#1 in google but still no customers,

[Protor]

I have had a client approach me and ask if I can help improve the effectiveness of their site as they havn't been getting much work from customers visiting their site, I've checked their site and found a good use of keywords in the meta tag and through out their site, they are the first results returned through google on a good number of their keywords. they are listed in a plenty of local directorys.

I haven't had access to their site logs yet so I don't know any figures about site visitors. can it just be that the demand for their service isn't really there? or maybe they are not getting the keywords right, has anybody had an experience like this?

[dvduval]

You might see the number of results returned by google for that search phrase, and compare it to some others. You might also get a metric by using the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool and compare to other phrases.

You might also considering seeing if you can add a free Call to Action on the site for an additional measurement of customer response, such as a free newsletter or printed catalog.

Good luck!

[rcj662]

I would check the keywords and see the search results for each one. Some products and services are just hard to sell like satellite dishes.

[stymiee]

Being number one doesn't mean you get a lot of traffic. It also doesn't necessarily mean you have targeted traffic. It also doesn't mean they have a good website that will convert visitors into buyers. Start by seeing just how much traffic they really are getting. If it is significant, then try to see how long they are staying and where they are bailing out. That will help you try to improve their conversion once they are on the website.

[Josh Spaulding]

You would really need to dig into the stats to see the conversion rate before deciding. It's either not converting or not getting any visitors. You won't know until you look at those stats.

It could be that the keywords your client is ranking for have an extremely small search volume. It could also be that your clients sales page, adverts (whatever they're monetizing it with) is poorly written/places.

It's all about the stats. Dig into them and find the problem.

[Protor]

Thanks for the help and good advice everybody,
I think I wasn't looking at the big picture, it's very easy to think that search engine positioning is the be all and end all of a good website. I seem to have thought a high search engine ranking would always make a successful site, guess it shows the importance of considering all aspects.

[worldofchat]

Hi there

You make a good point protor, some people assume once you get to number 1 on ur keywords on google, u will have plenty of customers what ever happens, if ur site quality isnt there thats just simply not the case.

Woc

[songchai]

Please Report on the result, so this would be anoother nice knowledge, I had such a Website doing SEO for them, but the keywords they ranked doesn/t have volume on search .

[bluedreamer]

Originally Posted by stymiee

It also doesn't mean they have a good website that will convert visitors into buyers.

lol... you beat me to it!

Protor, without having a link it's hard to guess but I'd say that people have already covered the main points. For my 2p's worth I'll hedge my bets and go for the product presentation.

Maybe the price is not right?
Does the site "sell" the product in the right manner?
Is the market too small?
Is there a lot of competition?
Is the product proven?
Are the right people seeing the site?


It could be anything, even the page colours!

[Protor]

Cheers everyone, I'm not sure what the rules are on linking to sites so I haven't posted the link,
it's a commercial & contract cleaners service,

I've been thinking about their web site and the market they are looking to target, they are doing a good job at not portraying them self as a professional trustworthy company, This must be the biggest factor their customers would consider before allowing a company of cleaners into their office or work premises.

When I looked at their site my immediate thought was "template", does this make much difference to anyone other then a web designer/developer? its not the worst looking site around.

The use of general unrelated stock photos, plenty of good looking men and women looking really happy, what has that got to do with cleaning?

The words "we specialize in" are used 7-8 times with a different service each time. do they actually specialize in anything?

They specify their works guarantee on the site, this contains 11 points most are which are not really specific, one is another guarantee on it's own.

Another issue I believe is their inquiry form has 10 input fields , It may put people off filling in 10 fields if they only want a quick estimate.

I'm going to suggest I can improve their situation, It will be really interesting to see their stats, what is the best way to check keyword search volume?

Thanks for the help and interest everyone.

[kompoint]

i also get No 1.
I can get traffic just 2 - 3 visitor per day.
I can sell 1 or 2 order per week.
It is ok.
Low competitive keyword, and can sell.

[ushuiah]

i also get No 1.
I can get traffic just 2 - 3 visitor per day.
I can sell 1 or 2 order per week.
It is ok.
Low competitive keyword, and can sell.

