It’s quite a well-known fact that common knowledge that higher web search rankings increase your chances of users clicking through your pages. However, your ranking position does not always mean users WILL click on your site link.
Most users take other factors into consideration before clicking on the most relevant page. If you fail to attract users’ attentions at this stage in proceedings you might start to experience low click through rate (CTR) and low traffic volumes. Our 5 tips below will help to drastically improve your CTR and increase the amount of organic traffic coming to your website.
It’s All in the Description and Titles
At Jungle, one of the first things we do when optimising a website is to pay attention to the page titles and descriptions. Many people tend to over-optimise these and that can lead to a spammy looking description that actually puts people off from clicking on your page.
A title should be short and to the point. You should also include your brand name or the name of your product in your description and title so that users know they have found what they are looking for. This is especially important if your brand name is known and trusted by your audience.
Optimise Your Meta Description
Always ensure that your Meta description includes your main keywords and explains the content of the page. You could also include a call to action so that users know they can reach you or buy your product quickly from that page. Think about what users would want to see when searching for your page and you increase your chances of them clicking on your link.
Using Site Links
Site links allow users to navigate your website easily. These are the links that are shown below the results in the search engine ranking pages. Webmasters have little control over sitelinks as they are usually deciphered algorithmically, they can be manipulated in a couple of ways.
The first is to ensure all irrelevant site links are blocked by using Google Webmaster Tools.
The second is to create robust link architecture by focusing on the most important parts of your website and using descriptive and optimised anchor text.
Using Social Layers
If a user is logged in to their Google+ account they can see which pages they have +1’d or if they are logged into Twitter, the pages they have retweeted. This is a great reminder to the user that they trusted the page and will increase their chances of visiting it again. Add as many incentives as possible to get your users to bookmark and share your pages.
Google Instant Preview
Google Instant Preview allows users to see a screenshot of the page without visiting it. If your site looks easy to navigate and has a nice design, users are more likely to click on it. Unfortunately, sites designed in Flash may not appear very well and can look ugly and confusing.
By using a good analytics tool such as Google Analytics you can keep track of your click through rate and see which pages are attracting the most attention. We can also help you to analyse your website so that it gives you the best return.
Speak to the team at Jungle Media to find out more. We’re happy to answer any of your questions.
