Digital marketing strategy with Stat Counter: Optimize Your Content and Conversion Rate Optimization.

Optimize Your Content

Content is one of the top two organic ranking factors in Google search. However, the volume of content being produced for the web is growing exponentially, making it increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd.

Content optimization is the process of optimizing your on-site and off-site content so that:

• People can find your website using search engines (SEO)
• People and search engines can assess your website’s level of trust, authority and popularity (OSO)
• Visitors to your website engage with your content and follow your calls to action (CRO)

Content is one of the top two organic ranking factors in Google search.

The three cornerstones of content optimization.

• SEO — Search Engine Optimization
• CRO — Conversion Rate Optimization
• OSO — Off Site Optimization

Search Engine Optimization.

The job of a search engine is to provide the most relevant and useful content for its users. Google does this by using multiple ranking factors to determine how well each page on your website will serve a searcher’s query.



On-page ranking factors are many and include keyword relevance, content length and quality, internal, external and inbound links (backlinks), page speed and more.

The process of optimizing your content for search engines actually starts before you begin planning and writing your content. The first step that will inform the topics, and structure of your content is keyword research.

The job of a search engine is to provide the most relevant and useful content for its users. A typical conversion funnel.

Conversion Rate Optimization.

Conversion rate optimization is the process of improving your conversion rates by testing different ways to present your content.

Let’s look at a few tried and tested ways to increase your conversion rate:

Use Strong Calls to Action.

A call to action (CTA) can be a button, a link or a graphic that prompts a visitor to take a desired action by clicking / tapping on it. Methods for increasing the conversion rate on your CTAs include making them bigger, giving them a colour that contrasts with the rest of the page and using the right language. Starting your CTA text with a verb is a common technique to inspire action. Some common examples:

• Book a Consultation
• Download a Price list
• Get The Free Guide
• Request a Call Back
• Subscribe For Updates

Placing your CTAs nearer the top of the page can have a positive effect on conversions.

Write About the Benefits.

In addition to writing about the wedding photography services you offer or the features of your fine art prints, make sure to talk about the benefits of choosing you over one of your competitors. What makes you unique can be the small details you pay attention to.

Use Lead Magnets.

Lead Magnets involve giving your visitors some additional content that is of value to them, in exchange for some information that is of value to you. For example offering a free ebook, infographic, cheat sheet or list of resources in exchange for subscribing to your newsletter.

Please note, if you have visitors from the European Union, it is important to comply with GDPR guidelines when collecting personal information in web forms.

Keep Forms Short.

When collecting information via a form, use the least amount of form fields possible to reduce friction and increase the likelihood of your visitors completing your form. If your goal is to get visitors to subscribe to your email newsletter, all you need is their name and email address. Their name is not even essential but useful for personalising the emails you send out.

Read also: Digital marketing strategy for photographers with StatCounter: the Buying Cycle.

It’s not uncommon for photography websites to have lengthy contact forms that are more akin to questionnaires, asking visitors for dates, budget and other information that could be easily gotten later via email. Nobody likes filling out forms so you can dramatically increase your form conversion rate by just asking for some essential information that enables you to make contact.

Use Testimonials and Case Studies.

We talked about Earned Media earlier in this guide. Written with authenticity and placed strategically on your website, testimonials and case studies are a powerful form of social proof that help to build trust and increase conversions.

Include a Guarantee.

Including a guarantee that offers the options of a re-shoot or a no-questions-asked refund offers peace of mind by reducing risk and has a positive effect on conversions.

Keep it Simple.

Keep your navigation and page design simple. Don’t offer too many options and make it obvious on every page what the next step should be, whether that is to view some case studies or subscribe to your newsletter or book a consultation.

Off Site Optimization

Backlinks.

A backlink is is a link from any third-party website to your own website. Also known as inbound links, backlinks help search engines understand how relevant your website is to a searchers query.

In addition to improving your organic search engine ranking, backlinks generate targeted referral traffic and help search engines index your web pages more quickly.

See our detailed guide on how to get backlinks.

Local SEO.

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website to rank for searches with 'local intent, e.g. ‘portrait photographer near me’, and helping people in your area find your business. It’s an essential part of your strategy for growing your business in the local community and dramatically increases your visibility on search engine results pages, since well-optimized local listings get priority over organic listings.

See our detailed guide on Local SEO

Build Your Email List.

Once you’ve attracted visitors to your website, your #1 priority should be to get their email address. This is referred to as “lead capture” in marketing speak and capturing leads for your email list is the single most effective way to grow your photography business online.

Here are some reasons why:

Email Engagement Is Much Higher than Social Media.

Despite being a 40 year old technology, email is still used more than social media. According to ExactTarget, email is the first check of the day for 71% of people.



While maintaining a social media presence is important for photographers and helps connect with new prospects, social media posts suffer from abysmally low click-through rates so are not good for conversions.

Recent changes to the Facebook news feed algorithm mean that posts from friends get much higher priority than posts on your business page. The number of fans of your page who actually see your posts can be as little as 2%.

People are getting ‘banner blind’ to ads and promoted posts on social media, whereas someone who has opted in to your email list has requested you send them interesting content and offers on a regular basis. It stands to reason they’ll pay more attention to your email than the relentless barrage of unsolicited ads in their news feed.

Furthermore, 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content through email, compared to 17% who prefer social media. (Source MarketingSherpa)

Email Marketing Shows a High Return on Investment.

When done well, the return on investment from email marketing can be significant. This is partially because email marketing is inexpensive but also because engagement is so high, as mentioned above.
VentureBeat reports that for every $1 you spend, you can expect an average return of $38.

Personalization Is Easy with Email and Boosts Conversions.

Personalized emails generate six times higher transaction rates (Source: Experian) and with modern email marketing software, It’s easier than ever to personalize your message for each individual subscriber.

In addition to personalization, you can also divide your subscribers into groups and deliver targeted content to each group based on their interests and preferences. This is known as segmentation and is a powerful tool for increasing the relevancy of your content.

You Can Test to See What Works.

Popular email marketing apps like MailChimp and Campaign Monitor enable you to test multiple versions of your emails and subject lines to see which content and designs are most effective. This helps you refine your process to increase open rates and click through rates.

You Own Your Email List.

Social media platforms are great for building a network of followers, however like we’ve seen with Facebook, a few small changes to their algorithm can have drastic consequences for small businesses who have invested time and effort building a following.

The difference with your email list is that you have complete control over how it looks and who gets to see what.

Measure Your Results with Statcounter.

The more we know about how visitors are using content, and the more accurate that knowledge is, the better we can find out what sort of content works best for our target audience and adjust our strategy and posting schedules accordingly. Content may be king, but data is its queen.Jordan Louis

Read also: Digital marketing strategy with Stat Counter: Choose the Right Digital Marketing Channels.

Here are some of the ways Statcounter can help you understand your visitors and gauge the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy.

Gauge the Seriousness of a Sales Lead.

Time wasters and price shoppers can eat up valuable time you could be spending creating targeted proposals for serious sales leads and winning more business. Statcounter helps you gauge the usefulness of a sales lead by answering the following questions:

• How did visitors find my website?
• How long did visitors spend on my website?
• Which pages did my visitors look at?
• Are they on my website right now?
• Have they been on my website before?
• When is the best time to follow up?