Guest Posts

SEO CTR – 10 Effective Ways To Increase Organic SEO Click-Through Rate

August 3, 2021

Your organic click-through rate determines the number of users who click on your search result against the number of users who see them on the search engine result pages for a given query. Usually, the higher your rank on SERPs the better your organic click-through rate is. But did you know that you can improve organic SEO CTR without having to change your ranking? Yes, you can! Doubling your SEO CTR means more traffic to your site, more leads, and higher conversion rates. But more than this, increasing your SEO CTR can boost your Quality Score and your organic search rankings! Although Google said that click-through rates do not affect a search result’s ranking, there have been several studies and pieces of evidence that prove otherwise. In this article, we will share with you the ten simple but effective ways you can increase your organic SEO click-through rate so you can start dominating the SERPs, generate more leads, and grow your business this 2021! BOOST YOUR ORGANIC SEO CTR USING THESE TRIED-AND-TRUE WAYS Many businesses and even marketers focus solely on direct ranking factors to increase their ranking in SERPs and generate more traffic to their websites. But approaching SEO holistically (meaning also paying attention to indirect ranking factors like SEO click-through rate) is the key to reaching your target audience, generating more leads, and growing your business long-term. Here’s how you can improve organic SEO CTR:

DETERMINE YOUR LOWEST ORGANIC CLICK-THROUGH RATE CONTENT

To improve organic SEO CTR, you should first determine which of your pages are underperforming compared to your site average. To do this, visit your Google Search Console and download all of your query or site traffic data. Identify which of your content receives low CTR. When your page or content receives a low search performance, it means that it’s not ranking in Google’s top 10 result pages for your primary keyword nor is it getting any comments, likes, or shares on social media. Naturally, older posts tend to generate less engagement. However, this is bad news because it means those pages or contents are not generating you the traffic you need to get more leads. So, to get users to engage with those underperforming content again, you need to re optimize them. Here’s how you can re-optimize underperforming content on your website:

Focus on long-tail keywords

If your content is not ranking in Google’s top 10 result pages for your primary keyword, it probably means that that keyword is too competitive. So, consider replacing it with a longer variation of your primary keyword, which is also known as long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are more specific terms so fewer people use them during a search. But they’re less competitive and they also generate better quality leads because the searchers who use them are those that are further down the sales funnel. So, using long-tail keywords allow you to target people who will most likely click on your content.

Use power words in your headlines

Headlines are very important because it’s the first thing users see during a search. It can dictate whether or not a user will click-through on your search result. You want to create compelling headlines that get your target audience’s attention. To do this, consider using powerful words in your headlines, like Best, Awesome, Proven, and the likes.

Update your old blog posts

Make sure that your previous blog posts are updated so that they remain relevant to your audience. You also want to let readers know that you’ve updated that blog so they won’t dismiss it.

USE SOCIAL ADS TO IMPROVE YOUR CTR

Aside from optimizing your content, you can also leverage social ads to improve the organic SEO CTR and search volume of your pages with low search performance. Social ads are pay-per-click advertising on social media, like Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, or LinkedIn Ads. You can use them to promote your website and increase your content reach. They’re great because they allow you to specifically target the users you want your content to appear in front of. They also show them to the right people several times throughout the campaign, which builds brand awareness and familiarity. According to a study conducted by marketing agency Red C, when they asked their participants to do a research task, like shopping online, 82% of their participants chose a brand with which they were already familiar regardless of its ranking on the search results. People who are familiar with your brand are 2X more likely to click on your page and convert. Over time, as your target audience becomes familiar with your brand or business, they’re more likely to click on your search result if they see it on SERPs for a related query. Aside from this, you can also use social ads to remarket to users who have already interacted with your business or brand. Remarketing your display ads can further boost your brand awareness and increase brand familiarity which in turn can help improve your organic CTR and even boost your sales! Here are the other benefits of using social ads to boost your organic SEO-CTR:

Provides analytics you can use to test out which headlines, content, calls-to-action, visuals, etc. work for your target audience, providing you the information you need to properly re-optimize your old posts and create better content
Allows you to create ads tailored to help you achieve your campaign goals
Allows you to do hyper-targeting, making sure that your content only reaches people who will most likely click-through
Enables you to reach new customers and encourage existing ones to stay loyal to you
Social media ads are powerful tools you can use to increase your organic SEO-CTR. By testing out what elements work for your target audience and by putting your content in front of users who are interested in what you have to offer, you can create content your target audience will love to click on!