But 2-3 visitor per day is not a good traffic and have an order or 1-2 per week is also a low sales. Try to analyze what's the lack on your site and improve your it. You can refer to what bluedreamer says.

[amit2110]

Obviously, your websites should have some online strategy to convert visitors into clients...#1 in Google with a good keywords, itself shows a good amount of hits, but leads would not be confirmed by that ranking.

You need to do lots of hard work like article postings and press releases for your product and website. And continuous tracking of your web stats..

best of luck.

[lee_vhoi_ol]

Originally Posted by Josh Spaulding

You would really need to dig into the stats to see the conversion rate before deciding. It's either not converting or not getting any visitors. You won't know until you look at those stats.

It could be that the keywords your client is ranking for have an extremely small search volume. It could also be that your clients sales page, adverts (whatever they're monetizing it with) is poorly written/places.

It's all about the stats. Dig into them and find the problem.

I agree. I haven't used this yet, but I'm aware of their services and it's free and easy to use. http://www.statcounter.com/ Tell me what you think about this.

[lee_vhoi_ol]

Another thing also, give your visitors a reason to come back to your site after visiting it. I don't know how you can do this for your niche, but you can put some useful information that will be available to your customers for free, start a forums section, free stuff, etc.

[lee_vhoi_ol]

Originally Posted by amit2110

Obviously, your websites should have some online strategy to convert visitors into clients...#1 in Google with a good keywords, itself shows a good amount of hits, but leads would not be confirmed by that ranking.

You need to do lots of hard work like article postings and press releases for your product and website. And continuous tracking of your web stats..

best of luck.

hello amit, I've heard about press releases but how do you go about it. I have actually zero idea on this. Care to enlighten me?

Thanks and best regards.

[AdJumpCM]

I'm number one for over 60 different terms, but none of them receiver traffic. The real game to SEO is getting to be number one for terms that receive traffic.

[norrisboat]

What would be a decent conversion rate? I lose 61% of visitors within the first 30sec. Is that ok or too high of a loss?

[slipangle]

Do you also use Google Analytics to see bounce rates, etc?

[cheesedude]

Originally Posted by norrisboat

What would be a decent conversion rate? I lose 61% of visitors within the first 30sec. Is that ok or too high of a loss?

What is your average number of pageviews per visitor?

I've found that low pageviews and high bounce rates are the result of two things:

1) people immediately finding the information they are looking for;

2) people coming to your page via a search engine and finding the page is not relevant to their search terms.

One of of my sites, people find it only when searching for specific things. As a result, they are usually taken directly to that page instead of the main page. When they've found what they want, they leave. That's all there is to it.

Also, people who use Google will view less of your pages than Yahoo users. Also, advertising clicks and conversions are lower for Google users, too.

As for your length of visit, that isn't an entirely accurate statistic.

[ramone_johnny]

Im in a similiar situation with one of my websites. Im listed first in NineMSN, Yahoo and Google, and yet the revenue trickles through at about $200 a week. Its a garage sale website and whilst there are thousands of garage sales held around the country here, most weeks I see 20-30 listings as many people still advertise in local newspapers and not online. Its annoying, Im just hoping peoples mindsets shift in the future.

Certainly there is some definite truth in the fact that being listed highly in the search results doesnt necessarily mean having a successful website.

RJ

[Solidsnake]

If your keyword is very competitive and you are on top, I don't see any problem of getting customer..

[seriocomic]

Originally Posted by Solidsnake

If your keyword is very competitive and you are on top, I don't see any problem of getting customer..

Getting visitors maybe, getting customers no. Conversion is the key, converting those search visitors into customers.

Strong 'calls to action', easy pathways to action triggers (buy buttons, enquiry/contact forms), and trust factors are the best conversion tools. Without these, you could rank #1 for all your keywords and have 1000's of visitors but no customers...

[hooperman]

Originally Posted by Solidsnake

If your keyword is very competitive and you are on top, I don't see any problem of getting customer..

On top of what seriocomic says, high competition doesn't mean high search. There might be loads of pages targeting a particular phrase so the competition is hot, but there might only be a few searches / month for it. You won't get much traffic in that case.

[lee_vhoi_ol]

how about trying www.goodkeywords.com Download their free software, it'll give you an idea on the number of clicks per month for certain keywords on certain search engines.