We sometimes worry about the wrong stuff

A GoogleGuy nugget easily overlooked

[jimbeetle]

Just had time to read the Understanding Dominic thread [webmasterworld.com] that synthesized most of GoogleGuy's comments during the update (if, in fact, it's still not going on; I'm a bit vague on that point).

In one of the Dominic threads GG basically said that we as webmasters have better things to be worried about than all of the nitty-gritty ins-and-outs of a Google update. Kind of a reminder that we should stay focused on what things we can control:

Worry less about PR on the toolbar and more about rankings. And less about rankings for high-profile phrases and more about overall rankings. And less about rankings and more about traffic. And less about traffic and more about conversions.

That last part is something I can control. Does the navigation work for the visitor? Is there enough information to make a decision? Is the 'buy' message strong enough? Well, you know how long the list is.

In the next couple of days I hope to find one or two things I can do to improve conversions. They don't have to be major, I'll be happy with a slight improvement as a start.

Jim

P.S. I was also taken be GG's comment 'cause it shows he's not just a nerdy search geek but has a very solid understanding of what our concerns are -- or should be.

[sagerock]

I too just had an opportunity to try to make heads or tales out of all those posts. But that quote of GG's really made an impact on me as well. It's really well thought out.
There are so many things a site owner can do to help convert the traffic they already have. Seeing a 2% or 3% conversion rate at a site is not unusual at all. And the vast majority of that traffic came to the site as valid, targeted customers.
Increasing conversion really is where the money's at, imo.

[Shak]

Thankfully we are having this conversation outside Forum 3, as certain members I am sure never venture into all the other forums where a mountain of information is clearly laid out.

GG is absolutely correct, there are FAR more important things going on out there.

Personally I spend as little time as possible on forum 3 as possible, and try and venture onto other areas.

there are still LOTS of forums I havent even entered yet, but I am working on it.

Shak

[rharri]

Do any of you, more senior, members have any general suggestions on improving conversions? Sort of along the lines of Brett's 26-step plan for Google.

[jimbeetle]

You might want to give a look at digitalghost two-part (so far) discourse on increasing the conversion rate in the content and copywriting forum.

Part 1 Headlines [webmasterworld.com]
Part 2 Copy that sells [webmasterworld.com]

Of course, copy is only a part of the whole process. You have to know what your conversion rate is now so the tracking and logging forum might have some hints. Will CSS make a site more responsive and give visitors a better experience, making them more apt to buy? If you think so, it's here. And more.

Hate to be so general but that's the nature of the beast, everybody's needs are different. Read, read and read again. And as Shak says, try to venture into other areas, it really is eye opening.

Jim

[carfac]

I have spent the better part of the last, uh, update playing with Adwords. I first threw up a bunch of related and semi-realted terms, and let them settle. I saw which brought people to me, and which I just thought would bring people to me. Helped me focus my target words better.

Then I redesigned some pages to include more of the keywords I was not doing well on for the SERPS, but that Adwords showed me are good.

I also watched how people moved around my site. I moved some links around to make the higher-hit pages easier to find.

Oh, and somewhere in there, I discovered a competitor went under. There website is now completely gone. Because Google has really not yet done all the updating, I was able to search linkto:www.myoldcompetitor.com and sent personal e-mails to over 200 people who USED to link to them, asking them to consider changing their links to my site now. (How's that for a weird situation?!)

But I do this sort of thing all the time... and I always wait with bated breath to see how it works in the NEXT update!

dave