our website using the search keyword “church website developer.” From those numbers you might think “church websites” is a much more important keyword.
But, what if we found out 0 of the 100 “church websites” visitors actually moved forward with a new website while 4 of the 20 “church website developer” visitors moved forward with a new website.
That changes everything, doesn’t it?
The keywords that produce the most conversions are the most valuable, not the keywords that produce the most visitors.
Marketing strategy should be based on conversion data. We might re-optimize our website to improve our search rankings for the keywords producing the most conversions. If we’re doing paid advertising, we might re-allocate money away from keyword not producing conversions to those that are producing conversions.
But the challenge is…
How do we find out what keywords are converting if Google doesn’t provide that data?
Ask. It’s the only way.
If you’re a business, ask your new clients what they searched for to find you. If you’re a school, ask your prospective students (or their parents) what keywords they searched. If you’re a church, ask the people who visit your church for the first time.
A few weeks ago I blogged about how Barabbas Road Church in San Diego went to #3 in Google for “church in San Diego.” The reason we targeted “church in San Diego” was because they were asking new visitors how they found they church. By asking, they learned about 90% of people who came to a service had searched for “church in San Diego.” That information made all the difference in the world!
So how about you?
- Do you know what keywords are producing conversions on your website?
- Are you going to develop a plan to ask your “converts” what keywords they used to find you?