3 Problems & Solutions for Why Your Blog is Getting Plenty of Traffic, But Isn’t Converting
With the power a blog can have on your marketing efforts – and therefore how well your company does – it only makes sense. But what if you are seeing plenty of traffic to your blog with no conversions in sight?
Here are 3 problems and their solutions to why your blog traffic isn’t converting.
Problem #1: Your posts are getting traffic for the wrong keyword.
If your posts are getting traffic for the wrong keyword, you may see that the traffic is significant, but you aren’t seeing any conversions. By checking your Analytics, you may find that visitors only spend a small amount of time on the blog page before moving on, or that the bounce rate is significantly higher than other pages.
For example, a post I did several years ago on my personal blog congratulating my parents on their 30th anniversary which got a significant amount of traffic. Interestingly enough, the bounce rate is relatively low and the time on site is only slightly less than average for my blog.
The keywords, however, tell a different story. People may be searching for a gift or a message for their parents’ 30th anniversary. In the case of this post, however, there is very little content and is simply a congratulatory message for my parents.
The solution
Start by renaming or reoptimizing the post for the right keywords. Review your Analytics a month later to see if that has made the proper change.
For the 30th Anniversary post example, I might consider adding additional content around how you can help your parents celebrate their 30th anniversary, with gift and message ideas.
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Problem #2: Your posts aren’t targeted for the right audience.
When it comes to blogging, your target audience is everything. If you haven’t already identified your ideal client, then stop whatever you’re doing right now and do it. You should have a crystal clear vision of what your target customer(s) looks like, from demographics to their back story.
Creating blogposts that aren’t for your target market will inevitably happen. These posts won’t convert for you, but they’ll attract a lot of traffic.
One example of this is the developer-related posts we’ve created on our blog. Corey has created a number of excellent tutorials for developers on our blog. The problem, however, is that developers aren’t our target market: developers have the ability to build websites themselves, so they don’t necessarily need web design and development help.
The solution
Stick as closely as you can to posts that make sense for your target market. Otherwise, you’re sure to gather traffic by giving away great information…but you won’t gain any new leads because of it.
Problem #3: You just aren’t getting anyone who will follow-up.
Whether you are leading with your sales foot or you simply don’t have a good call-to-action, having a lack of conversions may be a simple design issue.
Look at your blog page designs with a critical eye. (Better yet, have a close friend/family member or customer look for you.) Does the design lead people to take a next step? Whether it’s to contact you, subscribe to your blog, or download a content offer, make sure it’s obvious what the next step is.
Since we launched our new design in late 2014, we’ve seen a significantly lower exit percentage. This tells me that the new design lends itself to keep people on the site or, better yet, converting.
The solution
Lead with your marketing foot by giving visitors the opportunity to convert on your website with good design, clear calls-to-action, content offers, etc.
With targeted keywords, focusing on the right target market, and good design, your blogposts have the ability to improve your website’s conversions. Focus on doing on three of these things well in order to improve your conversion rates in no time!