IDENTIFY AND FIX KEYWORD CANNIBALIZATION

Keyword Cannibalization happens when you use too many identical or similar keywords throughout the content of your website, which results in search engines having a hard time determining which page to rank higher. As a result, Google may end up ranking a web page you don’t intend to prioritize. This can cause your organic clicks to spread out across multiple pages instead of just concentrating on one page leading to poor ranking and a low organic SEO CTR. To identify if the content on your site is suffering from keyword cannibalization, you need to do a complete scan of your content. You can do this by easily typing “your domain + keywords” on Google. For example, if your skincare business has the website name “Skincare.com”, and you want to look for keyword cannibalization for glycolic acid toner, you’re going to type “Skincare.com, glycolic acid toner”. The results will provide you with the information you need. Once you’ve identified which keywords have cannibalization issues, there are multiple ways to fix them. Here are the different ways you can correct or fix keyword cannibalization:

De-optimize

If you have a page that’s ranking for multiple keywords but is cannibalizing another page for a certain keyword, then it’s best to de-optimize it for that specific keyword only. You don’t want to delete or redirect the page because it’s bringing in a lot of organic search traffic for other keywords so it’s still valuable. First, go over the content thoroughly. Find any references to the keyword you don’t want the content to rank for. Remove them. Next, look for any internal links pointing to the keyword you don’t want to rank for. Change them. Lastly, check for any external inbound links that point to your page using the keyword you don’t want for. Request if they can change them.

Merge

When you have two contents that are very much alike that are ranking for the same keyword, it’s best to just merge them. Combining the two pages will help preserve the link juice and increase traffic since the different backlinks now lead to only one page.

Delete

Sometimes, it’s better to delete a page that’s cannibalizing another similar page but better, especially if it doesn’t offer any value to your visitors. Just make sure to check for any inbound links and add a 301 redirect from that page to similar content on your site before deleting it.

No-index

If you think a page is valuable to your visitors but is cannibalizing another similar page that you want to rank for a certain keyword, then it’s best to no-index the page you don’t want to rank. Doing this allows you to keep the page and it won’t appear in search results.

Canonicalize

Using canonical tags is ideal if you have two similar pages that are both valuable however you want Google to specifically rank a page over the other. Canonicalizing a page tags it as the main one which signals Google that it’s the version it should index.

USE LONG-TAIL KEYWORDS

Long-tail keywords tend to have a low search volume but they do generate more quality leads than high search volume keywords. That’s because the people who use long-tail keywords are those that are closer to a point-of-purchase. For example, people who look up “affordable glycolic acid toner in Palm Beach” are much more likely to buy than those who search for “glycolic acid toner”. Using long-tail keywords in your content and targeting searchers who use them allows you to put your content in front of people who are interested in what you have to offer and will most likely click-through and convert! This will not only boost your organic SEO CTR, but it can also increase your sales! Here’s how to find the right long-tail keywords for your content:

To find the right long-tail keywords to use in your content, you want to consider how your target audience searches as they travel along the buyer’s journey
Write the different stages of the buyer’s journey
List down the possible phrases your target audience will most likely use when searching for your products or services at each stage
Write down variations of your primary keywords
You can also use Google’s related searches
Join online communities or forums that are related to your industry and find out what people are mostly inquiring about

LOCALIZE YOUR CONTENT

According to a study conducted by Moz, proximity has become increasingly important in search rankings over the past years. In fact, 46% of all Google searches are local. If you want to have higher SEO CTR, then it’s important to localize your content. Doing this allows users to easily understand the context of your blog posts, videos, articles, etc., making them highly relevant to your target audience. This motivates local customers to click-through and engage with your page, inquire, and even convert. This not only boosts your clicks but also increases your sales and lowers your bounce rate. For example, if a customer is looking for a glycolic acid toner in Palm Beach then he/she may search “glycolic acid toner in Palm Beach” or “best facial toner in Palm Beach”. So, you want to consider using those keywords in your content. Pro Tip: Register your business at Google My Business so people won’t have difficulty finding your location. It’s also a way to establish your legitimacy. Plus, it literally puts you on the map!

USE HEADLINES USERS WOULD WANT TO CLICK

Compelling headlines that capture the attention of users are usually those that play on strong emotions like fear, joy, anger, excitement, etc. People can’t help but click those kinds of headlines and share because they feel intrigued. According to research conducted by Buzz Sumo, people tend to share headlines that:

Trigger emotions
Contain the phrase “will make you”
Provoke curiosity

So, you want to combine your SEO keywords with words that trigger emotions, curiosity, or use the “will make you” phrase. For example, you want to drive clicks for your glycolic acid toner blog post. Your headline could go something like “10 Surprising Benefits of Glycolic Acid Toner You Didn’t Know About”. The words “surprising” and “you didn’t know about” provokes curiosity that will drive people to click on your search results! Aside from this, here are the other ways you can improve your headlines and drive more clicks:

Avoid using heavy title tags
Use brackets in your headlines because it helps increase clicks by 40% according to a study by Hubspot.
Add the current calendar year to your headlines to drive more organic traffic
Use a numbered list format to boost your CTR by 36%.

OPTIMIZE YOUR META DESCRIPTIONS

A meta description is a summary of your page’s content that allows users to get an idea of what to expect if they click on it. Optimizing your description is essential because it helps convince people to click on your page and search engines tend to show them in the SERPS when they contain the searched-for phrase. Here’s how to optimize your meta descriptions:

Make sure it’s keyword-rich

You want to make your meta descriptions keyword-rich because search engines tend to show them in the SERPS when they contain the searched-for phrase.

