Rankings, it seems, have now become a great driving force for many SEOs, which sometimes divorces them from the idea that those rankings are worthless if they aren’t in relation to a high click-through rate (CTR). What is the reason that your website does not have a lot of traffic?
If the copy on your page seems adequate, then the other reason can be the lack of organic search traffic. Often organic traffic can come through being on the first page of google, but gone are the traditional ways of showing up on the first page. You now have videos, images, keywords, and featured snippets that increase the traffic.
Because SEO trends are changing so rapidly, it is no surprise that organic search and click-through rates are rapidly declining. Search engines cater to the users’ needs, and when the said user gets their answer on the search page, they are less likely to scroll down to check more listings.
This article will help you understand how you can effectively boost CTR using SERPs (search engine results page). Meanwhile, check the visual diagram, created by professional SEO consultant Aleyda Solis on how to improve CTR.
Research Your Average CTR
Before you begin to increase CTR, you need to have a baseline analysis that can help you with your future decisions. Go to Search Analysis in GSC (Google search console). The default will show you queries that you are ranking for which uses your keywords and the number of clicks they received.
Click on the CTR box, and you’ll find the average CTR for your top keywords. However, it is vital to keep in mind that your CTR goals will depend on varying factors like the CTR for branded queries should be high, but your CTR for generic keywords should be quite low.
Use Descriptive URLs
Having a descriptive URL allows you to use a long-tailed keyword that appears on your link preview during a google search, helping boost CTR. The length, path, and category of URLs can affect search results.
When you publish blogs or web pages, it is important that you categorize and subcategorize them. Use it as an opportunity to add more keywords and raises search engine visibility. You’re also helping the customers find what they are looking for, specifically instead of being lost between the products available.
Get Creative With Your Titles
During a google search, the first thing people see is the title in the SERPs. Focus on making the titles impactful. Avoid heavy title tags that can get boring and might defeat the purpose to boost CTRs. Make sure to utilize brackets in your titles. A study by HubSpot revealed that brackets in headlines can increase CTR by 40%.
Writing compelling headlines will ensure that users click the title more often than not. Take up the same strategy with your email marketing campaigns. Choose a high-quality subject line or title. According to the rule for SERPs, it does not matter whether you’re ranked #1 or #10 on the first page. If your headline is attractive, users will feel compelled towards it.
Use keywords to your advantage, analyzing viral headlines, checking out keyword websites like UberSuggest to see what is most relevant. This will also naturally increase CTR.
Optimize Rich Snippets
Rich snippets are a newly introduced term for SEO. These are highly visible in search, making it all the more important to utilize to boost CTR. If you are trying to increase your website’s traffic, adding this tool is the way to go.
It draws the reader’s eye to the relevant search result, giving them more social proof and information about the result. It is also super specific, thus giving the user exactly what is going to be on the other side of the link before they click.
You can install the All in One Schema.org Rich Snippets plugin, activate it, and you’re good to go. Then add the content in your editor, scroll down to configure your rich snippet. You can fill in your name and the item you’re reviewing and click on the star rating. Voila! You will now see the product review and rich snippets from your web page.
Optimize Images and Videos for SEO
As established, SERPs are not limited to showing organic results; you can also add images, videos, and featured snippets to increase CTR. While adding images is a good idea in itself, it is now becoming increasingly popular for SEOs to optimize those images and videos to increase the chances of ranking on these SERPs.
You can do so by using targeted Keywords in image titles, video titles, description, and alt text. Furthermore, the image or video placement matters on the website, so it best matches the keyword intent.
Using images in landscape or desired size can also improve the visibility of the website itself.
Leverage PPC Ads for Organic CTR
To boost CTR, one of the most utilized approaches is through a leverage PPC. After you’ve identified a keyword with a low CTR but a quite high position in the SERP, this means you can create a paid search for it.
This will take up more real estate, thus increasing the likelihood that there is more traffic, and you are able to experiment with different headlines and descriptions to identify which works the best.
Create a Limited Time Offer
Creating urgency will always make users feel like they will run out of time if they don’t act fast. This is a great tactic to rush users into action and target your audience adequately. Give them a limited time or a countdown for some products or services, so they are unable to resist the offer.
This will increase CTR immensely, and adding a CTA will tell users what they can do next so that your offer comes full circle.
Fix Keyword Issues
People make this mistake quite often. They use the same keywords for landing pages, thus optimizing for the same keywords, which ends up spreading out any organic clicks. Scan your document to find out where this may be occurring and consider differentiating the keywords, which you try to rank for. So your click-through rate can be dedicated to one page instead of 20.
You can also take help from SEO professionals to see if you’re on the right track, and your efforts to be optimized are not going to waste.
All in all, improving your CTR or optimizing your organic CTR should be a regular part of your routine. The steps, which I mentioned, can help you bring more traffic and enjoy success in the SERPs.
