Search engine marketing expert Ben Rudolph says getting visitors to take action is key
By Allan Maurer
When people need a product or service, they often start their search online. At that moment there is an opportunity to grab a consumer’s attention.
Benjamin Rudolph
President & CEO, Relevance Advisors
Your goal is to be present when potential customers search, and once they arrive at your website, you want them to take an action – whether that is an online purchase, filling out a lead form, or viewing a video.
“You can send a million visitors to a client’s site and still be fired if they don’t take action,” says Benjamin Rudolph, president, founder and CEO of Relevance Advisors in Atlanta. Relevance offers pay per click, SEO, and Web analytics services.
Rudolph is a Google AdWords Certified Professional, a Yahoo! Search Ambassador, a Microsoft AdExcellence member, a Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) individual member, and a member of the Web Analytics Association. He is also president and co-founder of the SEMPO Atlanta Working Group.
Prior to founding Relevance Advisors in 2010, he spent four years at Comcast, where he managed the search partnership with Google for Comcast Interactive Media.
Rudolph is one of 50 top Internet mavens, digital media experts, executives and entrepreneurs slated to participate in the Atlanta Digital Summit May 16-17 at Cobb Galleria. He’ll be focusing on developing landing pages to direct post-click activity.
Figuring out post-click behavior
One of the main challenges in search engine marketing, Rudolph says, is too get visitors to Web sites to take a desired action. At Relevance Advisors, he notes, “We help companies figure out that post-click (on the site url) behavior.”
“A company has a lot of control over a destination page,” Rudolph says. “It’s easier to make a change on a Web page than in a retail store, and it lends itself well to testing, such as trying different shopping cart paths.”
That sounds easy enough. But, Rudolph adds, “Navigation can be a big problem for Web sites.” He says that having worked at a large company such as Comcast, he knows that “a lot of constituents” can have a voice, but a lot of voices may mean the site ends up not being consistent with the goals of the visitors it attracts.
He offers the following advice for those who want to increase post-click activity:
“Content should match keyword search terms as closely as possible.” Content that suits the company’s needs may not suit the users, he points out. “Most people decide to stay or leave a site in two seconds. If they don’t see something quickly, they’re gone. We have some clients who spend $20 a keyword, so it can be an expensive departure.”
Scene from TechMedia’s previous event Internet Summit 2010. Benjamin Rudolph of Relevance Advisors is a participant in the upcoming Digital Summit in Atlanta May 16-17.
“Test. Show your landing page to someone who never saw it before.” Let them look for two seconds and ask them what they should do next. If they don’t know, try something new, he suggests.
“Check out friction.” Don’t lead with a form of 50 lines. “Forms should be simple and ask for as little information as possible. Include a progress bar.”
“Explain top benefits in a bulleted format. People put too much on a landing page. You can always include links to more information.”
Minimize external links. “People think landing pages are like home pages. They’re not. People arrive because they searched for a specific term. Make the specific intent of the page clear: to buy, to get a lead, click on a link. Don’t try to be all things to all people. That’s a high bounce rate situation.”
Don’t get hung-up on the wrong metrics
Sometimes, he says, a high bounce rate is not the metric you should pay attention to. “If you’re a dentist and your goal is for someone to read, get your number and pick up the phone, de-emphasize the bounce rate.”
He adds, “People can get hung up on the wrong metrics. I had a client who focused on time on the site. If you’re Macy’s, too much time on the site might mean people can’t find what they’re looking for. You have to think about what your goals are first, then how to tie the metrics to the goals.”
His basic, overall advice, however, is to “Build relevant content based on how users interact with your site and come up with a strategy relevant to your audience.”
Join hundreds of Internet executives, interactive marketers, web entrepreneurs and other new media professionals at the Digital Summit scheduled for Atlanta, May 16-17. Get the latest trends and best practices in topic areas such as Social Media, Cloud, Mobile, Internet Entrepreneurship, Search Marketing, Email, Venture Outlook and more while checking out hot new Internet startups in the Demo Showcase. Use VIP code TECHVIEW50 to save $50 off your registration http://www.digitalsummit.com/
© 2011, TechView Atlanta. All rights reserved.
