In a world of supply and demand, brokering intent or aligning consumers in need with the right product, service, information or solution is the crowning achievement of SEO and online commerce.
Are You Paying the Toll of the PPC Troll?
If you are a victim caught in the whirlwind of paying the toll of the PPC troll (no tens inpunded), then keep in mind that SEO is an investment that pays for itself over time.
When consumers are intent on purchasing, urgency and positioning are paramount to commerce. Your website is either a destination or a doormat to another website with a better offer as a result.
If consumers can’t find your website (since you are past the 2nd page) then how can they place an order?, or if they find your site too late, then it may be too late in the sales cycle to dissuade them from pursuing other purchasing options.
Despite the fact that your competitors are just as eager to carve out a lucrative niche and lay claim to keyword market share and dominance (regardless of your intent); the only thing standing between the number #1 position for your ideal keywords or their websites owning the spot is (1) time (2) content and (3) authority or SEO technique. Fortunately for you, all three are scalable.
What Matters?
- Relevance – Matching visitor expectations with appropriate content for consumption.
- Site Segmentation – having an ideal destination / landing page for specific keywords.
- Conversion funnels – having a distinct conversion objective per page.
Two things to keep in mind under the assumptions above (1) somewhere there is somebody, looking for something and (2) reaching them with the right message at the right time is priceless.
This is where most fail when it comes to targeting the most lucrative keywords for conversion for their organic optimization campaigns. Sure, you can pay per click, but once you prove a page converts, why should you have to if you understand the premise behind advanced SEO (ranking for what you want to regardless of competition).
With the ability to (a) map out which pages appear for which keywords (b) create as much content as needed to “own the apex of the conversation” and (c) having the bandwidth to see beyond limited distribution channels and reach multiple concurrent peaks of performance (such as video optimization, content syndication, brand management, site monetization and / or finding affiliate models to monetize existing traffic) there is no equivalent marketing method that rivals organic search coupled with extensive insight about keyword research, modifiers and consumer search behavior.
So, Why are You Picking On Trolls?
Think of keywords as “the gatekeepers of commerce”. To use an analogy, think about the troll who owns the bridge, since there is value for those on the path that need it (such as access to a village) it wouldn’t matter what the destination was, all who pass pay a toll in order to use it, to facilitate their needs (such as shopping, avoiding the long way around, etc).
Under the same auspices, online there are multiple paths to reach virtually any destination as search engines are the pinnacle or rather the point of convergence for supply and demand as the intersection of intent.
Even though they may be the troll in this instance, without them “letting others pass through” and taking a fee, your website could potentially experience a bleak or meager lonely online existence.
By carefully creating context through singular and plural variations in tandem with action words, active voice and benefit based hooks for queries, consuming a market or the most lucrative keywords in it is merely a by-product of a tactful internet marketing strategy using search engines as a medium to funnel traffic.
Considerations:
- What is the desired conversion objective? – Short-term conversion, long-term repeat customer with multiple upsells or conversions?
- What is the consumer’s life time value? – Can your website or brand encompass multiple needs?
- What are THEY looking for? – The reason behind the “Why?” and…
- How can you facilitate a satisfactory solution or destination? – Meaning, how can you provide a viable segue to an affiliate offer to volley that traffic where your site is merely a lucrative middleman?
Clearly having a monetization model is important or equally as important as the keywords you use to tell your story and attract visitors to your pages.
The takeaway here is to understand that (a) needs exist and (b) consumers will find ways to fill them one way or another. So, the question is, what role do you to play; the troll (conversion path), the tour guide (affiliate) or the village an ecommerce destination at the end of the path?
Supporting References:
- How to Create SEO Landing Pages that Rank Like PPC
- Motivated Buyers, SEO and Intent
- Attention Share and Value Based Conversions
- The Psychology of a Click Through
- Targeting Behavioral Keywords
Thanks for the great SEO tips, waiting to read more.
Appreciate the feedback “data”…
All the best!
I think Joost, like anyone, has to disclose when they are paid for a review. This, obviously, doesn’t mean that they do but I’m guessing Joost would have anyway
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