GPWA Times - Issue 20 - March 2012

The second appearance of Online Casino in the Title probably has no impact on rank, but it takes up space which could be used for more im- portant things. On the other hand the double highlighting makes it re- ally visible in the SERP, so maybe it’s a good thing? Bingo Knights has the keyword phrase three times in the description tag. To me, this starts to look crowded and now they have used up 6 impor- tant positions that could be used for persuasive copy. They probably did it because they believe that jamming the description tag full with those keywords would improve their rank. Well, it doesn’t, and it probably hurts their click-through rate, too. So this is a good ex- ample of how über-optimizing your tag for rank can hurt your business. What also happens when you try to cram too many keywords into the text is that it looks, well, crammed. In this case both the Title and the Description tag are too long to display within Google’s maximum num- ber of characters and instead of ending with a powerful call to action they just dwindle away with a …. Using numbers to create anchors ............................................................ Here’s one more example of keyword jamming in the Description tag: “Online Casino Bonus” three times! When you scan this text it looks very spammy and it’s really difficult to find something “useful” in the text. Your gaze path just tends to “slide off” the ad. You have the term “Online casino” six times in this ad if you also count the title and the URL plus “the best” or “the top” three times. Not so much space left for anything after all that, is there?! On the same page I found the ad for Latest Casino Bonuses, which looks like this: If you try reading both these ads you can see how the numbers used in the later ad create fixation points or “anchors” which stop you from just “sliding off the text.” Clever! Poker 770 tries the same thing on the Title tag, but here you can see how über-doing it just makes the Title look like a garbled mess of computer- generated characters. The key here is “balance.” You need to think of all the factors, and find the right balance among keywords, anchors and persuasive copywriting. Social proof can make the difference ............................................................ Clever use of social proof such as testimonials is one on the most com- monly used tools in the conversion rate optimizer’s toolbox. And you can use it in your organic “search ads,” too, just like Plaza Online does here: A last word on “scent” ............................................................ “Maintain the scent” is a well-spread mantra among conversion profes- sionals. What it means is that searchers are like bloodhounds on the hunt. They will continue on their scent trail as long as they feel they are making good progress. As soon as the scent fades, they all do the same thing – they hit the back button. Back to the search engine and off to one of your competitors. So whatever you do, don’t break the scent. Some examples: 1. If your search “ad” promises “free casino games” don’t slam visitors with a “deposit now” message as the first thing they see on the site. 2. If you promise “fair casino reviews,” don’t hit visitors with flashing “Get your $1,000 bonus now!” banners. Whatever it is you promise in the “ad,” keep that promise on the site. Period. What to do now ............................................................ If you are paying big bucks to some SEO agency which has given you finished tags to just implement on your site, take a second look. Search for your phrases on Google. See what the results look like. Examine the “ads” of all your competitors. Do they have a clear call to action? Not too diluted? Active rather than passive form? Focused on one search phrase? Then, if needed, go back to your SEO agency and tell them they need to rework those tags before you send them the next check. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Ekman is the founder and CEO of Conversionista! – the number-one Conversion consulting company in Sweden. You will find inspiration about Conversion Rate Optimization on John’s blog at www.conversionista.com . According to John a Conversionista is someone deeply and crazily passionate about improving Conversion Rates. John previously held senior management positions at Net Entertainment and Betsson. 9