Keep your meta descriptions short

You want to keep your meta description short, convincing, and straight to the point

Use an active voice to make your description more compelling

Using an active voice will make users feel like they’re being spoken to directly

Consider a user’s possible motivation when visiting your page

When crafting your description, you want to consider user intent during a query and base your description on that. It can make your descriptions highly relevant and entice users to click on them. For example, the reason why people are searching for skincare online is that they want to improve their skin or want to look better. So, in your description, you can capitalize on that and say like “Get your skin looking fresh and radiant even without makeup with our glycolic acid toner! Healthy skin is the best-looking skin. Start taking care of your skin today!”

Include a call-to-action

The right call-to-action can inspire people to take action, especially if they’re personalized

Feature specifications

If your products have something to do with electronic gadgets and other techs, you want to feature specs in your description. People are always looking into specs when buying gadgets

Avoid using misleading descriptions

Doing this is a sure way to drive away prospects and customers. It will not only break their trust but will also create a negative impression of your business

STRUCTURE YOUR CONTENT SIMILAR TO FEATURED SNIPPETS

Featured snippets are created to quickly answer a searcher’s query. It contains a piece of information from a web page, which search engines find to be the most relevant to a query. They appear at the very top of organic search results below paid ads and are enclosed in a box to highlight them from other results. According to a study conducted by Hubspot, their high-volume keywords received more than a 114% increase in CTR when the results were displayed as featured snippets. According to Digital Authority Partners, this means that ranking for Google’s featured snippets can drastically improve organic SEO CTR and send more people to your site. So, you also want to optimize your content for it. However, the main reason why it’s important to structure your content similar to featured snippets is that they’re created in a standardized format that is designed to help search engines better understand the content of your site, which is essential for indexing and ranking. To structure your content similar to featured snippets, you must first search your primary keyword on Google and check if a featured snippet appears. If there is, follow how the featured snippet is showing their answers, whether it’s in paragraph form, table, list, or video. For example, if the featured snippet showed a list-based answer, then your content should also use a numbered list format. If the featured snippet contains a star rating and a publication date, then you should also make sure that your page displays those elements when they appear in SERPs through Schema.

MATCH YOUR CONTENT WITH USER INTENT

To drive more clicks on your search results, you want to provide users with the right content in the right format and with a matching headline that satisfies their search query. For example, if searchers type in “how to use a facial toner”, you want to provide content that tells them the step-by-step procedure on how to use a facial toner. Showing users a search result that talks about the benefits of a facial toner will seem irrelevant, forcing them to leave your page. Here’s how to make sure that your content matches with your target audience’s user intent: Step 1: Analyze the keywords or phrases your target audience use during a search. For example, if they type in the phrase “affordable toner for dry skin”, you want to ask yourself what it is that they want to know or find. Step 2: List down what you think the keyword or phrase means. So, based on the example from step 1, we can tell that the user isn’t looking for expensive toners and that he/she is specifically looking for a facial toner that’s suitable for dry skin. So, you want to create content that talks about

Affordable facial toners
And those that are suitable for dry skin

So, maybe you want to create a list of affordable toners from your brand that’s suitable for dry skin, or if you only have one, you can focus on creating a comprehensive review on why it’s the “perfect affordable toner for dry skin” for them.

USE IMAGES, VIDEOS, OR OTHER VISUALS

You want to integrate images, videos, infographics, and other types of visuals into your content because they catch users’ attention, drive the people to click on your content, and motivate them to share with others. Here are some statistics to prove it:

According to Wordstream, social videos get 1200% more shares than text and image posts combined
Content with relevant images gets 94% more views than those without. (Quicksprout, 2015)
According to Vero, websites that contain visuals have a 47% higher click-through-rate compared to those that don’t
Video content in emails can boost CTR by 200% to 300%(Forbes, 2016)

Google also prioritizes pages that contain visuals, so they tend to rank higher in SERPs, which is a major plus! But more than this, they help make your content more effective in providing answers and value to your target audience. According to Springer, people who follow directions with text and visuals can follow better by 323% more compared to those people who are following instructions without illustrations. WANT TO IMPROVE ORGANIC SEO CTR? Many businesses and even marketers focus solely on direct ranking factors to help them achieve business goals. But the key to creating a sustainable SEO tactic that drives results is to focus on both direct and indirect factors, especially your organic click-through rate. Although Google denies that they use SEO CTR as a direct ranking factor, click-through rates impact most direct ranking factors. So, if you’re able to double your click-through rate, you also get to boost other direct ranking factors, which leads to an increase in your organic ranking in SERPs. Follow these ten easy ways to effectively improve organic SEO CTR! By getting a higher than expected click-through rate, you can beat your competitors and dominate the organic SERPs!

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