• FAQs

          Search engine optimization (SEO) helps businesses drive visits to their website through organic search traffic. Given that the top organic search results receive a third of the clicks, a decline in ranking could be detrimental for your business. Implementing SEO best practices on your website will help to ensure that your web content is seen by as many potential customers as possible. The more visitors you have, the better your chances are of converting those visits into sales!

          Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps local businesses gain visibility by optimizing their local business listings for local search. A business that leverages local SEO will include its address, phone number, local opening times, and exact location in the form of a local citation. The goal is to rank for local searches which are usually performed by people in a specific geographical region looking for a business near them.

          We typically see results within the first 30 to 60 days, but when it comes to SEO, there are many factors at play. It's important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy and results may not come as fast at you wish.


        • FAQs

          Digital advertising uses the internet to send advertisements to customers who are online through different websites and social media platforms like Google, Bing, LinkedIn and Facebook.

          The price for Google Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

          The price for Social Media Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.


        • FAQs

          This depends on the complexity and size of a redesign and if eCommerce is needed. On average, it takes around 14-18 weeks from the web design intensive stage to launch.

          If your website experiences the following issues: it’s not responsive on all devices, has a slow loading speed, the design appears old and tired, users don’t spend long on the site, sales are stagnant, or your business is going through a rebranding - your website needs a redesign to boost your brand awareness and sales.

          Sometimes there’s no need to rebuild a website. Minor edits, refreshing page content and images, or restructuring page layout for SEO best practices can boost traffic and sales.


        • FAQs

          Semantic search launched in 2013 with the release of Google's Hummingbird update. Since then, Google's search engine has become more complex. The integration of machine learning, with RankBrain, and NLP, with BERT, has enabled the search engine to better understand the context of a query and deliver more personalized and targeted results. Semantic SEO is the process of creating machine-readable content using structured data and linked open data to help search engines better understand your content.

          On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page SEO refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals. From meta tags to page content, website structure, and HTML, on-page optimization services are focused on making your website more visible to search engines.

          Structured data refers to any organized data that conforms to a certain format, such as information in a relational database. When information is highly structured and predictable, search engines can more easily organize and display it in creative ways. Structured data involves using a piece of code that is laid out in a specific format easily understood by search engines. The search engines read the code and use it to display search results in a more dynamic way.


        • FAQs

          An SEO agency has experts in different areas of search engine optimization that may be out of the realm of your marketing team's abilities. SEO can be very complex and time-consuming. Furthermore, as search engine algorithms change it can be difficult to stay current on the latest ranking factors and strategies for improving online visibility. You will likely see a greater return on investment and better results from using a professional SEO agency than you would from tackling this on your own.

          As a digital marketing agency, SMA Marketing provides products and services in four areas: SEO, Local SEO, Digital Advertising, and Web Design

          We focus on building authentic, long-lasting relationships with our clients. We’re goal oriented and results driven and believe in doing good and making a difference in the world.

  • Contact

The Importance of Website Design in Converting SEO Leads

The Importance of Website Design in Converting SEO Leads

Generating SEO leads is great, but if none of them convert, then what is the point? At the end of the day, it is all about nurturing our leads through the buyer’s journey with the goal of converting some into delighted customers. SEO, at its core, is a long-term marketing strategy. It takes time, focused research, great execution, and, yes, even a little bit of luck. We can, however, increase the conversion rate of the leads we generate by simply tweaking our website design.

Check out some of our other great articles:

In order for the rest of this post to be helpful, we must start with this simple truth. Your website is not about you. It’s about your visitors. Too many businesses center their websites strictly around promoting their company and forget that the average visitor is not as interested in the company as they are in finding a solution to their problem.

Why Design Matters

Content is king, right? The reality is you can have the best content in the world, but if it is presented poorly, it will get ignored. The way your site is designed has the potential to either encourage your visitors to engage or send them looking for a new solution. This may mean you have to set aside some of your preferences in order to increase conversions. So let’s get practical and talk about a few ways we can improve our website design and increase SEO lead conversions.

First Impressions Last Forever

As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” For most of your potential clients, your website is that first impression. “80% of consumers start the search for a product or solution online.” (GE Capital). So whether you’re an online business or have a physical location, having a website design that connects with your visitors is extremely important.

Trash Your Slider:  While a slider on the homepage may look cool to you, research shows that users just ignore them. A study by Notre Dame found that “Approximately 1% of visitors click on the slide.” All of these clicks were made on slide 1, with the subsequent slides getting no love at all.

Motivate Your Visitors: Replace your slider with a compelling header image and add a Call-To-Action. Research has shown that only 20% of your visitors will scroll past the fold. Now, just to be fair, you can have success adding the CTA lower on the page, but you have to motivate your viewers. CTAs lower in the content can have a higher conversion rate when the viewer is motivated by what engaged them at the top of the page. The best thing to do here is test. Using a tool like Hotjar, you can see how your viewers are interacting with your content and then make adjustments to improve engagement.

People Hate Waiting: “The change in a website bounce rate spikes to 100% when a page takes 4 seconds or more to load. It jumps to 150% if a page takes 8 seconds or more to load.” (Source: Mobile Joomla) You may be wondering what speed has to do with website design. The answer is everything! A site that is bloated with multiple CSS and Javascript files will increase the load time and, in return, cause a number of your SEO leads to leave the site. By simplifying the design of your site and removing unnecessary code, you will increase load time and the number of people that actually get to engage with your content.

Mobile is Not the Future. It’s Now: Having a site that is truly mobile-friendly should be one of the first things on your list. Search is being dominated by mobile, and creating an experience for your mobile SEO leads is key. Responsive design is all the rage right now, and done right can be very effective. But it is important to realize that not all responsive sites get the job done. In fact, “62% of companies that designed a website specifically for mobile had increased sales.” (Source: Econsultancy) So test your mobile experience and make sure that it lives up to your users’ expectations. Some of your best customers may have gone elsewhere due to a bad mobile experience.

More is Not Always Better: The last bit of advice is simple. Don’t add elements “just because”. Everything you add to your design communicates something to the visitor. Make sure that your design encourages the user to continue. Having too much going on can overwhelm your visitor to the point where they leave instead of engaging.

Search Engine Optimization is a powerful strategy to generate long-term success online. But in order to have success, you need to realize that SEO is just one part of your overall inbound marketing efforts. In order to convert your SEO leads, you need to have a website that engages the visitor to take action.  We’ve pretty much made all of the mistakes above, and by refocusing our website’s design, we have seen higher conversion rates and, in return, have grown as an agency. If you have any questions or other insights that you have learned in your journey, comment below, and let’s continue the conversation.

New Call-to-action

Search by Topic

  • All Resources
  • SEO
  • Digital Advertising
  • Content Marketing
  • Web Development

Get Up-To-Date Digital Marketing Tips Delivered Straight to Your Inbox!

SMA Marketing Digital Marketing Agency Giving Back to Kiva Making Loans